By Vincent Amenuveve

A high-powered delegation from the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) on Wednesday, (November 6,2024)  commiserated with the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Ghana, Reverend Stephen Wengam at the Cedar Mountain Chapel in East Legon following the death of his mother.

Madam Deborah Wengam, passed away on Sunday, October 6, 2024 after a short illness. Her burial is slated for January 25, 2025 in Accra.

The venue for the burial service is yet to be communicated to the public.

Delegation

The delegation, comprising a nine-member National Executive Council(NEC) of the GPCC was led by its President of the GPCC, and Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye.

Other members of the delegation were First Vice- President and Presiding Bishop of Life International Church, Bishop Gordon Kisseih; Second Vice-President and President of the Apostolic Church, Ghana, Apostle Dr Aaron Ami-Narh; National Treasurer and General Overseer of Four Square Gospel Church, Rev Dr Francis Sey and the General Secretary of the GPCC, Apostle Immanuel Tettey.

Among the delegation were four Executive members of the GPCC. They are the Presiding Bishop of Deeper Life Church, Pastor Edward Duodu; the Presiding Bishop of Perez Chapel International, Bishop Ben Ohene-Aboagye; the Moderator of Global Evangelical Church, Bishop Prosper Dzomeku and the Presiding Bishop of the Full Gospel Church International, Bishop Godwin Fiagome.

Consolation

Consoling Rev Wengam, Apostle Nyamekye, observed that no matter the situation there was the need to give thanks to God.

“One of the reasons why Barnabas stood so outstanding among the disciples was his ability to encourage and inspire in times of difficulty.

And we all need it. We all need it in times like this. And God knows that we are blessed.

And we need one another, even in these difficult times. That is why we have decided to come to our brother and to share his pain and to give him some courage when we saw this difficulty” he stressed.

Apostle Nyamekye explained that what happened to Rev Wengam can happen to anybody.

“And so we need support from each other. And for us, we talk about the kingdom. We even understand the hereafter more than death itself.

And we give encouragement to people. And when it happens, it also gives you the encouragement. We all need to be strengthened” he stated.

Encouragement

Bishop Kisseih on his part, described death as painful and explained that “one of the reasons why it is painful is that you will not see this woman again in this part of the universe. That one is a fact. And that alone is painful.”

The GPCC First Vice-President further observed that “the moment the person dies, a pain comes into our hearts. And so we are here this morning not because we are preachers, not because we have prepared great sermons, but just to sit with you. Because sometimes the only thing you need is people to just come and sit with you.

Because we may be saying things and may not say the right things. When we want to give illustrations, we can't give the right illustrations. But you will not forget these faces that are here.

We are here to let you know that in your pain, we share your pain. In your isolation, we share your isolation. Death makes us vulnerable. We become so effortless and weak.”

Scriptures

Bishop Kisseih, made references to Ecclesiastes 7:2;Numbers 23: 9-10 and Psalm 116:15 in the Holy Bible, to encourage Rev Wengam.

He explained that in Ecclesiastes7:2 “Solomon says, it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. This is the opposite of what we see in the world. In a world where there's a party, we go and we are excited about the parties.

But here, Solomon is saying, it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. And he gives two reasons. He says, that is the end of all men.

So that is our end. When we go to the house of mourning, then we are reminding ourselves of our end. And the second thing he says is that, and the living will take you to heart.

So we are here to just tell you how mortal we are. And to let you know that these are people who are standing with you.”

Bishop Kisseih told Rev Wengam to consider the delegation as colleagues who share in the pain of Ministry work saying “a general overseer will be preaching when he himself is sick.

And so we are here to fill that gap. That these are people who trust and you can just lay your head on our shoulders.”

 Referring to his second scripture, Numbers  23: 9-10, the First Vice-President, indicated that

“there are some days which are called the death of the righteous. Even now people have graduated into, using captions when people die. And some are painful as it is.

Some are gone too soon; And the latest one, what a shock; however, ours is what a Glorious exit.”

He therefore emphasised that the scriptures shows that there is a death called “the death of the righteous. Our mama has died the death of the righteous. And the Bible says that the memory of the righteous brings peace, brings life, brings joy. So her memory alone will bring us joy.”

Stating his final Scripture to further encourage the General Superintendent, Bishop Kisseih pointed put that Psalm 116:15 which states that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” does not mean excitement nor joy but the word “precious” there means a precious metal or minerals that are very expensive.

“They are very rare. And platinum, gold, they are in that category. So David is saying when a saint dies, that's the kind of thing we feel.

It's pain. It is something which is so painful that you can't even share it. It is some excruciating loss.

So that is where the preciousness comes from. So we want to also let you know that's exactly what we feel. But the second part is saying that there is joy because we know she knows the Lord and she has served the Lord faithfully” he stated.

Bishop Kisseih believed that as he was consoling Rev Wengam, by extension, he was equally encouraging those around him and through Faith, he believed he was encouraging and strengthening the General Superintendent's mother wherever she is.

Heaven

He said just as Jesus defeated is death we as Christians should be confident that the enemy has been defeated.

He observed that after Jesus defeated death when people die in righteousness they don't go to Sheol to wait there or Paradise to wait there they go straight to heaven “so our Mama is in heaven.”

Bishop Kisseih made a last illustration about the significance of death when a church member died recently.

He recalled that God dropped 1 Corinthians 15:50 into his spirit which states that "I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable."

He further explained that if flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God then it means that “our Mama has to put down this physical tabernacle to put on a spiritual tabernacle.”

Appreciation

Rev Wengam expressed his appreciation to the delegation for taking time off their busy schedules to empathise with him.

“I know how busy each of you are. But making time to visit sends a very strong message to us that beyond the pulpit, we care for each other. And we will cherish this moment forever in our hearts; As for death, no matter the age, it's a mystery. It's painful. It's when it hits you, then you really know how it is” he stated.

Tribute

Eulogising his late mother, the General Superintendent said “my mum has been serving the Lord for over 60 years. She passed away at age 71 and she married early at an early age of 18. And I came at age 19.”

He said out of four children born to both her late mother and father, he was the only surviving child. 

Rev Wengam said although her late mother was a devoted Christian, she usually shied away from taking up leadership roles or being in the front-line Ministry because generally she was a reserved and quiet person.

He recalled that “many times they invited her to be a leader but she declined; I remember when we relocated to Nungua, we started a Faith Assembly of God Church. They insisted she should be the women's ministry president. And she agreed.

After six months, she asked that somebody else should take over. So reflecting on her life, I felt that her mission was to come and be a vessel that the Lord used her to bring me into the world. And to raise me.”

Disciplinarian

The General Superintendent revealed that her late mother “put all her energy and effort into raising me. She was a disciplinarian. And I mean, those who belong to the old school, those days, discipline was synonymous with caning.”

He said his mother was very intentional about inculcating self discipline in him which he noted has worked to perfection.

“So even, I remember growing up, people used to say that I always acted a bit matured than my age. Because she always sits you down, instructs you when you go into public. You can't do this or that” he emphasised.

The General Superintendent also told the delegation the last moments of his late mother six months before she died and how she advised him to ensure integrity in his new role as a General Superintendent.

“During her last moments, I remember six months before she passed away,she called me and said, my son, I gave birth to you. I've watched you. You've never involved yourself in anything untoward. But I want to advise you, that in your new role, make sure that you exit with clean hands and integrity. Don't do anything to soil your character. Keep faith with God. So she kept repeating it” Rev Wengam revealed.

The General Superintendent said the following week, her late mother called again and while she was chatting with him she repeated the same advice and further asked him to come over to her house as she was not well.

Rev Wengam said when he visited his late mother she explained that she called him for three main reasons------The first reason, was that Rev Wengam should go to his father's village, pull down the old Assemblies of God Temple and build a new one, because the old one was an eyesore.

He said his late mother further requested him to use his personal resources to embark on the project.

“So I jokingly said, oh, Mama, why didn't you check my pocket? Then she said, you have to” Rev Wengam intimated.

The second advice, he said his late mother gave was that he should refurbish his late grandfather's tomb which was in bad shape but she forgot about the third advice she wanted to give him.

“I said, oh, Mama, you summoned me here. How can you forget the third one? So later on, when she passed away, one of my Reverend ministers explained that the third reason was that my mother couldn't tell me she was passing on to eternity” Rev Wengam added.

The General Superintendent said there was every indication that his late mother wanted to go and be with the Lord.

“Knowing her, how we were very close, and being her only child, for her to say that she wanted to go, that was my consolation. I knew that she had had enough.” the General Superintendent added.

Rev Wengam also shared with the delegation fond memories of how his late father who lived in Tema contributed to the work of God as a founding member of the Tema Central Assemblies of God Church.

Briefing

The Pastor assisting the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana, Rev Ernest Adjei earlier briefed the delegation about the passing of Rev Wengam’s late mother.

He said she passed away on the day the Cedar Mountain Chapel was celebrating its 14 anniversary.

“Then right in the afternoon, our General Superintendent had a call that our mother needs him urgently, not knowing that our mother was ready, trying to pass the message that she was leaving. Unfortunately, she was able to go to the hospital, but it was late. She had died 30 minutes earlier” Rev Adjei recalled.

He said these trial moments were happening at a time the General Superintendent was having tight schedules, high-profile and global meetings across the World “back to back.”

Rev Adjei also told the delegation that Rev Wengam was conducting an assessment for all pastors known as Credential Meetings and so he has been travelling back to back.

He said before the General Superintendent left for similar meetings in Gabon he had met family members where it was decided that “the burial should take place on January 25, 2025, after election tension, after Christmas festivities, and after everything, we will find a befitting place for her burial in Accra. But as of now, we are contemplating a very nice venue for the burial.”

Present at the meeting were Rev Wengam's wife, Mrs Monica Wengam, a Senior Pastor of Wind and Fire Assembly of God in Tamale, Rev Aaron Fant; General Manager of Assemblies of God Ghana Television Limited, Mr Abraham Asare; Assistant Lead Pastor at the Assemblies of God, Ghana Cedar Mountain Chapel, Rev Obed Ofori and Rev Mawuli Tsikata of CitiFM.

Benediction, book of condolence

Apostle Dr Ami-Narh performed the benediction while Pastor Duodu earlier prayed for Rev Wengam and his bereaved family.

Three members of the delegation---Apostle Nyamekye, Bishop Kisseih and Apostle Dr Ami-Narh signed a book of condolence that was opened at the Board room of the Cedar Mountain Chapel in honour of the late Deborah Wengam.

Meanwhile, the Senior Pastor of the Revival Restoration Centre, Assemblies of God, Ghana, Roman Ridge in Accra, Rev Alex Nkrumah and the church board have also commiserated with Rev Wengam on the demise of his mother.

END