THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN FRANCE

Mr Emmanuel Apea, then a dedicated and active church of Pentecost elder and counsellor, joined UNESCO headquarters in Paris in December1989 as chief of the Science and Technology Education section. If there was one strong desire he and his wife Mrs Emma Lizzie Apea harboured prior to their arrival in France, it was for the Lord to use them as humble instruments through which His word would   change lives in that country. The fulfilment of that objective led him in the quest for like-minded individuals with whom he could share the pleasure of celebrating God in communion. He found this fellowship in a Bible Study group one month after arriving on French soil. This group with whom he began to share the passion of Christian worship was made up of Ghanaians, led by Mr. Effah Kyereh and assisted by Mr. Ohene Kwabena Annor. Other members of the fellowship included Mrs. Annoh, Mr. Thomas and Mrs Boateng, Mr. Peter and Mrs. Janet Obeng, Miss Ataa Benneh, Mrs. Joyce Nyanor, and Miss Esther Agbadzi, Brother Okyere, and Janet (now Mrs. Benefo).

  The group quickly recognised that Mr Apea, excepting his wisdom, was exceptionally generous with his immense wealth of spiritual knowledge. It was further acknowledged, that his quiet and virtuous disposition, spiritual maturity, leadership and communication skills and public image were potentials that were not only endearing and admirable, but also extremely overwhelming. That the group unanimously made him de facto leader was not surprising because Mr Apea has the stature and gravitas that is pleasantly acceptable to people. He is known for his exuberance in fully living the word, transcending social and cultural barriers, and subsequently impacting those around him. (His retirement from UNESCO allowed him to fully avail himself to the church which ordained him tent minister until an eventual retirement a few years ago).

New orientation :

Under his leadership, the group embarked on a dynamic evangelism strategy, pragmatically reaching out to its first target group; the Ghanaian community, and initially witnessing to them in their own vocabulary.   The Paris home of the Apeas at Montparnasse soon became the focal point for prayers, Bible studies, counselling, and leadership training workshops during week days.

The evolution of the group after a few months under Mr Apea's direction necessitated relocation from the American Church's nursery quarter, the facilities of which had become inconvenient, to premises that facilitated the accommodation of an increasing number of new members. The group found favour with one Pastor Kwaku Darkwa, resident minister of a Methodist Church at Asnières-Gennevilliers , near Paris. Pastor Darkwa's generosity enabled the Fellowship group to have access to both the Church premise and its facilities on Sunday afternoons, gratis. The group, in appreciation of this kind gesture offered, nonetheless, to effect weekly donations to buffer part of the energy bill the facility incurred.

Word quickly spread in testament to changes in people's lives and experiences of finding joy and fulfilment in Christ. This salvation news resonated with such living testimonies within the Ghanaian community, that the fellowship soon witnessed a huge surge in new adherents. Among the new members who embraced the body at this moment were resourceful individuals like Ms. Grace Buabeng (now Mrs. Mensah), Mr. Allswell Mensah, Mr. Martin Awuku, Mr Godwin Benefo, Mr. And Mrs. Stephen Owusu, Mr. and Mrs. Tinkorang, Mr Charles Asare, Mr. and Mrs Ofori, Mr. Bismarck and Mrs Christiana Moore, Mr. Agyeman Badu, Miss Gifty Kyeremanteng. The group also saw two daughters of the Apeas, (Esther and Grace) combine their studies with active fellowship work, to help create the children's Sunday school programs.

New challenges:

After two years of actively sowing seeds, and reaping conversions for Christ, the growth of the fellowship had now reached critical mass, calling for new responsibilities and a leadership with a clearly defined vision for mission. It was now time to move on and impact the story of Jesus in more innovative and RELEVANT ways. Mr Apea and his wife always subscribe to the notion that the way to disciple people cannot be disconnected from the changes happening in their lives, and so in considering the group's deep desire for spiritual growth, he quickly discerned the significance of this development and recognised it offered a substantial prospect for addressing a new and challenging orientation. In his determination to avoid maintaining any structure that could potentially create a barrier to authentic experience of God, Mr Apea decided to rather seize the opportunity this presented. He felt it was time to break away from the configured Bible-study/ fellowship model, toward investing the shared commitment in a new mode of being; CHURCH . So after prayerful consideration, he submitted to the leadership, his vision of establishing an identity for the group and subsequently fusing it with a leading church in Ghana.

  A process of debates and discussions ensued to evaluate this proposal but the proceedings quickly collapsed, with personal interests overriding communal values, throwing the whole procedure in total disarray. This chaotic condition threatened wrecking group unity, and in an attempt to curb the hostilities, Mr Apea, in a dramatic turn, cautioned he would pull out if the group leaders did not cease their petty power struggles and find a compromise,. After a three-month stalemate during which the factional conflict evidently became exhaustingly destabilising, Mr. Apea announced on 5 July 1992 that, he would henceforth hold church services at a venue called L.S.C, located at La Plaine St Denis, and would be delighted to worship with those who shared his vision for growth at this new location. Consequently, on Sunday, 12 July 1992, 67 members, including twenty five children, met for the first Sunday service of the group that was later to be registered as the Church of Pentecost of France.

New relationships/new challenges:

The new group now affiliated to the COP International quickly went to work, setting up a church structure that would exploit every human resource to build leaders for various ministries, oversights and sustain a logistical framework for nation-wide church planting initiatives. With loyal support from the group, Elder Apea and his sweet-natured wife, assembled a solid team of selfless and dedicated networkers, engaging them in a common action to embrace not only Ghanaians, but people of other nations, into the congregation. The leadership drafted coherent outreach programmes, providing stimulus for the whole church to contribute with discussions and workshops. The synergy of energy, commitment, and excitement from members challenged the leadership to create and implement goals, brainstorm ideas, and support each other with total honesty, respect and compassion, and in the spirit of harmony towards one definite purpose.

  Among the first leaders cultivated for mission work were Messrs. Annor and Awuku, who were later followed by Brothers Owusu Stephen, Asare Bediako, William Sakyi, Thomas Boateng, Peter Obeng, Paul Taylor, Ntow, and Charles Asare. The following ladies played major roles in shaping up the church: Mrs. Annor, Mrs. Janet Obeng, Mrs. Christiana Moore, Miss Grace Buabeng, Mrs. Awuku, and Mrs. Mary Boateng. Beside these distinguished and honourable individuals who later became Presbytery members, others like Auntie Esi, Mrs Joyce Nyanor, and Charles Yebuah enthusiastically invested their time and energies.

Further outreach initiatives:

The winds of change, with all the exciting experiences of joy and transformation raised the church to a level where the need to sustain the fire of evangelism became a permanent challenge. The message of redemption had become challenging to a point where the church leadership had to line up a series of open crusades to accentuate the salvation power of Christ. The late Evangelist Owusu Tabiri was part of the men of God invited to minister at these events, and through whom the Lord manifested His anointing power. The crusades yielded such spectacular salvation and healing miracles that the church rapidly registered an overwhelming attendance of 500 within a year of its existence. As a result of this windfall in new converts, the church had to acquire a new office space large enough for counselling, prayer and deliverance sessions. Mrs Apea, eternally noble and gracious, faithfully conducted all these sessions, ably supported by Martin Awuku and Christiana Moore, two remarkable volunteers who gave up their regular jobs for full time commitment to missions work.   Brothers Annor, Obeng, Boateng, Asare Bediako, Stephen Owusu, and Peter Owusu also frequently took time out from their jobs to collaborate in mission expansion.   

The church flourished in Paris, constantly facing growing challenges that needed urgent solutions. A number of volunteers were deployed to other parts of the country to support church planting initiatives. Elder Martin Awuku, always meticulous, wonderfully coordinated all administrative procedures in the newly acquired offices, subsequently allowing the church to successfully accomplish various planting projects in Toulouse, Marseille, Mantes-La-Jolie, Strasbourg and Mulhouse between 1992 and 1995. The Toulouse outpost was the first to be established, the inauguration of which was performed by Mr and Mrs Apea, and supported by brothers Annor and Obeng. Brother Clifford was given temporary oversight responsibility for the new outpost until deacon Ntow who was deployed from Paris assumed supervision of both Toulouse and Marseille stations. Elders Sakyi, James Boateng, Jack Asare Bediako all had oversight responsibilities for the Mantes-La-Jolie, Strasbourg and Mulhouse outposts respectively.

The names of these honourable and devoted volunteers may be eventually forgotten, but it was only as Mr Apea and his wife worked with them that the establishment of the Church and its development in France was made complete.

Official recognition :

On 12 May, 1993, the church received official recognition as a registered association of Pentecostals and validated in the French government gazette, 'Le Journal Officiel' as such.   In that same year, the church extended its outreach activities to the French-speaking public with the inauguration in Paris, of a special assembly to cater for their needs. The inaugural ceremony, held on September 18, 1994 was conducted by the then chairman of the Church of Pentecost International, the late prophet M.K. Yeboah. He assisted by apostle Ato Addison (then General Secretary), Apostle Apedo (National Head, Togo), and elder Togbetse Snr. of Togo. Elder Martin Awuku was made the Presiding Elder of the new assembly, with Elder Paul Taylor, and Deaconess Christiana Moore as deputies. Gifty Kyeremanteng and Emmanuel Deyi also collaborated in enhancing the church's commitment to the local French communities.

Call into ministry:

In 1995, two elders were called into the ministry as pastors. They formed the first generation of journeymen recommended for the pastors' in-training programme in Ghana. Martin Luther Awuku currently head of the Lyon outpost, and Ohene Kwabena Annor, who has since suspended his services, were the precursors of subsequent groups of journeymen, who have accepted the call to serve as ministers in the Church.

Team spirit:

Over a decade of changes and challenges the church has been faithful and fruitful, building on a legacy of more than 50 years of witness for Christ, in the history of the International Church. It is part of the more than ten thousand satellites of the Pentecost worldwide denomination, with millions of believers worshipping in its congregations on the five continents. It has been a fulfilling period of missions work and church planting, none of which could have been accomplished without the love and grace of our Lord prevailing among the membership. This ministry would have been impossible without team work as it is intimately interwoven with the lives and work of many people. It is deeply reassuring and extremely exciting to know that the church's character in its establishment was a wonderful illustration of team work that continues to reflect in its present reputation. Rightly, the achievements of Mr Apea will always be remembered. He is a remarkable and exceptionally generous man, and his dogged persistence was of huge importance in the initial stages. But by himself he would never have achieved the goal of bringing together the Ghanaian community, and others from diverse cultures, and watch them evolve into an extraordinary congregation of believers.

We pay homage, not only to the Apeas and the effective teams that ignited the flames of church planting, and that still exist throughout the Pentecost family, but the encouragement we receive in our own team work.

New premises:

In 2006, the Church acquired a significant landed property in the northern suburbs of Paris. It has been converted into a multi-complex sanctuary that provides services to an international congregation. It also serves as resource centre to the more than twenty Church of Pentecost assemblies spread across France.

Looking ahead:

The faith and courage of our members have proven more than adequate to overcome every obstacle. God alone knows the far-reaching impact of the church on the lives of individuals and families, both in the past and in years to come. The possibilities are so great! As we move forward, may we accept the challenges, constantly express gratitude to the Lord for the diversity of human life, and hope that our vision of the Gospel will be enlarged, in the faithful certainty that the Church might be ever more an example of what it means to be truly human in His image.

Our beliefs : What the Church believes in as her core values. This includes a declaration of Principle and Purpose Statement.

Believer's baptism : What is it and why people should be baptized.

Prayer & Worship : Concept of prayer and why we worship.

The Pentecost family : What is this family of believers?

The theme of the year : Scripture to meditate on throughout the year.

Church structure : How the Church is run. Includes, Trustees, Council, COPF ministries & their administrators, Pastoral Staff, oversight committees etc.

History : An account of the naissance and growth of the COP in France.

Pastoral staff : Personal perspective.

Volunteer appreciation : paying homage to volunteer workers in mission work.