The Ministers’ Handbook

By Sam Korankye Ankrah

Many have expressed the need for a pastors’ and ministers’ handbook which will serve as a guide for conducting various social functions in the manner in which Royalhouse Chapel does them. This book is intended to meet that need. Its timeliness and importance lie in two basic facts: first, the scarcity of contemporary resources for weddings, funerals, and other occasions; second, the opportunities offered to pastors, ministers and deacons to reach out and minister to friends, families and loved ones of people who are wedded, bereaved or ordained. Very few occasions offer such great opportunities for a harvest of souls and pastoral care as do weddings, funerals and the other social functions that are covered in this book. On such occasions, people open their hearts to the Spirit of God in ways they have never done before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781534728820

Book preview

churches.

Royalhouse Chapel International will hereafter be referred to as Royalhouse Chapel throughout this book.

1.1THE BIBLE

We believe in the divine inspiration and authority of the Holy Scripture as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…

1.2THE ONE TRUE GOD

We believe in the existence of the one true God, Elohim, who is the Creator and the Maker of the whole universe; indefinable, but revealed as the triune Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

1.3MAN’S DEPRAVED NATURE

We believe that for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). As a result of the sinfulness or depravity of humanity, every human being is subject to eternal damnation.

1.4JESUS THE SAVIOUR

We believe that human sinfulness and the inability of the human race to satisfy the demands of a just and holy God made divine intervention imperative. God, because of His great love for humanity, made the world redeemable and reconcilable through the vicarious death of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. By virtue of his deity, virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection and physical ascension into heaven, Jesus Christ qualifies as the Saviour and mediator of humanity.

1.5REPENTANCE, JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION

We believe that repentance of sin and faith in the vicarious death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the only means by which human beings can be accepted, justified and sanctified before God.

1.6BAPTISM AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues. We also believe in the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-11).

1.7THE SACRAMENTS OF WATER BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER

We believe in the sacrament of water baptism by immersion, on the clear testimony of a convert who has attained the age of accountability and has genuinely been born-again. We do not believe in infant baptism but we fully subscribe to the blessing and dedication of children to the Lord. We also believe in the sacrament of the Eucharist, which is the celebration of the Holy Communion by all those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour.

1.8LIFE AFTER DEATH

We believe in life after death and the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved (see Act 24:15). We believe that the saved will experience the Resurrection of Life but the unsaved will experience the Resurrection of Damnation.

1.9TITHE AND OFFERINGS

We believe that faithfulness to God through tithes and offerings, releases His supernatural blessings upon the cheerful giver (Malachi 3:10).

1.10DIVINE HEALING

We believe in divine healing as a vital part of the atonement of Jesus Christ. Although the church encourages its members to seek medical attention from qualified medical practitioners, we also acknowledge the healing power of God and actively pray for the physical, psychological and spiritual healing of those who need it.

2.1INTRODUCTION

The Apostle General, Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah was born on 23rd February, 1960 to the late Mr. J. O. Ankrah and Madam Victoria Ziddah. As a devoted Christian who dearly loved the Lord, Madam Ziddah had a great and positive influence on young Samuel’s spiritual life. Consequently, when he gained admission into Saint John’s Grammar School in 1974, he became an active member of the Scripture Union. That same year, he encountered the Lord in a very real and powerful way at the Scripture Union and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and personal Saviour. Since then, he has been on fire for the Lord.

2.2THE DIVINE ENCOUNTER

The spiritual foundation and vision upon which Royalhouse Chapel was established was given to the Apostle General in a divine encounter in Holland on the 19th of June, 1991. In that encounter, the Lord arrested him and totally changed the course of his life.

Recounting his experience, Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah stated:

The visitation occurred at 2:00 am; I was fast asleep when suddenly I heard persistent knocks on my door. I woke up, thinking it was my Indian landlord who had come to harass me at that ungodly hour for his rent which was overdue. To my surprise, when I opened the door, no one was there. With a sigh of relief, I went back to bed. My sleep was interrupted a second time that night. This time, I felt a human hand touch and wake me up. To my amazement when I awoke, there was no one in the room. I however felt an unusual presence and knew instinctively that the effective, tangible and supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit had invaded my apartment. While pondering the experience, I suddenly heard the audible voice of God call my name. When I responded, He instructed me to pray; for the next three hours I was enveloped in an atmosphere of fervent prayer and supplication amidst tears.¹

I did not know exactly why I was weeping or what had prompted the profuse tears in the first place. In retrospect, three things come to mind. First of all, I had missed my wife and two children – Nana Akos and Paapa – and was greatly concerned that for a whole year, I had not been able to remit them adequately because of the hostile conditions that confronted me in Holland. Secondly, my aspirations for travelling to Holland to further my education had not been realized; I was still doing menial jobs and working from hand to mouth. Thirdly, God was dealing with me seriously and making me aware that I had placed my desires and ambitions ahead of His. The Holy Spirit convicted me of the fact that I had been disobedient to God’s call upon my life and taken His grace and mercies for granted.

Hence for three hours (from 2:00am to 5:00am), I wept and prayed my heart out, asking for forgiveness and divine enablement. I also pleaded with God to empower me to fulfill His mission for my life. I needed supernatural grace to return to Ghana and continue from where I had left off as an evangelist and revivalist. Right there and then, I rededicated my life to the Lord. My greatest desire from that moment forward was to do His will and offer Him unreserved obedience.

Around 5:00am, God spoke to him again audibly and directed him to read the Bible. He did not know exactly where to turn to, but as he picked his Bible, it flipped open to 1 Timothy 3:1 which immediately engaged his attention. It states: This is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work… As he read this verse of scripture which he was already conversant with, it ministered to him powerfully like never before. He felt a strong impression that God was calling him into full-time ministry. In his own words:

I cannot forget what I felt that day when I read 1 Timothy 3:1. Although I knew it very well and could easily quote it from memory, the impact it made on me that day was totally unprecedented. It was as though the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had physically appeared and spoken those words directly to me. I knew without a doubt that the Lord was calling me into full-time ministry and that I had to abandon my secular ambitions of pursuing law and politics in favour of propagating the gospel.

The Apostle General’s conviction was confirmed almost immediately, when the Lord spoke to him audibly for the third time that night and instructed him to return to Ghana without delay and establish Royalhouse Chapel International.

2.3THE VISION AND MISSION OF ROYALHOUSE CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL

The Apostle General’s divine mandate was clearly communicated to him by God in a three-fold vision:

1.Bring people into my presence through prayer, praise and worship.

2.Preach messages of hope that are relevant to the spiritual and physical needs of people.

3.Bring comfort to my people and provide them with a place and an atmosphere of love, care, sharing, and fellowship.

His firm belief was that by following this vision closely, he would succeed in affecting his generation positively with the love and power of God. Thus Touching Our Generation with the Power of God became the theological paradigm or mission statement of Royalhouse Chapel. Having followed his God-given vision closely, passionately and unswervingly for over two decades, the Apostle General has significantly affected the lives of many people, including street children, ex-convicts, drug addicts, commercial sex workers, single parents, homeless people, widows and widowers as well as vulnerable senior citizens.

His philanthropic initiatives include a Scholarship Foundation for needy but intelligent students. Beneficiaries of this Foundation range from primary school pupils to post graduate students. Through his televised ministry, Power in His Presence, his daily radio broadcast, Powerline, his live streaming, podcasts, print, electronic and digital media, the Apostle General ministers God’s Word and mediates the power of God to millions of people in Ghana and abroad on a daily basis. The remarkable testimonies of countless people whose lives, marriages, businesses, financial situations and dire conditions have been transformed by his ministry bear abundant witness and proof of his calling. Francis G. Ndoo, the editor of a Ghanaian Christian magazine made the following observation of the impact of the Apostle General’s ministry in Ghana and abroad:

[Royalhouse Chapel] is a life-transforming church where sin is openly rebuked and the works of the devil are destroyed through the power of God. In Royalhouse Chapel, the battle line in the heavens are drawn, as members constantly engage in spiritual warfare through prayer and fasting, thus ensuring that deliverance of Satan’s captives is a daily experience. Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah, who is the [Apostle General] of the Royalhouse Chapel Group of Churches, reflects an explosive swiftness and brilliance of God’s glory and power. He is of a truth proving his call to fulltime ministry. If you are in doubt of the authenticity of prophetic utterances in these last days, call on Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah. He’s a rare gem in the art of prophecy and interpretation of dreams. He is God’s gift to the Church in our generation.²

The Apostle General’s success story and that of Royalhouse Chapel hinges on his absolute sterling integrity and honesty, his dedication and devotion to his God-given vision, his consuming passion for God and compassion for humanity as well as his constant, unwavering desire to make God and Christianity real and experiential. In fact it has been observed that all over the world, there are myriads of people who applaud the dynamic, exuberant, expressive and experiential nature of worship in Royalhouse Chapel.³ This kind of worship, according to I. M. Lewis, is the greatest of the three cornerstones of religion.⁴ The emphasis which Royalhouse Chapel places on spiritual experience by making it an integral part of normal Christian life and worship is one of the cardinal reasons why its influence has been massive and monumental globally and in Africa in particular.⁵

2.4BRIEF HISTORY OF ROYALHOUSE CHAPEL INTERNATIONAL

When the Apostle General returned to Ghana in November 1992, he resumed his leadership of Showers of Blessing Incorporated, the Evangelistic Ministry he had established in 1984. It is worthy of note that before his arrival, he had asked his wife, the Rev. Mrs. Rita Korankye Ankrah (affectionately called Mama Rita) to start Sunday service with members of Showers of Blessing who were then available. Twelve (12) adults and twelve (12) children attended the first Sunday service. Upon his arrival, the Apostle General named the church Bible Worship Center (BWC) and later modified it in August 1994 to International Bible Worship Centre (IBWC). However in March 1999, there was another development when the IBWC Governing Council had its annual meeting. An