The Mission and Vision of the Centre

The Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies (now called Ogbu Kalu Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies) seeks to study, document, and publicise the life, faith and history of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in Africa in relation to its past and immediate setting, particularly its public role as agent of transformation in contemporary African society.

The need for a research centre which will study and document the life, faith and history of the Pentecostal-charismatic movement in Ghana in relation to its past and immediate setting and to the historic Christian faith was conceived by E. Kingsley Larbi when he was doing his doctoral research at the University of Edinburgh, between 1991 and 1995. Before he concluded his research in 1995 it had become abundantly clear that the activities of such a centre will be incomplete without addressing the training needs of the leaders of the movement. Thus, the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies was originally conceived as a research, documentation and educational resource centre. It was subsequently registered in Ghana as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179) on 20th September, 2000, with registration no. G.6, 741.

With this move and the heightening of Pentecostal-Charismatic activities on the continent in the context of Africa’s socio-political and economic challenges, and the attendant increased interest in Pentecostal-Charismatic Studies, the vision of the center has broadened as a research center that will mobilize scholars and encourage research on the various manifestations of the movement all over Africa, and its role in Africa’s search for socio-economic and political emancipation. The Center will continue to serve as a research, documentation, and educational resource centre for opinion leaders including church leaders, especially those within the Pentecostal-Charismatic tradition.

To fulfill its aims and objectives, the Centre will work in collaboration with other research centers and scholars globally. It will mobilize African scholars working at home and abroad to engage in in-depth research, data storage and retrieval and publications. As a hub, the Center will achieve this by providing space for scholars in the field around the globe to interact with each other, to write during sabbatical leave, and to facilitate dialogue and collaborative and interdisciplinary research. The Center shall hold conferences, postgraduate seminars, book presentations and public lectures which will critically examine the role of the movement in contemporary African society. It will function as an integral unit within the Regent University College, Ghana. In conjunction with Regent University College of Science and Technology, Ghana, and any other institutions, the Centre will organize conferences, lectureships, seminars, and round-tables that will focus, inter alia, on the public role of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in contemporary African society.