The Methodist Church Ghana is one of the largest and oldest Protestant denominations

Christian denomination

A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...

 in Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. It traces its roots back to the landing of Rev. Joseph Dunwell on 1 January 1835 in Cape Coast

Cape Coast

Cape Coast, or Cabo Corso, is the capital of the Central Region of Ghana and is also the capital city of the Fante people, or Mfantsefo. It is situated 165 km west of Accra on the Gulf of Guinea. It has a population of 82,291 . From the 16th century the city has changed hands between the...

, Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

. Rev. Thomas Birch Freeman, another missionary, emerged as the father of Methodism

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 in West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

, taking the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 message beyond Cape Coast to the Ashanti Kingdom, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, and other parts of the region.

After serving as a district in the British Methodist Conference

Methodist Church of Great Britain

The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...

, the Methodist Church Ghana attained full independence on July 28, 1961. It adopted an episcopal

Episcopal polity

Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...

 structure at the Koforidua

Koforidua

Koforidua, also popularly known as Kof-town, is a city in the West African republic of Ghana, about an hour by road from Accra. It is the capital of the Eastern Region of Ghana and has a population of 87,315 ....

 Conference in August 1999. Currently, the Methodist Church Ghana has 15 diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s headed by bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s. Between 2003 and March 2008, 406 new congregations

Church Body

A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...

 were started and ministry was initiated in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...

.

The current Presiding Bishop

Presiding Bishop

The Presiding Bishop is an ecclesiastical position in some denominations of Christianity.- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America :The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the chief ecumenical officer of the church, and the leader and caretaker for the bishops of the...

 is the Most Reverend

Most Reverend

The Most Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures.*In the Roman Catholic Church , all bishops are styled "The Most Reverend", as well as monsignors of the rank of protonotary apostolic de numero.*In the Roman Catholic Church , archbishops are styled "The...

 Prof Emmanuel Asante, the third presiding bishop and the tenth person to lead the Methodist Church Ghana. The administrative bishop is the Right Reverend

Right Reverend

The Right Reverend is a style applied to certain religious figures.*In the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain it applies to bishops except that The Most Reverend is used for archbishops .*In some churches with a...

 Kow B. Egyir, and the lay president is Araba Ata Sam.

Presidents and Presiding Bishops of the Methodist Church Ghana

Francis C.F. Grant (1961–1966)

T. Wallace Koomson (1966–1973)

Charles K. Yamoah (1973–1977)

C. Awotwi Pratt (1977–1979)

Samuel B. Essamuah (1979–1984)

C. Awotwi Pratt (2nd time) (1984–1985)

Jacob S.A. Stephens (1985–1990)

Kwesi A. Dickson

Kwesi Dickson

Kwesi Abotsia Dickson was a priest, theologian, author and academic. He was the 7th President of the Methodist Church Ghana and a professor at the University of Ghana, Legon.-Early life and education:...

(1990–1997)

Samuel Asante Antwi (last president and 1st presiding bishop) (1997–2003)

Robert Aboagye-Mensah (2003–2009)

Emmanuel Asante (2009–present)