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Total Number of Evangelicals

Cultural Bridges to UPGs

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Current Sending Abroad

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Strategic Access

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Current Sending

This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

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Poised to Usher West African into a Spiritual Revival

A Leader in West African Evangelism

Christianity has strong roots in Ghana, but many are only vaguely affiliated with the church. Many who claim Christianity are also tied with traditional African practices, creating syncretic practices instead of biblical truth. There has also been an increase in churches that have a large emphasis on health and wealth as a reward for faith, as preached by the prosperity gospel. [[2]] Additionally, between 1960 and 2010 there was a massive influx of believers in Ghana that came from Muslim backgrounds. Some estimations record approximately 50,000 Muslim people came to know Jesus and within this timeframe. [[3]] Praise God for His working of miracles in Ghana! Pray that this momentum would keep up and the young believers in the Ghanaian church would recognize the need for mission. With almost 6 million evangelicals, Ghana has the second largest number of evangelicals in West Africa after only Nigeria. Overall, Ghana ranks moderate among most of the Mobilization Index Sub-Indices. With the country's firm roots in Christianity, there is potential for the church to mobilize many of their own people toward the unreached that are within the region.

Blessed with an Abundance of Cultural Neighbors

With an average Median Cultural Distance of 16.1, Ghana shares many cultural similarities with the 30 UPG nations on our list. Ghana's closest Cultural Neighbors are: Sierra Leone (7.5), Bangladesh (10), Burkina Faso (10), Egypt (10), Ethiopia (10), Kuwait (10), Senegal (10), and the UAE (10). Three of those UPG cultural neighbors (Egypt, Kuwait, and UAE) are Middle-Eastern in culture while another 3 countries (Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Senegal) are West African in culture.

Great In-Country Opportunity

With an unreached population of 1,480,000 in-country and more than 158 million regionally, Ghana has great Strategic Access within the region. While there are many Christians in the country, Northern Ghana also holds much of the Muslim population. Because 17.1% of the country is still unreached, there are tremendous opportunities for Christians to take the gospel to the unreached in their own country and throughout West Africa! [[4]] There have already been significant trainings and missions movements aimed at reaching northern Ghana, but few have yet to be aimed at reaching the greater West African region. [[2]] Ask the Lord of the Harvest to inspire and raise up the Ghanaian church to reach the 17.1% within their borders.

Not without Barriers

Ghana has a score of 1.8 for religious restrictions. There is minimal persecution, allowing many to put their faith in Christ without extreme oppression. Ghana's constitution prohibits religious discrimination, yet there has been an increase in religious tension and persecution in Muslim-dominated areas of the country [[5]]. This could be a challenge for initiatives taking the gospel to the North. Where the gospel is needed most is also where the greatest persecutions await those who spread it. Pray for the senders and the mobilizers in Ghana, that fear of persecution would not keep them from taking the good news to those who need it.

Low Prosperity but a Regionally High Ranking

With a prosperity ranking of 100, Ghana scores moderately low among the other Mobilization Index countries. Since the prosperity ranking began in 2006, Ghana has dropped down 30 places in rank. The country is especially low in health care and education but positively increased 39 places in social capital since 2019. It is Important to note that compared with the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana ranks 8th in overall prosperity, far higher than its surrounding countries. This could be a great benefit when looking at the mobilization and mission potential of Ghana.

Great Potential to Reach UPG Neighbors

Ghana currently sends 1,600 missionaries in-country and 300 abroad. A prayer goal of the Mobilization Index is to see 0.1%, or 1 in a 1,000, of a nation&rsquo;s evangelical church mobilized for missions. That means, with Ghana's current 1,900 missionaries, only .032% are mobilized. Of this number, most remain in-country. In the past, many missionaries have been sent to Ghana, and in recent years, there has been an increase in sending to the north of Ghana where the majority of unreached groups live. The Church of Pentecost has been active in sending church planters to other West African countries as well as a few European countries. Since Ghana's independence from Britain in 1987, many Ghanaians have migrated to the UK due to difficult living conditions in Ghana. Missions efforts by the Pentacostal church include a focus on the Ghanaian diaspora and the many immigrants living in the UK. Ghana also has several institutes for missions training. Now with 6 million evangelicals, Ghanaians themselves have great potential to send missionaries to unreached areas! [[6]]

Potential to Lead West Africa's Mission Mobilization Movement

With Ghana's Christian roots, there is great potential for mobilization among the church. If just .1% of evangelicals were mobilized, Ghana could send 6,000 missionaries, which would triple their current sending! Aside from Nigeria, Ghana may have the greatest potential of any other West African country to mobilize and send missionaries throughout their region. Imagine the impact Ghana could have in West Africa with a greater vision for mission.
Important to note, 57% of Ghana's population is under the age of 25 [[7]]. There are incredible opportunities to mobilize young Ghanaians through family and/or university ministries. Pray that God would stir up the hearts of the young Ghanaian generation to love their unreached neighbors.

Obstacles:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Many Ghanaians claim Christianity, yet have no affiliation with a church. There are many who practice traditional African rituals while claiming Christ, believing they can live a life of overlapping spiritual practices. There is great danger in mobilizing ""Christians"" whose lives are not fully set on Christ alone. Mission and mobilization efforts need to verify that those they send are proclaiming the true gospel message, not one of syncretism.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Poverty throughout the country, especially in the north which is susceptible to drought, will be a challenge for sending missionaries. As of 2013, 24.2% of the population is below the poverty line [[7]].</li>
</ul>
Opportunity:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>A great opportunity for the Ghanaian church is their relative stability compared to their neighboring countries. Even though the poverty rate could be a major obstacle in mission efforts, the environment is more stable and peaceful than the rest of the region.</li>
<li>Ghanaians are already on the move to take the gospel to unreached peoples of Northern Ghana and scripture is increasingly being translated into new languages. There are many unreached people groups in West Africa, offering great opportunity for sending and mobilizing missionaries.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Obstacles:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Many Ghanaians claim Christianity, yet have no affiliation with a church. There are many who practice traditional African rituals while claiming Christ, believing they can live a life of overlapping spiritual practices. There is great danger in mobilizing ""Christians"" whose lives are not fully set on Christ alone. Mission and mobilization efforts need to verify that those they send are proclaiming the true gospel message, not one of syncretism.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Poverty throughout the country, especially in the north which is susceptible to drought, will be a challenge for sending missionaries. As of 2013, 24.2% of the population is below the poverty line [[2]].</li>
</ul>
Opportunity:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>A great opportunity for the Ghanaian church is their relative stability compared to their neighboring countries. Even though the poverty rate could be a major obstacle in mission efforts, the environment is more stable and peaceful than the rest of the region.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Ghanaians are already on the move to take the gospel to unreached peoples of Northern Ghana and scripture is increasingly being translated into new languages. There are many unreached people groups in West Africa, offering great opportunity for sending and mobilizing missionaries.</li>
</ul>

We acknowledge that data on Current Sending Status is both out of date and hard to come by. Nevertheless, we feel confident in the data we do have. If you have more current up to date research, please contact us at……

Official Country Name:The Republic of Ghana

Population:30,418,000

Region:West and Central Africa

Government:Unitary Presidential Constitutional Democracy

Official Languages:English

Religious Demographics:Christian ±62.4% (Evangelical 25.89%) Muslim ±23.79%, Ethnoreligionist ±12.5%

Ghana