Ghana was known as the Gold Coast until its independence in 1957. Ghana was the name of an ancient kingdom to the north, whose descendants are believed to have migrated and settled in present-day Ghana.

As is true of most African countries, Ghana is comprised of many nations, or people groups. Each people group has a distinct language and culture that distinguishes and separates it from other people groups.

Ghana is mainly agricultural and 55 percent of its people are farmers. Yet, only about 5 percent of the land is suitable for farming. Besides cocoa and cocoa products, chief agricultural exports include timber products, palm products and coffee. Mineral exports include gold, diamonds, manganese ore and bauxite.

Ghana lies only a few degrees north of the equator. The principal land features are the heavily populated coastal plain; the Kwahu Plateau, running northwest to southeast across the central part of the country; the thick forest covering southwest Ghana; and the savanna and grasslands of north-central Ghana.

T'he Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod began mission work in Ghana in 1961. Today, LCMS pastors and lay workers serve with the national staff: two pastors, 15 evangelists, 150 lay preachers and 15 teachers. An LCMS partner church since 1971, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana,(ELCG) has 10,000 members in seven congregations and 34 preaching stations. Ministries include planting churches and training leaders in tribal homelands, and among rural settlers and urban migrants in six of Ghana's regions; child care programs and primary schools; and agricultural development programs.

Many mission challenges remain for Christian outreach in Ghana:

• to support and minister to thousands of Liberian refugees who have fled from the civil war in their country;
• to minister in Brong Ahafo, a rich agricultural region in central Ghana that has more than 2.5 million people of different cultural groups. Almost 95 percent of them are non-Christian, so there are many possibilities for church planting. Although many people are receptive to the Gospel, the one missionary there cannot handle all the requests for preaching and teaching;
• to meet the many opportunities for ministry in the urban areas of Ghana, which have grown so dramatically.

Ghana is similar to Nigeria in its religious composition, though with a much larger percentage of animists than Muslims. Christianity is growing rapidly in Ghana - God is greatly blessing the efforts of our missionaries. (See "Our Church in Ghana" for more information about the growth of the Lutheran Church in Ghana.)

African Muslim and animist beliefs and practices may be difficult for younger students to grasp. The student pages describe these in relation to what they as Christian children believe. Older students would be able to delve into these false beliefs and practices more deeply in an effort to understand what the missionaries face in trying to reach Ghanaians. You may also want to read more about Islam (Muslims) and animism (spirit worship) so that you can answer their questions.

(Information on this page taken from Mission Friends provided by LCMS Mission Education)