; FIRST GHANA SDA CHURCH DISTRICT REORGANISED

Pastor Emmanuel Osei has accepted a call from Greater New York Conference of SDA Church to pastor the First Ghana District of SDA churches. After months of prayerful search, Pastor Osei’s name was recommended to the Greater New York Conference Executive Committee who voted to grant him a ministerial license to be the minister in charge of First Ghana and Yonkers Ghana SDA churches respectively. His appointment will be effective August 01, 2009

Pastor Osei who holds a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Andrews University Theological Seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan has had much and varied experiences serving the SDA Church for the past twenty nine years. After serving as a science tutor at Bekwai SDA Secondary School for three years, he went to Central Ghana Conference as Youth and Communication Director for a period of three years. Later he accepted a call to the then West Africa Union of SDA Church where he worked as Youth and Stewardship Director traveling and conducting training workshops in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia.

In 1989 he enrolled into Andrews University Seminary and completed his masters and doctoral degrees in 1998. While a student at Andrews University Emmanuel Osei helped to plant several Ghanaian churches in North America before he accepted a call to work as a global mission pioneer in Hansa Conference of SDA church in Germany for five years. He planted Ghanaian Churches in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf and other areas in Germany. Until he accepted this call to Greater New York Conference Pastor Osei was the senior Pastor of the London Ghana SDA Church in South England Conference of SDA Church for six years. Pastor Osei and his wife, Esther has two adult daughters, Diana married to Kwasi Oppong and Abigail who is a student at Andrews University, and a teenage son, Emmanuel. The position Pastor Osei is filling became vacant after the departure of Pastor HVA Kuma who served in this capacity for almost thirteen years. In a related development, the Greater New York Conference of SDA Multi Ethnic Department also voted to re-organize the First Ghana District of SDA Churches into two districts. Pastor Osei will be in charge of the First Ghana District of churches which will comprise First Ghana SDA and Yonkers Ghana SDA Churches. Pastor S.K. Twumasi who has served as the associate pastor of First Ghana SDA Church for the last six years will be the district pastor for the Queens Ghana SDA and Brooklyn Ghana SDA churches that form the Queens Ghana District. We welcome Dr. Emmanuel Osei and his family to Greater New York. We wish them success in their ministry and hope his work in North America Division will continue to be productive in preparing people for the Kingdom of God.