Retirement service has been held in honour of one of the longest-serving and stalwart servants, Rev. Samuel Kofi Abban, and wife, Mrs. Lucy Abban on 1st May 2021 at St. Stephen’s Parish Hall, Dunkwa-Offin in Central Region ‘B’. The ceremony was attended by several dignitaries including the General Superintendent, Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong-Manso who officiated the ceremony with support from the Regional Executives of the region. In attendance were also ministers from the Upper Denkyira East District, Central ‘B’ region, and a host of well-wishers across the length and breadth of the country to grace the ceremony.
Rev. Abban until his retirement was the Head Pastor of Love Assembly of God, Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Upper Denkyira East District of Central Region ‘B’. He served for 41 years in this noble organization and held several positions. The profile below highlights the ministerial works and other experiences of Rev. Samuel Kofi Abban.
PROFILE OF REV. SAMUEL KOFI ABBAN
EARLY LIFE (Birth and Education)
Rev Samuel Kofi Abban is the last of 10 children born on 14th January 1955 to Opanyin Kojo Botwe and Obaapanyin Adwoa Afoah, all of the blessed memory of Apam and Gomoa Ankamu respectively in the Central Region. He began his elementary school in Gomoa Fetteh Local Authority Primary School from 1961-1964. Due to his mother’s illness which sent her to Accra, he had to attend class 4 in a newly established government school at Fadama; the first batch then. He came back to continue from class 5 at Fetteh in 1965. He joined the sixth class the second term and completed with them in August 1971. Due to financial challenges, Rev. Abban had to trap crabs to get money for his school uniform and his fees in the last two years of his elementary school. He had the opportunity to put on sandals to school at the 9th grade (Form 3). As there was no money to continue his education, Rev. Abban was assisted by his elder brother, Frank Sammy Abban who was an employee of Mankoadze Fisheries as a casual worker at the fishing harbor in February 1973.
He was later sent to serve with the Russians as a steward, stayed with them, saved money, and enrolled at Swedru Technical Commercial College in October 1974 to study Electrical Engineering Practice (EEP). In his second year in school, due to his excellence in academic work, he sat for Mathematics and Engineering Science City and Guild, London Institute, and had distinction. He completed it in 1977.
CONVERSION AND CALL INTO THE MINISTRY
Rev. Abban’s conversion and ministry could be termed a mystery. Not until he yielded to the call of God, he never knew his parents anticipated that he would be a minister due to what the mother saw one afternoon during his conception. In class 3, God revealed Himself to him in the classroom. He wept uncontrollably and the whole class didn’t know what was happening to him. He deferred his commitment to the Lord who revealed Himself to him saying “I will worship you when I am 21years”. He started to face death thereafter. He nearly got drowned in the sea when he was in class 3, he also got paralyzed, and nearly died in form 1 but got healed by the Lord’s grace. He got ill again in form 3 burnt with palsy and was miraculously healed by prayers-his first encounter with Pentecostal Church. He stayed out of school for about 6 months but went back and was 2nd in class.
At the age of 21, Jesus once again revealed Himself to him one afternoon. For several months he wept and questioned why an innocent child could defer God’s calling. His constant evangelism led his father to express his feelings concerning him becoming a pastor. He vehemently denied not knowing what the father anticipated about him through the trance of the mother during his conception.
THE CALL INTO MINISTRY AND HINDRANCES
Three years after the Lord revealed Himself to him, it became clear now that the Lord was calling him into the ministry. In doing so, he had to deal with some challenges, being the main person the mother looked to. His wish was to work and build a house for his mother to have a place to lay her head but the Lord said by the time he would be ready to build; the elder brother would have put up the building. The brother built the house whiles he was in School in his 1st year.
For several weeks, Rev. Abban resorted to prayer for confirmation of the call into the ministry. One evening, he was praying fervently in the church when an elderly woman, a member of Gomoa Ankamu Church also entered and started praying in tongues. The woman was speaking clearly in the Russian language and from it, he heard the Lord telling him to go and do His work. The Russians taught him their language when he was with them. Now he had to face the mother, father, and the only brother of the mother who also looked to him to work and support the family.
The mother was worried when he informed her of his intention to get into the ministry and she informed her only brother, Rev. Abban’s uncle, a member of the Church of Pentecost. The uncle Opposing his decision, sent him to his grandfather knowing he, being a Muslim, would oppose his decision, rather said “O leave him for he is going to be God’s linguist”. His father sent him to his paternal grandfather and when he told him, the old man reminded the father of the trance the mother had during the conception of Rev. Abban.
REV. ABBAN ENROLLS AT THE SGBI
Rev. Abban sat under the late Geoffrey Tomtania and wife, the then Gomoa Ankamu pastor. Rev. Geoffrey enrolled him at SGBI in early February 1978. That very year, Rev. Tomtania was transferred to Togo and Rev. Hayford Abaidoo succeeded him. His mother being a baker, Rev. Abban took up the bakery of the college and trained successors and the bakery continued until the college ceased feeding the students.
Rev. Abban completed his diploma in theology on November 18th, 1980, and was given Saltpond pastorate. Because the church was near the Bible college, the students were part of his congregation every Sunday when the School is in a session, of which the current General Superintendent, Assistant General Superintendent, and Professor Kwasi Kyereko, the immediate past president of AGTS, Kormantse, and many others were included. Rev. Abban was one of the first pastors who enrolled for the degree program in the year 2000 at the Southern Ghana Bible College, Kormantse.
MARRIAGE LIFE
On 26th September 1981, Rev. Abban took the late Rev. Appekey’s daughter, Miss. Lucy Debrah, then an account clerk with the State Farms to the altar at Takoradi. By divine providence, Lucy like her husband, Rev. Abban never thought of money in entering the ministry. Lucy has since been a great help to the ministry of Rev. Abban by doing domestic trading. She was very well involved in the ministry of the husband by organizing the women’s ministry where there wasn’t any. She is very prayerful and preaches like the husband. People got filled with the Holy Spirit through her music ministry. She is a great mother and has raised many children. She has been a mother to Central Regional minister’s wives and gained the name, Mama Lucy- very compassionate and caring. Her house has never been occupied by less than ten people and currently, she is taking care of 13 children with 8 of them in the tertiary.
MINISTERIAL WORK
In June 1984, Rev. Abban by the leading of the Lord moved from Saltpond to start a new church at Mankessim, Deliverance Assemblies of God Church with the late Clifford Dodou who later became a pastor and was the first pastor of Victory Assemblies of God, Kasoa. He was nearly stopped by the then Coastal District officials when he informed them that he had only one person as a member. Starting a new church wasn’t easy and his family had to pray for a day’s meal. Every market day, the wife had to glean from the market what the cassava sellers had left. Later North Kaneshie Church came to support them for 2 years from 1986. The wife started to trade with a little loan and started to bake bread which she distributed to many to sell–a move that brought breakthrough, which many pastors and wives benefited from. Also, churches in the Central Region and Greater Accra (Revival Restoration Center A/G, Roman Ridge), was greatly assisted by her bakery business. The wife then started sponsoring the ministry and churches such as Essakyir, Essam, Abiram, Enyanmaim, Ajumako, Enyan Denkyira, Essiam, Kwaakokwaa, Oboaame, and Kromain were planted.
In 1986, he was drawn to the closet for 21 days without food because he was so worried and devastated that one of his Bible College mates, Joseph Sologa should die due to a demonic attack. He came out after the 21 days casting out demons and could be the first pastor who started dealing with demonic cases in Assemblies of God, Ghana. He got people baptized in the Holy Spirit with ease–his demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit reflected the scripture he chose for his graduation ‘Isaiah 61:1-2’ and the name given to Mankessim Church-DELIVERANCE ASSEMBLY OF GOD.
In May 1998 he was transferred to Assin Foso to replace Rev. Felix Tenkorang. His predecessor left behind a large plot of land and a mission house. This helped him to put up a place of worship within a month as by then the church was worshipping under a tent. He laid the foundation for a school on the same plot of land. He planted 8 more churches to the 6 his predecessor left; Assin Manso, Assin Nsuta, Daamang, Akrofuom, Anyinabirim, Akomfodi, Kushea, and Assin Praso.
On 9th May 2002, he fully took over Dunkwa-on-Offin Church to continue with the great work his predecessor Rev. Peter Acheampong did. Within the space of 12 months, he raised the pillars, roofed the church building, and moved the church from the basement to the main auditorium to accommodate the numerical growth of the church. He continued every year with planned projections to raise the edifice as it is seen today including the mission house.
He established a 7-member committee spearheaded by Mrs. Lucy Abban in 2003, with the then deacons, Mr. Appiah Baffoe, Mr. Anthony Bright Amgbo, Mr. Eugen Kwakye, and Mr. Anohene to establish a school. The school started that academic year and it is performing well. The pink uniform was Mrs. Abban’s vision, drew from WM’s pink uniform, probably being a woman, and supplied 50 uniforms freely to the first enrolled students.
Rev. Abban is a church planter and that never left him even though he had to take care of 7 other churches–Opponso, Nsuaem 2, Babianiha, Buabin, Diaso, Maudaso before the arrival of Rev. Baba Assam, and Rev. Nicholas Eshun in the Lord’s vineyard. He planted 11 more churches in addition to that of his predecessor–Mfuom, Attechem, Takyikrom, Dankor, Breman, Asikuma, Mbraem, Kwame Prakrom, Agyempaboa, and Kadadwen – all except the last three have a plot of land.
Rev. Abban’s ministry has not been without challenges. He has often trekked into remote villages, where it is dangerous even during the day due to ritual murders that went on in those places, but sometimes did that in the night. Bruises all over the ankle are the result of a bicycle as a means of mobility. Once, he had an accident with a motorbike on a hill traveling to one of the villages in Assin Foso with one of the deacons. He was also a target for demonic attacks. On November 2nd, 2001, he had a terrible accident of which he should have died as the Lord appeared and told him. He got out of the wheelchair and started using crutches after his encounter with the Lord and was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He mounted the pulpit thereafter without shoes as the foot couldn’t contain it and yet flowed with the power of the Holy Spirit.
In 2003, the Lord sent Rev. Abban with a message to the U.S. Without any letter of invitation, he went to the US Embassy and was given the visa and he has since been frequenting there almost every year and sometimes with the wife. He visits about 5 states in every visit with the help of his host, the former New York Area Deacon, Elder Franklin Yawson, and the wife, Mama Rahab.
POSITION HELD
Rev. Abban has held many positions in the Central Regional Assemblies of God. He was Central Regional Men’s Ministry Rep. in place of Rev. Felix Tenkorang and Mfantsiman District pastor for several years respectively.
He was the first to be appointed the secretary to the Central Regional Assemblies of God to serve with Rev. Joseph Mensah (former Principal Mid Ghana Bible College) in 1982 when it was separated from the Western Region. He was later voted to serve with the late Alex Nortey Osuteye, the then pastor of Maranatha Assembly of God, Cape Coast under whose leadership, Mankessim church was planted. He was voted back to serve with Rev. Felix Christopher Tenkorang and served with him for several years.
In 1999, he was voted the Central Regional Treasurer to serve with Rev. Charles Arko-Nunoo who took over from Rev. Tenkorang as Superintendent. He served both the Upper and Lower Denkyira District as District Pastor when it was combined and later the District Pastor of East and West Upper Denkyira. He has been the District pastor of Upper Denkyira East since the West was declared a District and was separated from the East.
MINISTERS TRAINED
As many as 19 ministers have come out of Rev. Abban’s ministry; Rev. Edward Kabey (Saltpond), late Rev. Clifford Dodoo, late Rev. Adams, and Rev. Faustina Amponsah, now Rev. Mrs. Kalari (Mankessim), Rev. Isaac Erzuah (Enyan Denkyira), Rev. Emmanuel Acansey, Rev Yaw Badu, Rev Amponsah Yeboah and Rev Stephen Essiama (Assin Foso), Rev Robert Acquah, Rev. Francis Ofori, late Pastor Andrews Bentum (Dunkwa-on-Offin). Others are Pastor Enoch Adabor, Albert Sekyi, 4 student pastors–Emmanuel Quainoo and Benedict Adabor, Frank Nyamekye, George Kofi Kum Adjagrah, and one other, Pastor Samuel Ajuik who is doing his ministry.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Rev. Abban, when in Saltpond was among the pioneers of the Ghana Pentecostal Council and Christian Council of Churches and was the secretary to both councils. He was elected the Vice-Chairman in Mankessim and the Chairman of Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council for 4 years in Dunkwa-on-Offin. He was the Secretary of the Denkyiraman Educational Fund Committee who had a supervision role to award scholarships to the needy but brilliant students in the Municipality in 2008.
