Kasei, Ghana

You’re going to kill these white people,” a Ghanaian man commented to Dr. John Boateng as he laughed at the American faces turning red while they marched with a parade of people to the rhythm of drums and brass instruments. The group of Americans from the Northern Plains were showing the effects of marching two miles in the West African heat.

A banner flew before the crowd with painted letters that read “Welcome Partners in Kingdom Business! 20 Years of Touching Lives in Jesus Name! Hallelujah Amen!” Handkerchiefs waved from the hands of dancing Ghanaians and shouts of joy filled the air. Children clung to the white hands of their visitors from the U.S. Sweat dripped from every forehead as everyone joined in the Jesus march, journeying to two villages near Dr. Boateng’s hospital, declaring a weekend of celebration of the work God is doing in Kasei, Ghana.

One of the Luke Society’s oldest ministries, the hospital in Ghana has become a flourishing community, spreading its influence to its neighbors in surrounding villages. The November celebration brought Luke Society staff and former members of the Ghana Partnership Ministry Team more than 6,300 miles to join Dr. Boateng for a few days of festivities. Many of them had supported Dr. Boateng from the beginning of his ministry.

He began his ministry alone, performing surgeries by flashlight with local anesthesia and operating a full clinic in a five room house. Twenty years later, with a growing hospital, Dr. Boateng is the director of his own fully staffed hospital. He is also the Luke Society Regional Coordinator for Africa.

After years of progress, the ministry in Kasei, Ghana has become a unique entity. Dr. Boateng has taken the model for Luke Society ministries and carried it over to community outreach programs he has been involved in, such as church planting and various business enterprises, to empower other Ghanaians. The hospital in Kasei is now self-sustaining - it does not rely on the Luke Society for financial support of its operations. Not only is the hospital self-supporting, but Dr. Boateng has actually used the excess funds from the hospital to support various non-income generating organizations.

For example, Dr. Boateng has assisted in beginning 35 church plants, which he turned over to other Ghanaians, empowering them to continue the churches on their own.

From the beginning, Dr. Boateng’s vision was to spread the Gospel and empower Ghanaians, “Everything is done by local people and that gives dignity, pride, and ability to serve our own people.”