Archbishop Kwaku Frimpong-Manso

He preaches salvation, just like any other genuine Christian preacher. But to Archbishop Kwaku Frimpong-Manso, who is based in the Broadwater Farm area of Tottenham in North London, United Kingdom (UK), an effective way of imparting the message is also to ensure that the people for whom the message is intended are well catered for and in sound mind.

For this reason, all his evangelism projects are founded on providing the basic needs of his followers to put them in appropriate position to receive the word of God.

Archbishop Kwaku Frimpong-Manso has been in the business of winning souls for God for over two decades and he confesses it has not been an easy road to travel.

“To say the journey has not been challenging would be a blatant lie. There have been several setbacks, but by the grace of God and support from my family, friends, some pastors and institutions both in Ghana and the UK, we have chalked up great successes.

“ I don’t get paid for most of the work I do in the UK because I am not a leader of any particular church. Today, though I do not have great material wealth, I am satisfied with the results of my work, ” he pointed out.

In the beginning

Doing God’s work started for Archbishop Kwaku Frimpong-Manso as one of the founders of the Born-again Evangelism Ministry in the 1980s.

Located near the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, the team was focused on prison ministry and reaching out to the underprivileged.

During that time, he shared his time between working as a senior telecommunications engineer at the Kotoka International Airport and preaching the gospel.

After returning from the UK in 1984 to record his debut gospel music album titled ‘Komm Na Maye’, however, he decided to quit his job and go into full-time evangelism.

To convince himself that he was not only preaching salvation but also making genuine efforts to touch the lives of people, he started a church at Bawjiase in the Central Region, which was ran alongside a farming project.

“We believed that if we were able to feed the people or encourage them to farm, it would be much easier to preach salvation to them.”

Coincidentally, famine hit most parts of the country and most of the people living in and around the Bawjiase community depended on the produce from the farm.

“It was a successful project as we were able to feed inmates of the mental hospital in the locality. The impact was deep and through that a gentleman impressed by the success of the project donated a set of music equipment which I used to put my first album together.”

The church later acquired land specifically for farming in the rest of its branches in the country.

A life-changing journey

In 1987, a second trip to the UK to record his second album totally changed his life. Some of his friends, who knew how he ended up living in the UK, still, make jokes out of it.

“The initial plan was to stay for two weeks and finish the album and return to Ghana but my plans did not tally with God’s.

“On arrival, I was approached by the first Pentecostal Archbishop in Britain, Archbishop Malachi Ramsey, to pursue a course in New Testament Studies at Goldsmith College. I was thus torn between returning to Ghana and pursuing higher learning but he decided to stay and study, he explained.

While in school, Archbishop Frimpong- Manso started a small church in Brixton in the south of London. He was, however, offered accommodation at Broadwater Farm Estates, a neighbourhood noted for its notoriety.

“I remember the first day I settled there, a white preacher who lived close by asked why I agreed to live in such a community.”

The church as a meeting place

According to him, his stay in that neighbourhood opened his eyes to a lot of things preachers take for granted.

“I came to realise that the physical church is only a meeting place and that doing the actual work of God goes beyond the church premises.

“Few weeks after I settled at Broadwater Farm, I was in Brixton preaching when I received a phone call that thieves had broken into my apartment. Though they stole nothing, I realised it was time I concentrated on changing the people I lived with.

“Religious leaders should know that whatever happens in communities where they worship affects them directly. We are living in times where churches expect governments to fix roads, street lights and other amenities in their areas of worship.

“That is not how the church should be. The church should be able to spot such issues and handle them,” he stated.

He said he realised that the absence of effective communication flow was one of the major challenges facing the community. He also took time to understand why people in the neighbourhood were noted for only bad deeds.

“This estate is one of the most ethnically-diverse communities in Europe, with people speaking about 300 languages. Shortly before I moved there, a mob had attacked and killed a policeman, so the authorities had completely written that area off, ”he explained.

With prayers and continuous communication, he was able to successfully hold the first outdoor church event in the neighbourhood. Subsequently, community meetings were held between the police and community members for both parties to voice their grievances.

“That was the first time the police had held such a meeting with the people and everyone was impressed with the outcome. For the first time, the people were not fighting the police, they were making suggestions.”

A father for all

By dint of hard work and the successes he had achieved in his short stay in the community, Archbishop Frimpong- Manso was elected as the chairperson of the Estates in 1994. He served till 2009.

Under his chairmanship, the community received a lot of donor support which was used in undertaking several development projects.

His duties included liaising with government officials such as a former Member of Parliament for Tottenham, Bernie Grant and the current MP, David Lammy.

Till date, the man of God still performs his many responsibilities which include counselling the bereaved, engaging with the youth, pastoral care for the Mental Health Services and organising burial of homeless Ghanaians in the UK.

“Many Ghanaians and others of Afro-Caribbean origin, who know of what I do, call me immediately they have a problem. It is not just about money. Sometimes someone simply needs a listening ear.”

Queen’s recognition

Following his immense contribution to the development and stability of the Broadwater Farm Estates, he was named in the Queen of England’s New Year’s Honour list to be awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM).

The British Empire Medal (formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown.

“To be listed by the Queen is a big honour which encourages me to work even harder because it is a list that recognises the achievements of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom,” he said.

Archbishop Frimpong Manso says he is highly indebted to the many individuals and organisations that have supported his ministry from the days of operating at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra to impacting strongly in the UK.