Pentecostals and Prayer Mountains in Contemporary Ghanaian Christianity

Abstract

One of the key developments among African church historians is the unfolding of scholarly debates about African initiatives in Christianity in Africa. The notion of the black roots of contemporary Pentecostalism as the most influential Christian religious culture attests to African initiatives in Christianity in Africa.  Despite these appreciable endeavours, there seems to be a scholarly lacuna with respect to the role of Pentecostals in promoting pilgrimage to Prayer Mountains in Ghanaian Christianity. This paper employs historical and phenomenological approaches to explore the initiatives of some Pentecostals in the development of Abasua Prayer Mountain and Nkawkaw Mountain Olive Prayer Camp as sacred sites for prayer rituals in Ghanaian Christianity. The sacredness of these sites is a response to Eliade’s theophanic and hierophanic events.

Key Words: African, Church History, Pentecostals, Prayer Mountains, Prayer Rituals