Abstract:
In their article “Pentecostal Mission Approaches” White and Niemandt (2015, 241–
269) make a case for how some Pentecostal Churches in Ghana have made good use
of lay/tent ministry in their missionary agenda. However, among the Classical
Pentecostal Churches in Ghana, lay ministers are not recognised as full-time ministers
of the church. The understanding of these churches is that the lay/tent ministers by
their definition do not operate in the five-fold ministry. In some of the churches, they
are not accredited by the church to be part of their General Ministerial Council
Meetings and the Annual General Meetings. Unlike the mainline churches, the lay or
tent ministers in the Classical Pentecostal Churches in Ghana are also not allowed to
vote or to be recommended for Executive Council positions. These issues therefore
make it essential to investigate the historical and theological understanding of the
concept of the lay and full-time ministers in church history, Ghanaian Pentecostals’
view of the concept, as well as the missional importance of lay ministries in the
church and the missio Dei.
Description:
This article is based on a paper presented at the First African Pentecostal Theologians Association
conference held at Pentecost Theological Seminary, Kasoa, Ghana, from 21–22 November 2017.
