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Left: Brother Claude Brown, who arrived in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1924. Center top: Several of the first brothers baptized in the Gold Coast pose for a photograph in 1927. Center bottom: The first branch office in the Gold Coast

DECEMBER 12, 2024
GHANA

Special Program Held to Commemorate 100 Years of the Good News in Ghana

Special Program Held to Commemorate 100 Years of the Good News in Ghana

On November 9, 2024, over 500 attended a special program at the Ghana branch facilities to mark 100 years of the Kingdom-preaching work in Ghana. The program featured videos, reenactments, and talks that highlighted key moments in the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in that land.

In 1924, Claude Brown, a Bible Student from the West Indies, arrived in the Gold Coast (known today as Ghana) and began sharing the Kingdom message in the capital city of Accra. The good news spread quickly, and Bible study groups began to form throughout the country. Three years later, the first Gold Coast natives were baptized. During the 1930’s and early 1940’s, our brothers faced many trials and tests of their Christian neutrality. However, it was clear that Jehovah was blessing their efforts to declare the “good news of something better.” (Isaiah 52:7) Remarkably, by the end of World War II in 1945, there were nearly 600 of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country.

Brothers George Baker and Sidney Wilkinson with several local brothers in 1948

Later, in June 1947, Brothers George Baker and Sidney Wilkinson, the first two Gilead-trained missionaries assigned to the Gold Coast, arrived. Within five years, the number of Kingdom proclaimers had grown to nearly 4,500! In 1948, the first branch office in the Gold Coast was established to oversee the preaching work in this fruitful territory. In the ensuing decades, thousands more responded positively to the Bible’s message and joined in pure worship.

Today, nearly 160,000 brothers and sisters actively share in the preaching and disciple-making work throughout Ghana. The Ghana branch also helps translate Bible-based materials into 12 Ghanaian languages.

Left: Brothers and sisters enjoying the special program held to commemorate 100 years of the good news in Ghana. Right: Members of the Bethel family singing a medley of Kingdom songs during the program

During the special program’s keynote talk, Brother Samuel Kwesie, a member of the Ghana Branch Committee, recounted many of the trials and blessings that Jehovah’s people in Ghana have experienced over the past century. Reflecting on this rich history, he remarked: “Indeed, the past 100 years prove God’s Word true when it says: ‘The little one will become a thousand.’”—Isaiah 60:22.