Dunwell Methodist Church marks 20 years of ministry
The Dunwell Methodist Church at Atekyem, in the Koforidua Circuit of the Methodist Church Ghana, has marked its 20th anniversary, celebrating two decades of ministry, spiritual growth and service to the Christian community.
The church said the celebration offered a chance to look back on its journey from a small Bible class established in 2006 to a thriving congregation with notable achievements in both infrastructure and spiritual life while renewing its commitment to spreading the Gospel and serving society.
In a statement issued to mark the occasion, the Society said it had grown out of the Wesley Cathedral Bible Class, which used to meet at the residence of the late Lawyer Owusu under the leadership of Sister Elizabeth Obeng Yeboah.
Following consultations with the leadership of Wesley Cathedral, then headed by the Very Rev. Mpere Gyekye, Synod approved the elevation of the Bible class into a full Society in 2006.
The statement said the first church service was held on July 2, 2006, at Soul’s Harbour Academy in Atekyem, officiated by the late Rev. Joseph Kwasi Gyimah. The inaugural service drew 43 worshippers 10 men, 12 women and 21 youth and children — with attendance growing steadily in the weeks that followed.
An interim leadership team, headed by Sister Elizabeth Obeng Yeboah as caretaker, was set up to oversee the affairs of the newly formed Society.
The statement said the leadership made securing a permanent place of worship a priority, which led to the acquisition of a parcel of land at Atekyem. A five-member building committee was later inaugurated in April 2009 to complete documentation on the land and oversee construction of the Church’s chapel.
A sod-cutting ceremony for the project was held on March 14, 2010, performed by the then Diocesan Bishop, Rt. Rev. Frederick Nnuro, assisted by the Very Rev. Darko Yawson, Rev. K. K. Sarpong, Rev. Anna Obeng Ameyibor and Rev. Godfred K. Obeng Nyame.
Construction of the chapel was carried out by Unique Engineering Enterprise, under the management of the Very Rev. Obeng Nyame.
The Society credited the project’s steady progress to the generosity and commitment of its members, friends and benefactors, particularly those whose contributions made it possible to roof the building.
According to the statement, the Church went without a resident minister until 2012, when Rev. Anna Obeng Ameyibor was posted there.
She was succeeded in turn by Rev. Emmanuel Attah Mensah, the Very Rev. Godfred K. Obeng Nyame, Rev. Lawrence Osei Danso Bosompem, the Very Rev. Dr K. M. F. Obuo Dadzie, and the current resident minister, Rev. Isaac Yao Boamah.
Over the past 20 years, the statement said, the Church had acquired three parcels of land, built a chapel and Sunday school hall now nearing completion, put up a one-unit accommodation facility, and secured registration and gazetting of its chapel for the solemnisation of marriages.
Despite these achievements, the Society named membership turnover, encroachment on church lands and the lack of a manse for resident ministers as the main challenges it continued to face.
The Church expressed gratitude to God, to Wesley Cathedral, its founding members, past and present resident ministers, and its members, friends and benefactors, for their unwavering support and sacrifices over the years, and prayed for God’s continued guidance and blessing as it looked ahead to greater growth and impact.
BY TIMES REPORTER
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