Prophetism and Evangelism in Africa - Emancipate or Servitude?

Presented at the Conference of World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), Arusha –

Tanzania from March 8 to March 13, 2018.

By
Christian Tsekpoe

Introduction
Even though the growth of Christianity in Africa has been characterised by different success
stories, it has also been inundated with different challenges that need to engage the attention
of both Christian leaders and scholars. One of such issues is the emphasis on inquiry into the
supernatural. Whether positively or negatively, it has been recognized that inquiry into the
supernatural is key to ministry among Africans.1 It must be emphasised that the belief in the
reality of the spirit world in Africa does not belong to antiquity. It is a current and ongoing
phenomenon that needs to be given much attention. Claudia Wahrisch-Oblau contends that
the beliefs in demons, spirits, witchcraft and sorcery should “no longer be understood as
backward superstitions to be shamefully hidden in international exchanges, but as a topic
worthy of research, reflection, and pastoral action.”2 In line with the objective of this warsha
(workshop), this presentation, intends to evaluate the roles and challenges of prophetism in
evangelism in Africa. It will also discuss ways by which Christian leaders and scholars in
Africa, and among African Christians in the diaspora, can respond effectively to the African
concept of the spirit world in order to meet the spiritual needs of the growing African
Christian communities, without compromising biblical truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

African Spirit World

The African spiritual world begins with a hierarchy of spiritual forces that posits that the
intersection of all the spirits derive their ultimate source and power from the Supreme Being.
The Supreme Being has different names among the various tribes in Africa. For example, the
Akans (Ghana) call Him Onyankopong, or Onyame. In Yoruba (Nigeria), He is called
Oludumare or Olurun whiles the Igbos (Nigeria) call him Chukwu. Mende (in parts of Liberia
and Sierra Leone) call Him Ngewe and the Ewes (in parts of Ghana and Togo) call Him

1
Opoku Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism: Witchcraft and Demonology in Ghana, (Blandford: Deo, 2012), xii.
2
Claudia Wahrisch-Oblau, “Towards a Protestant Ministry of Deliverance Experiences, Insights and Reflections
from a Process of the UEM Community” A paper presented to report the outcome of the United Evangelical
Mission (UEM) dialogue on deliverance issues between 2010 and 2014.
1
Mawu. The Ngombe people of Congo identify Him as Akongo, whilst the Baganda people of
Uganda refer to the Supreme Being as Katonda. He is referred to as Leza in some East
African countries, including Zambia, Tanzania and upper Congo.3 All these names portray the
Supreme or God as one who is greater than all. He is the Creator, the only supplier of grace.
He is the final arbiter of justice. It is also conceived among some tribes in Africa that
people’s sins compelled the Supreme Being to withdraw from the reach of humans. This
implies that He is transcendent rather than immanent. As a result, it is believed that the
Supreme Being has delegated his powers to the abosom (Akan name for the lesser deities
which are believed to inhabit inanimate objects like rocks, mountains, water bodies, trees,
etc.). There is also the belief in fetishism, nature’s power, forest monster, dwarfs or fairies
and ancestors. These beings and forces were originally not considered evil in Africa. The
lesser gods for example, were considered to be servants of the Supreme Being and could be
consulted for protection, prognostication and divine guidance. Fetishes were also used for
protection, fertility and productivity, whiles the ancestors were considered as custodians of
the land of the living.

Africans also knew what ‘evil forces’ were and dealt with what they considered life-
threatening forces before Christianity was introduced to them. The belief in spirit forces,
including witchcraft, is reflected in various aspects of life in the African society, including
the celebration of festivals and observance of rites of passage. It also reflects in their
economic life, leadership formation, governance and religion. These beliefs are
communicated in music, stories, myths, poetry, proverbs, prayers and day-to-day activities. It
was generally believed that the traditional priest or native doctor is able to prepare fetishes in
the form of talismans, charms or other traditional medicines that can be given to a person to
drink or rubbed on the body to strengthen the personality spirit of a client who seeks
protection from evil forces. In Ghana for example, the Odomankoma (giver of grace) group
and subsequently, the numerous anti-witchcraft shrines such as Tigare, Tongo, Kankamea,
Kune, Kwaku Firi, Kwasi Kukuro, Mframa, Abirewa, Hwemeso, Akonedi, etc., were places
where people could go for protection, productivity, prosperity and spiritual power.4 These
shrines as well as the priests who were in charge, were revered and respected by the African

3
See Mibiti J. S. Concepts of God in Africa (London: SPCK, 1970); Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, pp. 2012,
31-46; Anim, The One True God, A Paper Presented on Heads Meeting of The Church of Pentecost, Ghana in
November 2017.
4
See Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 2012, pp. 47-74
2
until Western Christianity emerged and challenged the legitimacy of the gods and their
priests.

Cosmological basis of prophetism in Africa

At the beginning of modern Christian mission in Africa, it was apparent that both Western
missionaries and scholars did not have adequate understanding of the African spirit world,
they could therefore not provide theological framework for addressing the concept of spiritual
powers in Africa. Rather, they tried to dismiss the belief in witchcraft and such evil forces
and explained them as superstitious. The missionaries, however, introduced the biblical
concept of Satan and demons to African Christians. They also presented Africans’ belief in
lesser deities, fetishism, forest monster, dwarfs and ancestors, as demonic. This therefore,
increased the fear of spiritual powers among the people of Africa. Meanwhile, the
missionaries were unable to provide authentic solutions to these life-threatening fears and as
a result, African Christians found a way of integrating the belief in spirit forces, from African
perspective, into their Christian beliefs and practices, in culturally relevant ways.5

Current trends in African Christianity makes it clear that Western missionaries’ approach to
spiritual powers was unable to dispel the belief in the existence of witchcraft and other spirit
forces in Africa. It rather reinforced the belief and increased the fears of the African people.
Describing the situation in Ghana for example, Rev. Fr. John Kirby, a Catholic priest and
anthropologist, asserts that “violence emanating from witchcraft beliefs permeates Ghanaian
life. Despite a Christian presence in northern Ghana for more than a century, witchcraft
accusations persist there and, by all accounts, are increasing.”6 He rightly contends that
unlike in the West, nothing is more threatening in Africa than the threat of witchcraft. 7
Kirby’s assertion is tenable because the perceptions of witchcraft in other parts of Africa
seems to be similar to that of Ghana. For example, Stephen Rasmussen observes that
“witchcraft accusations are a fatal epidemic in Tanzania, leading to an average of ten murders
per week.”8 On his part, Philip Gibbs contends that “thousands of Kinshasa’s orphans have
been accused of causing the death of their own parents through witchcraft, the accusations

5
See Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 2012, 93-107
6
John Kirby, “Toward a Christian Response to Witchcraft in Northern Ghana,” International Bulletin of
Missionary Research 39/1 (2015): 19–22.
7
Kirby, “Toward a Christian Response to Witchcraft in Northern Ghana,” 19–22.
8
Stephen Rasmussen, with Hannah Rasmussen, “Healing Communities,” International Bulletin of Missionary
Research 39/1:12–18.
3
frequently endorsed by pastors, and the accused children often abandoned to the streets.”9
The situation in other African countries is not any different from these nations mentioned
above. I watched a YouTube video where a popular Nigerian preacher physically slapped a
young girl in church for denying that she was a witch10. Opoku Onyinah therefore points out
that all classes of people in the African society seek protection from witches. These include
the rich, the poor, the illiterate, the literate, “pagans,” and Christians.11

The case of witchcraft accusation and the concept of the spirit world, among Africans in the
diaspora, seems to be quite similar to those in their home countries. The Premium Times, an
online newspaper, reported on October 12, 2015 that the rise in cases of witchcraft allegations
and persecutions in the UK has been attributed to the activities of African churches in the
country.12 Also, on February 18, 2018, the Independent, a UK newspaper reports of several
abuses emanating from witchcraft belief in the United Kingdom. Many of such cases were
among the African diaspora. One of such reports was about Victoria Climbié. She was born
in Cote d’Ivoire and brought to live with her great-aunt, Marie-Therese Kouao in the UK.
The newspaper reports that two pastors supported Victoria’s aunt’s claim that the girl was
evil. One of the pastors offered to “fast on Victoria’s behalf and pray for [her] deliverance
from witchcraft, bad luck and everything bad or evil”. The newspaper further reports that
“Days later, Victoria died after being starved for days while tied up in a black plastic bag
with her hands and feet bound, lying in her own excrement without heating, between being
beaten and burned”. Kouao and her boyfriend Manning, who abused the girl, were found
guilty of murder and jailed for life.13

The newspaper further reports the abuse and murder of other children including Kristy Bamu,
a 15-year-old boy who stayed with her sister Magalie Bamu who lived with her partner Eric
Bikubiwho all from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kristy died on December, 25
(Christmas Day) in 2010 after being tortured and drowned in a bath. He was accused of

9
Philip Gibbs, “Beyond the Fence,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 39/1 (2015): 12–18.
10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDwRmV8uj-M Assessed on 21/02/2018, 1:00 GMT
11
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 58.
12
Ben Ezeamalu “Nigerian churches, others causing increased witchcraft persecution in UK – Group”Premium
Times. Assessed from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/191396-nigerian-churches-others-
causing-increased-witchcraft-persecution-in-uk-group.html on 21/02/2018, 11:00 GMT
13
Lizzie Dearden, “We must act before another child is killed': Warning over abuse linked to witchcraft and
possession beliefs in UK” Independent Assessed from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/witchcraft-
possession-child-abuse-murders-warning-figures-spirits-faith-belief-action-call-a8214196.html on 20/02/2018.
4
putting spells on a younger child. The report indicates that “Kristy was singled out after
wetting his pants and his siblings were starved of food and water for three days and nights
while praying for “deliverance”. The report further indicates that “His sisters, aged 20 and 11,
were also beaten but escaped further attacks after “confessing” to being witches”.14

Girish Daswani’s experience with The Church of Pentecost in London is another example. He
indicated from observations and conversations he had with members of London PIWC15 that
“The biggest witches and wizards are to be found in the church.” He narrated an incident he
witnessed during the “celebration of a church elder’s baby”. He recounted:
I was curiously surprised when some women politely refused to eat any of the food that was
served. The new mother looked uncomfortable but did not say anything and, instead, turned
on some Ghanaian gospel music. People got up to dance, helping to break the awkward
silence. Later when I asked a church friend why these women had not eaten any of the food,
she whispered back in a hushed manner that some church members suspected that our host,
the baby’s mother, might be a witch.16

It is obvious that, whether at home or abroad, African Christians are very sentient of witches
and demons. Even though this belief is deeply embedded in the various African worldviews,
it continues to be fueled by other sources, including the teachings of some Third-Wave
theologians and other demonologists, such as Peter Wagner,17 Charles Kraft,18 Derek
Prince,19 Watchman Nee,20 Rebecca Brown,21 Iyke Nathan Uzorma,22 Isaac Owolabi
O’biyi,23 etc. In recent times, confessions of people who claim to be demon possessed during
deliverance services24 as well as African movies, especially, those of Nigerian origin have
also become sources from which African Christians derive their belief in demons and other
spiritual forces. It is generally believed that demons are fallen angels who “assume a

14
Dearden, “We must act before another child is killed”, 2018.
15
The full meaning of PIWC is Pentecost International Worship Centre. It is a ministry of the Church of
Pentecost, a Classical Pentecostal Church with its headquarters in Ghana. The aims of establishing the PIWCs is
to provide a cross-cultural churches for the ‘new generation’ members of the church who are interested in
worshipping God in Western kind of cultures.
16
Girish Daswani, Looking Back, Moving Forward: Transformation and Ethical Practice in the Ghanaian
Church of Pentecost (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2015), 155.
17
Peter Wagner, Confronting the Powers: How the New Testament Church Experienced the Power of Strategic
Level Spiritual Warfare (Ventura: Regal, 1996).
18
Charles Kraft, Defeating Dark Angels: Breaking Demonic Oppression in the Believer’s Life (Kent: Sovereign
World, 1993).
19
Derick Prince, Spiritual Warfare (New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1987).
20
Watchman Nee, The Spiritual Man (in Three Volumes) (New York: Christian Fellowship, 1977).
21
Rebecca Brown, Prepare for War (Springdale: Whitaker House, 1987).
22
Uzorma Iyke Nathan, Occult Grandmaster Now in Christ (Benin City: Osabu, 1993).
23
Isaac Owolabi O’biyi, Deliverance from 80 types of Witchcraft (Lagos: Holy Grace Concept, 2012).
24
These confessions are live telecast on different television channels on daily bases.
5
hierarchy of powers, with greater and lesser ranks, having specific geographical
assignments.”25 One therefore needs to engage in spiritual warfare to be able to break from
such spiritual powers and be set free.

To be effective in spiritual warfare, some churches and parachurch movements in Africa have
set up prayer groups to deal with these life-threatening forces.26 Some of these prayer groups
developed into prophetic/ deliverance ministries and prayer camps in some mainline historic,
as well as some Pentecostal churches. All these groups aim at fighting spiritual powers that
are believed to work against the progress of individuals, organizations, and societies. Birgit
Meyer observed that Pentecostals “share an elaborate discourse on the Devil and demons, and
offer rituals during which these powers of darkness manifest themselves and are exorcised—a
practice called deliverance.”27 Onyinah compares prayer camps in Africa to divine healing
practices in special healing homes, which were developed in the mid-nineteenth century in
Europe and America, and Prayer Mountains in South Korea.28

To contextualize the African concept of witchcraft and demonology, Onyinah coined the
word “witchdemonology” to “describe the beliefs and practices of deliverance and prophetic
ministries in Africa. Witchdemonology is viewed as a synthesis of the practices and beliefs of
African concept of witchcraft and Western Christian concept of demonology and
exorcism.”29 This term fits better into the African concept of evil powers than the use of
African concept of “witchcraft” or Western concept of “demonology,” in isolation. This is
because, while Africans have formulated their own concept of witchcraft, they have also
accepted the Western concept of demonology, and these terms are sometimes used
interchangeably. Thus, the term witchdemonology better describes the Africans’
understanding of evil powers, which occupies a significant place in prophetic ministries in
Africa.30

Prophetism in African Christianity

As Joseph Quayesi-Amakye observed about prophetism in Ghana’s New Prophetic Churches,

25
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 178.
26
Onyinah, “Principalities and Powers,” 151–52; See also Onyinah, Spiritual Warfare, 14; and Onyinah,
Pentecostal Exorcism, 187.
27
Meyer, “Make a Complete Break with the Past.” Journal of Religion in Africa, 28/3 (1999): 316-343.
28
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 151, 187.
29
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 172.
30
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 171–72.
6
prophetism in Africa is not a new phenomenon. It is practiced differently at different times
with renewed characteristics, to meet the demands of the time.31 It is quite obvious that
prophetism was and continues to be key in the activities of the various Christian traditions in
Africa. These include the African Indigenous Churches (AICs32), renewal groups in the
mainline historic churches, prayer camps within parachurch groups, and classical Pentecostal
churches. In contemporary times, prophetism has taken a center stage in many Pentecostal
services, including the newer independent ministries that Quayesi-Amakye refers to as “New
Prophetic Churches.”33

Concerning the development of prophetism in The Church of Pentecost (CoP) 34 in Ghana for
example, Onyinah observes that although it began from the classical Pentecostal background,
the visit of the Later Rain Team35 from the United States of America to Ghana revived
‘prophetism’ that was lurking within the psyche of Akan Christians. This led to the
emergence of a healing and deliverance ministry within the CoP.36 Some of the activities of
this healing and deliverance ministry, such as the blessing of water, handkerchiefs, crosses,
and crucifixes for clients as well as praying with one’s face to the East, among others, were in
conflict with the practices of the CoP. This brought a kind of clash between the leadership of
the church on one side and the lay prophets and prophetesses on the other side. The
leadership of the church thought that some unscriptural practices that had been
accommodated within the prayer ministry must be stopped. On the other hand, the prophets
also thought that they were not given due recognition in the church. 37 As a result, the CoP

31
Joseph Quayesi-Amakye “Prophetism in Ghana’s New Prophetic Churches”, 163.
32
Also referred to as African Initiated Churches, African Instituted Churches or African Independent Churches.
They are usually referred to as sunsumsore in Ghana. Akan language which literally means ‘spirit churches, also
known as aladura in Nigeria and similar to South Africa’s Zionist churches. See Asamoah-Gyadu, Kwabena
African Charismatics: Current Developments within Independent Indigenous Pentecostalism in Ghana (Leiden:
African Christian Press, 2005).
33
Joseph Quayesi-Amakye “Prophetism in Ghana’s New Prophetic Churches” 162–173.
34
The Church of Pentecost is a Classical Pentecostal Church with its headquarters in Ghana and has branches in
over 90 countries. A church growth survey carried out by the Ghana Evangelism Committee in 1989 and 1993
revealed that the CoP was the fasters growing Christian denomination in Ghana. The Church of Pentecost came
out of the Apostolic Church with headquarters in the UK in 1953. The church was initially called the Gold Coast
Apostolic Church. It later changed its name to Ghana Apostolic Church in 1957 when the country gained
independence. The name was eventually changed to The Church of Pentecost in 1962.
35
The Later Rain Team is an Evangelistic group led by Dr. Wyatt. The group was invited by the Apostolic
Church Gold Coast to help them in an evangelistic outreach in 1953. The after mouths of the visit on the
Apostolic Church were many, including the splitting of the church into Apostolic Church Gold Coast and the
Gold Coast Apostolic Church. The Gold Coast Apostolic Church eventually became The Church of Pentecost in
1962.
36
Onyinah Pentecostal Exorcism, 171 for how prophetism developed in the CoP.
37
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 153–54.
7
severed relationships with some of these prophets/prophetesses who refused to change their
methods.38 These prophetic approaches were not peculiar to the CoP but found their way into
other classical Pentecostal churches in Ghana. For example, Francis Akwasi Amoako and
Vagalas Kanco, who started prayer groups and later turned the groups into churches, were
members of the Assemblies of God church in Ghana.39 It is observed that the inability of the
classical Pentecostal churches to contain the activities of the lay prophets/prophetesses in
their church, was similar to schisms that followed the prophetic ministry in the mainline
historic churches after the evangelistic activities of William Wade Harris along the Coast of
West Africa.40

Again, in the CoP the activities of lay prophets and prophetesses as well as the prayer camps
were suppressed only for them to reemerge later in the church. Onyinah therefore pointedly
argues that until the churches have been able to absorb prophetism41 into their structure, and
offer a theological framework for the operations of healers and exorcists in the African
churches, the prophetic ministry will continue to be a major problem for Christianity in
Africa.42 Departing from anthropological studies that suggest that the ultimate aim of
deliverance ministry in Africa is to become modernized, Onyinah places prophetism or an
inquiry into the supernatural and the search for meaning, at the center of current prophetic/
deliverance ministries.43 Recent developments within Pentecostal/ Charismatic Christianity in
Africa, where prophetism has become a major characteristic of the faith, leading to healing,
deliverance, and exorcism—and in some cases exploitation of innocent people, has made
Onyinah’s argument very important.

Quayesi-Amakye argues that even though genuineness of some of these prophets is in doubt,
reports from these prophetic ministries cannot be treated as a farce. To him, “The problem is
how to get the gullible members of society to stay away from these prophetic charlatans”.44
More problematic, he noted, “Is how to identify the spurious from the genuine, since there is
a thin line between truth and falsehood, and many will go for anything anyway”. 45 I

38
Pentecostal Exorcism, 147–51.
39
Pentecostal Exorcism, 173.
40
Pentecostal Exorcism, 156.
41
An Akan word that describes inquiry into the supernatural.
42
Pentecostal Exorcism, 156.
43
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, xii.
44
Quayesi-Amakye “Prophetism in Ghana’s New Prophetic Churches”, 172.
45
Quayesi-Amakye “Prophetism in Ghana’s New Prophetic Churches”, 173.
8
personally watched a video of Rev. Dr. Joshua Talena of Shepherd’s House Assembly,
Nigeria being carried in a plastic chair and held up by strong men whiles he pronounced the
prophetic declarations upon the congregation.46 Another example is Prophet Daniel Lesogo of
Rabboni Centre Ministries, South Africa, who ordered his congregation to eat grass. The
prophet started by telling the congregation that if Jesus could turn water into wine, then he
(the prophet) could also give them food from above. He then commanded them “Wake up!
Stand up! Attention! Ok I see food outside, go and eat outside!” At this command, hundreds
of congregants rushed out of the church room and started eating the grass at the compound of
the church premises whiles the prophet continued to give orders, “eat quickly because there is
limited time. After the incident, the Daily Mail reported that a 21-year-old law student said
she had been battling with sore throat for more than a year, but it was healed after eating the
grass. The same source, however, disclosed that dozens of people got sick after eating the so-
called spiritual food.47 These and many other suspicious activities that are observed on
different television channels as well as reports from all over the world, call for serious
concern and sincere reflection on the prophetic ministry in Africa.

This is not to say that the prophetic ministry in Africa is unimportant. Rather, it is a call to
pay much attention to this ministry, by examining its strengths and weaknesses. This is
particularly important, taking into consideration Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu’s
observation that it is impossible to have a successful Christian Ministry in Africa unless one
takes spiritual forces, including witchcraft, into consideration.48 Just as the Gospels report
about the crowds in Jesus’ time, it is obvious that multitudes of faith seekers are being
harassed. They look helpless like sheep without shepherd. The need to still heed the call that
the harvest is truly plentiful but the workers are few is still valid today as it was in Jesus’
time.49

Prophetism as a tool for evangelism in African Christianity

As a tool for evangelism, prophetic ministries provide the opportunity for people to oscillate
between African traditional and Christian beliefs and practices, where perceived life-

46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl0TDFdCEtk Assessed on 20/01/2017
47
Jill Reilly, “Lawn again Christians: South African preacher makes congregation eat GRASS to 'be closer to
God'” Mailonline http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537053/Lawn-Christians-South-African-preacher-
makes-congregation-eat-GRASS-closer-God.html#ixzz57b46qsFm: Assessed on 19/02/2018 at 22:47
48
Asamoah-Gyadu, “Witchcraft Accusations and Christianity in Africa,” 23–27.
49
Matthew 9: 36-38.
9
threatening fears could be dealt with through prophetic utterances, healing and exorcism.
Here people are able to express their fears in witchcraft and other life-threatening forces and
seek protection from them. The Prophetic Ministries’ believe in the demonstration of power:
casting out demons and healing diseases, make the movement appealing to the African
society, where evil spirits are considered life-threatening forces responsible for destroying
people’s lives. By fusing African worldviews into biblical concepts and responding to what
the African considers life threatening, contemporary Christian prophetism in Africa is a
demonstration of a local theology that responds to the needs of its people and thereby attracts
many Africans to Christianity. For those who think that ancestral spirits, witches and demons
are hampering their progress in life, they have the opportunity to be ‘exorcised’ or
‘delivered.’ Some people see this way of ‘deliverance’ as cheaper than the expenses incurred
in counselling that will be offered in the Western concept.50 Quayesi-Amakye indicates that
“In a country where access to professional counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrics and medical
personnel is often unavailable or unknown, the prophets provide the needed stopgap services.
Clients/seekers resort to them in times of troubles and difficulties for what they consider to be
spiritual support. Actually, in many cases, prophetic assurances provide psychological support that
helps to calm down confused minds to embrace the future with confidence.” 51

Beyond the argument of cost and availability, it is believed that even what professional
counsellors and psychiatrics could not handle, the power of the Holy Spirit is able to break
through and bring healing. The prayer camps and the prophetic ministries in Africa therefore
become a means by which many people, of different status and class in society become
Christians.52 In a brief description of deliverance services at the Kimara Lutheran Parish, Dar
es Salaam in Tanzania, Claudia Wahrisch-Oblau indicates that the prayer and deliverance
ministry of Rev. Willbroad Mastai, and his team attracts people from different Christian
traditions and Muslims. He observes that “Muslims who have experienced deliverance at
Kimara are regularly baptized in this church”. Wahrisch-Oblau concludes that “The Kimara
parish has grown strongly since the inception of its deliverance ministry: Sunday worship
attendance has more than doubled, and collections quintupled”.53 Also, the visible large
numbers of adherents of the prophetic ministries, which are observable in their services are

50
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism 222.
51
Joseph Quayesi-Amakye “Prophetism in Ghana’s New Prophetic Churches” Journal of the European
Pentecostal Theological Association, 35/2, (October 2015), 173.
52
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism 223.
53
Claudia Wahrisch-Oblau, “Towards a Protestant Ministry of Deliverance Experiences, Insights and
Reflections from a Process of the UEM Community” A paper presented to report the outcome of the United
Evangelical Mission (UEM) dialogue on deliverance issues between 2010 and 2014.
10
 all indications of how prophetic ministries in Africa effectively attract converts to
Christianity and gets them to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.54

Further, the numerous reports and testimonies of healing and deliverance within the prophetic
ministries have challenged the other Christian traditions in Africa to reconsider their beliefs
and practices. Some of the churches that seem to have become complacent and do not care
much about the existential needs of their congregants are forced to find ways of attending to
these needs. Rev. Isaac Batome Henga, the then president of the Evangelical Church of
Cameroon, is reported to have made a profound statement during the United Evangelical
Mission (UEM) General Assembly in 2010:
“I come from a church that prides itself of its theological sophistication. Our pastors are well trained
in theology and historical critical exegesis. But when a member of their congregation comes to them
and asks for help because they are being troubled by demonic forces, they do not know what to say.
Some pastors take compassion. But if they pray for these people to be delivered, my church order
forces me to have them suspended – deliverance is expressively forbidden in my church. Because of
this, many people are running away to Pentecostal churches, or they will seek a fetish priest at night.
This situation is untenable. I believe that the case of my church is not unique, and I ask the UEM to
help us find a better way to deal with this situation.” 55

This statement seems to reflect how the prophetic and deliverance ministries have challenged
the mainline historic denominations to reconsider their theological understanding of the needs
of the African people and respond to the needs of people who are won to Christ. It is worth
noting that Pentecostal and charismatic denominations are also challenged by the activities of
the New Prophetic Ministries in Africa. Joseph Quayesi-Amakye indicates that in order to
hold their church members from leaving the church, some charismatic churches in Ghana,
such as “International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) and Action Chapel International have
had to accommodate special prophetic services in their midst.”56 He also noted that some of
the classical Pentecostal churches had to accommodate the activities of what he calls
‘grassroot prophets’ of prayer centres, for similar reasons57. These ministries attract large
numbers of people to their meetings and help these churches to attract new converts and at
the same time keep their church members. The activities of the prophetic ministries therefore

54
My personal visit and observation at some of these prophetic services. Also, the services of some of the
prophetic ministries are live telecast on the electronic media.
55
In Claudia Wahrisch-Oblau, “Towards a Protestant Ministry of Deliverance Experiences, Insights and
Reflections from a Process of the UEM Community” A paper presented on the outcome of the United
Evangelical Mission (UEM) dialogue on deliverance issues between 2010 and 2014, 1.
56
Joseph Quayesi-Amakye “Coping with Evil in Ghanaian Pentecostalism” Exchange 43 (2014), 255-256.
57
Quayesi-Amakye “Coping with Evil in Ghanaian Pentecostalism”, 256.
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serve as an important tool for evangelism in Africa since it seems to communicate the
Christian message meaningfully to the African in a context they can understand.

Prophetism as a hinderance to evangelism in African Christianity.

In spite of the positive impact of the prophetic ministry in Africa, it is obvious that the
ministry has given opportunity to charlatans and unemployed who have strong personalities
to easily claim spiritual encounters and exploit innocent people.58 Allan Anderson observes
that the message of power has become, in many instances, an occasion for the exploitation of
those who are at their weakest.59 Roger Hedlund therefore, calls Pentecostals’ attention to the
need for critical evaluation of evangelistic ministries that lead to self-aggrandizement and
financial gain of the preacher, often at the expense of the poor.60 The uncritical approach
adopted by both proponents and adherents of this ministry encourage dubious people to
deceive others with their exaggerated and sometimes, fabricated testimonies. People who
attempt to challenge some of the testimonies are branded as sceptics because the words of the
prophet is considered to be God’s words and should not be questioned. The major problem
with this is that such prophets can lead genuine people to doom, just like the massacre of over
780 members of the Church of the Ten Commandments in Uganda in the year 2000 and other
cult-inspired deaths elsewhere in the world.61

By their actions and utterances, many of the proponents of these prophetic ministries fail to
recognize the sovereignty of God, which is demonstrated through His supremacy over all
spiritual powers, including Satan and his cohort. Some deliverance ministers in Africa, do not
understand the place of misfortune in life, and as such, they give too much attention to the
demonic.62 It is evident from the Bible that not all misfortunes are caused by demons and
witches, as is being portrayed in these ministries.63 Onyinah agrees with Anderson’s
observation that, in some Pentecostal circles, a theology of success and power is expounded
at the expense of a theology of the cross. The Spirit is seen as a quick-fix solution to human
distress and want. There is a tendency to belittle the role of suffering in the lives of those

58
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism 227.
59
Allan Anderson, Introduction to Pentecostalism, Global Charismatic Christianity (Maryknoll, NY:
Cambridge University Press, 2004), 212.
60
Hedlund, Critique of Pentecostal Mission, 87.
61
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism 230.
62
Onyinah, Spiritual Warfare, 15–17; Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 255–59.
63
Onyinah, Spiritual Warfare, 16–17.
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Christian believers whose needs seem to remain unanswered.64 Research has shown that
some of the symptoms taken as witchcraft or spirit possession can be explained by medical
sciences. For examples, seizures may be symptoms for epilepsy. Personality changes can be
psychological malfunctions or mental disorders such as hysteria, schizophrenia or paranoia.
Habitual behaviours, such as sexual desire, anger tantrum and extreme quietness may be
temperamental traits or associated with past memories. In such cases repeated deliverance
worsen the person’s condition.65

Again, just like the traditional anti-witchcraft shrines in Africa, the method by which people
are accused of witchcraft by some of these prophets is very subjective and can give room for
the accusation of innocent persons. Meanwhile, the inhuman treatment given to some of the
victims considered either as witches or people who need deliverance, shows that these
practices are used as a tool of oppression of the poor—the very people Christianity is
supposed to help. Accusations of witchcraft relinquish people from acknowledging the
responsibility for their wrongdoing, their sins and their inadequacies, and putting them on
someone else, often a poor person, who becomes the enemy of the whole community. Yet
the Christians claim to support the oppressive and the poor in society. 66 Quayesi-Amakye
contends that “The persistent patronage of prophetic meetings and overdependence on
prophetic direction creates inaction, laziness and stifles clients’ innovation and initiative to
confront life head on.”67 This is quite dangerous and unhealthy for the growth of the church
and the development of our communities because once people do not take responsibility for
their own carelessness and weaknesses, it is not possible to take pragmatic actions to
overcome such weaknesses.

Conclusion
The complex problems that one encounters in evaluating the prophetic ministry are evident
after considering both the positive and the negative effects. On one hand, it takes the culture
of the people into consideration, by dealing with related beliefs and life-threatening fears in
their newly acquired faith, through a synthesis of both old and new patterns. It offers the
possibility of approaching in safe context of deliverance what people seek to leave behind but

64
Anderson, Introduction to Pentecostalism, 198.
65
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 226.
66
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism 224–25.
67
Quayesi-Amakye “Prophetism in Ghana’s New Prophetic Churches”, 172.
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still disturbs them. It represents a remarkable contribution to a paradigm shift in Christianity
in Africa. In a way, it is a further attempt to contextualise the gospel to the African people.68

Nevertheless, the assessment of the negative effects makes this ministry very much alarming.
The approach may fit well into African cultural milieu, but the emphasis is a threat to the
progress of Christianity and Christian discipleship in Africa. In spite of their rapid growth, by
their approach, they cannot bring the African out of the fear of witchcraft and other
supernatural powers. There is therefore the need for both scholars and church leaders to
collaborate and provide a theological framework by which the prophetic ministry can be
integrated into the African Christian praxis. This is because the prophetic ministry in Africa
cannot be suppressed. Rather, it is an incomplete ministry, which needs theological analysis
of the spirit-world to complement it.69

68
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism 230.
69
Onyinah, Pentecostal Exorcism, 231.
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