Five Years of Grace in Apese: How Pastor Ernest Asiedu Odei’s Vision Is Lighting a Path for a Community and Beyond

On Sunday, September 20, 2026, the quiet community of Apese-Ayikuma, tucked along the Dodowa-Somanya road, became more than a geographical location. It became a testimony ground. From near and far, senior Apostles, Reverend Ministers, Evangelists, Prophets, church members, visitors and community well-wishers gathered at the premises of Spirit of Grace Outreach to mark a milestone that spoke not merely of time, but of faith, sacrifice, resilience and vision.
The occasion was the fifth anniversary celebration of the church, held under the theme: “Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and let the King of Glory come in.” The theme, drawn from Psalm 24, was not simply recited as a biblical slogan. It echoed through the celebration as a declaration over a church, a community and a future that its founder believes is still unfolding under the hand of God.
For five years, Spirit of Grace Outreach has stood in Apese as a symbol of what can happen when conviction is stronger than convenience. Its Founder and Leader, Pastor Ernest Asiedu Odei, could have planted the ministry in a bustling urban centre where the crowds are larger, the opportunities more visible and the growth more easily measurable. Instead, he chose Apese — a relatively remote community with a modest population — because, as he told the congregation, he believed God had placed it upon his heart. That decision has become the defining story of the church’s first five years.
In an age when success is often measured by visibility, numbers and location, Pastor Odei’s choice offers a countercultural lesson. The vision of Spirit of Grace Outreach was not born out of ambition for prominence, but out of obedience. It was not built on the certainty of human advantage, but on the conviction that God’s work must sometimes begin in places others overlook. And in Apese, that work has taken root.
Delivering his welcome address, the Founder and Leader, Pastor Odei looked back with gratitude. He acknowledged the difficulties the church had faced since its beginning, but he did not speak as a man defeated by challenges. Rather, he spoke as one who had seen grace at work in the wilderness.
He expressed deep appreciation to God for sustaining the ministry through its formative years and paid tribute to the members whose faithfulness, service and resilience had helped carry the church from its beginnings to its fifth anniversary. The story, he suggested, was not one of ease, but of endurance. It was not merely the account of an institution surviving five years; it was the journey of a faith community learning to stand, serve and grow in a place where patience is as necessary as prayer.
Pastor Odei’s vision for Spirit of Grace Outreach stretches beyond Sunday worship. At its heart is a desire to see lives transformed and communities uplifted through the message of Christ. His commitment to Apese is not casual. It is pastoral, spiritual and communal. He sees the church not as a building isolated from the daily struggles of the people, but as a living presence within the community — a place of prayer, encouragement, teaching, fellowship and hope.
That understanding of ministry has shaped the church’s impact over the past five years. In Apese, Spirit of Grace Outreach has become a gathering point for believers and seekers alike. It has provided spiritual guidance to families, created a space for worship and discipleship, encouraged moral living, and offered fellowship in a community where such support can be deeply meaningful. For many, the church represents more than a place to attend service; it is a spiritual home.
The fifth anniversary was therefore not only a celebration of the church’s age. It was a celebration of belonging. The presence of people from various walks of life testified to the relationships the church has built and the respect it has earned. The diversity of ministers and guests who attended also reflected the wider Christian fellowship that Spirit of Grace Outreach has cultivated beyond its immediate surroundings.
One of the most compelling dimensions of Pastor Odei’s story is that the outreach began while he was schooling in the United States. From that distance, the seed of the vision was nurtured. Many might have allowed foreign exposure and opportunity to pull them away from the needs of a small Ghanaian community. But for Pastor Odei, distance appears to have sharpened, rather than weakened, his sense of calling.
The idea that a ministry conceived during a season abroad would find expression in Apese is striking. It speaks of a leader who does not see ministry through the lens of personal comfort, but through the lens of divine assignment. It also reveals the missionary character of his vision: to go where God leads, not necessarily where comfort invites.
That missionary spirit remains central to the church’s next chapter. Looking ahead, Pastor Odei pledged his continued commitment to the work of God and to the development of the Apese community. He announced plans to extend the church’s outreach beyond Apese into surrounding villages and towns. The declaration was both a promise and a strategy. Having established roots in Apese, Spirit of Grace Outreach is now looking outward, seeking to carry its message of grace, discipleship and transformation to more communities.
The anniversary’s main sermon, delivered by Apostle Jude Hama, President of the Africa Bible Center for Disciple-making, gave theological weight to the celebration. Preaching on the theme “Celebrating the Glory of the Biblical Majestic God,” Apostle Hama drew extensively from Psalm 24 and reminded the congregation that God alone is Creator, while all others are His creatures. “He alone is the creator and all others are creatures,” he declared.
It was a simple statement, but it captured the central message of the day: the glory belongs to God. Apostle Hama stressed that humanity was created for God’s glory and grand purposes. His message called the congregation to rediscover the majesty of God in a world often tempted by lesser powers, false securities and misplaced worship. He urged Christians to remain close to God and abandon idol worship, reminding them that the Christian life must be anchored in reverence, obedience and intimacy with the Creator.
That message resonated powerfully with the story of Spirit of Grace Outreach. If the church has survived and grown in Apese, the anniversary suggested, it is not because of human strength alone. It is because the King of Glory has been welcomed into its journey. The theme was therefore not ceremonial; it was interpretive. It explained the past and pointed to the future.
Apostle Jude Hama has served Christ and His Kingdom in full-time Gospel Ministry for over 45 years. He worked with GHAFES evangelizing and discipling university and college students from 1980 to 1990, served as General Director and CEO of Scripture Union for 20 years (1990-2010), and was the National Crusade Executive Director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Crusade in Ghana.
He has served on several Boards including as National Chairman of the Ghana Evangelism Commission, Advisory Committee member of the Synod Committee (Board) of the Global Evangelical Church, Board Member of Challenge Bookshops, and was a member of the Chaplaincy Team of President Prof. John Evans Atta Mills. An international conference speaker, he has authored more than five books and over 200 published articles on Missions and popular Theology, and continually encourages believers to guard the Gospel.
The communion service that followed, led by Dr. Brian Jennings of Ghana Christian University College and the University of Birmingham, deepened the spiritual tone of the occasion. Accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Comfort Adjahoe-Jennings, Dr. Jennings urged participants to continually seek the mercy of God. In that sacred moment of remembrance and reflection, the celebration turned inward, inviting worshippers to consider not only what God had done for the church, but what He desired to do in their own lives.
There was also a practical dimension to the anniversary. Apostle Michael Kwadwo Peprah of Prophetic Hill Church Worldwide led a fundraising session, appealing to congregants and visitors to support the ministry’s efforts to strengthen its impact in Apese. The appeal underscored a crucial truth: vision requires sacrifice. If Spirit of Grace Outreach is to expand its work and deepen its service to the community, it will require not only prayer and preaching, but material support, partnership and shared responsibility.
The celebration also marked a literary milestone for Pastor Odei, who launched two Christian books: “Exodus: Strategic Repositioning and Realignment” and “The Potter’s Clay.” The titles themselves appear to mirror the journey of the ministry. “Exodus” suggests movement, transition and divine direction; “The Potter’s Clay” evokes surrender, formation and the shaping hand of God. Together, the books add another layer to Pastor Odei’s ministry, extending his voice beyond the pulpit and offering written resources for Christian growth and reflection.
Music, too, gave colour and life to the celebration. Lady Pastor Edna Asafo-Adjei and the church’s music group, Wings of Worship, led musical ministrations that lifted the atmosphere and reminded worshippers that thanksgiving is not only spoken; it is sung. Their ministry gave expression to the joy of a congregation that had come to say, in melody and movement, that God had been faithful.
Among the distinguished personalities present were Rev. Dr. Dinah Baah-Odoom, former Registrar of the Ghana Psychology Council; Rev. Francis Osei Kusi of the Methodist Church, Ghana; and Rev. Mrs. Salomey Tetteh-Acquah, Founder of Women of Substance Ministries. Their presence, alongside other ministers and Christian leaders, added honour to the occasion and reflected the broad goodwill surrounding the church’s journey.
Yet perhaps one of the most touching moments came at the end, when the church provided free dinner and snacks for members, invited guests and participants. It was a simple gesture, but deeply symbolic. A church that feeds people spiritually also made room to feed them physically. In that act of hospitality, the anniversary returned to the essence of community: gathering, sharing, serving and caring.
After five years, Spirit of Grace Outreach stands at an important threshold. Its story is still young, but its foundations are clear. It is a church planted through obedience, sustained by grace and guided by a vision larger than its present size. Its founder has chosen to invest in a community that might easily have been overlooked, and in doing so, he has demonstrated that ministry is not measured only by crowds, but by faithfulness to calling. Apese may be small, but the vision rising from it is not.
As the voices of worship faded and the anniversary celebration drew to a close, one message lingered: when God’s glory enters a place, no community is too remote, no beginning too small and no challenge too great. For Pastor Ernest Asiedu Odei and Spirit of Grace Outreach, the first five years have been a testimony. The years ahead may well become a harvest.