Ethnicity and the Church are two vital subjects in mission studies. However, the focus has always been on the latter. As a result the Church's theology of ethnicity is weak. Fear, ethnocentrism and theological blindness account for the little interest in the subject of ethnicity. However, a Church that neglects ethnicity does so at her own peril. God's dealings with IsraeL a history of the growth of the Church from one culture to another makes the study of ethnicity imperative. Failure to acknowledge and harness ethnicity can lead to ethnocentrism or tribalism which is an enemy to God's mission. God's mission essentially reconciles, unites and enriches people from different ethnic groups whilst ethnocentrism or tribalism excludes, divides and impoverishes them. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana like the wider society has to cope with ethnicity. Whereas the Church has harnessed ethnicity in her mission, she has, nonetheless, failed always to do away with ethnocentrism or tribalism. The PCG has not been faithful to her parent missionaries' strategy of planting indigenous churches among the non-Akan and non-Ga. The current PCG's strategy amounts to Akan-Ga cultural mission. Ethnicity and Christian identity are crucial to providing people with their true secure identity. A Christian always has to come to terms with his dual identity, that is, belonging to an ethnic group as well as to Christ. A theology that affirms this dual identity will be in a position to have healthy multi-ethnic churches and be effective in mission. Andrew Walls' Three Tests of Christian expansion: The Church, The Kingdom and The Gospel Tests serve as our measuring instrument. The PCG has not passed these Tests satisfactorily. She needs the Pentecost experience, that is a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit. The thrust of this thesis is that, when the PCG experiences this Pentecost, integration, reconciliation and embrace will be achievable among her multi-ethnic membership. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

This investigation into a process of transformation was intended to explore the institution of African sacral rule in its relation to the Christian church and to provide a theological model, which could be used to establish a new mission field. The bulk of the work has been conducted through anthropological and historical methods crossing international boundaries and cultures within both sacral rule and the Christian church in Africa. The specific case studies have been the sacral rule of Grassfields people in Cameroon and the Akan in Ghana with focus on the Basel Mission and resulting churches. On the one hand, this comparative approach brought to light in-depth knowledge of the sacral ruler's encounter with the institution of the Christian church and its representatives. On the other hand, the investigation shows that with some preconceived ideas of sacral rule inherited from the missionaries who had established themselves in deliberate rejection of the existing system of government and the people involved, the African church leaders were put at a disadvantage. However, it has been demonstrated that in the process of struggle for survival and change, each institution has been partially assimilated by the· other. Those who have helped these two institutions to deepen their relationship through a genuine dialogue are outstanding Christians who occupied the position of sacral rulers in both Cameroon and Ghana. They have provided historical material on which an understanding of the cultural changes within sacral rule as well as the Christian church was based. The previous religious experience and knowledge of the sacral rulers are invariably used as a frame of reference for their understanding and interpretation of the Bible and their relationship with Christ. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.