Someone said that anyone who leaves a position they held for many years will experience some nostalgia.
That is how we felt on 17 August 2024 at Newbold College when several hundred friends, colleagues, parents, and church members held a retirement service to celebrate Pastor Louis Renner Yaw Amakye's many years of achievement as a servant of God.
Pastor Louis Amakye, in his own words, used Psalms 35:18 to express his gratitude to God for his many years of faithful service. His journey began in 1976 when he started working for the church as a literature evangelist in Accra, Ghana after he had been baptised three years earlier. This humble beginning paved the way for a faithful career in God's service.
Amakye's personal life is a tribute to his dedication and love. He married Ms Juliana Asaah in 1977, a lady he met at the Labone Seventh-day Adventist church in Accra, Ghana. Their union has been blessed with three adult children, Daniel, Emmanuel, and Gifty, and eight grandchildren. This loving family has been a source of strength throughout his journey as one of his children followed his path of becoming a gospel minister.
Amakye started his ministerial journey at the Adventist Seminary of West Africa (ASWA), beginning at the Pre-Seminary School, and completed his bachelor's degree in theology in 1988. While studying at ASWA, he had the privilege of canvassing during the summers in Sweden to sponsor his studies. After completing his studies at ASWA, Louis and Juliana went to Cameroon to canvass to earn some money to further his education.
In December 1988, he travelled to the Philippines to begin his MA degree at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS). In May 1989, he left the Philippines to do summer canvassing in Norway to earn money to sponsor his education. After the summer canvassing, Pastor Amakye applied for a British visa to study at Newbold College. He arrived at Newbold College campus with Pastor Albert Owusu-Darkwah in late August 1989, where Pastor Amakye continued his postgraduate education and completed in 1991 with an MA in Pastoral Ministry and an MA in Education in 1993. His wife and children joined him at Newbold College, in December 1989.
During his time at Newbold College, Pastor and Mrs Amakye, with their children, other Ghanaian students, and their families, got involved in helping and nurturing the London Ghana church until it was organised in April 1992. Pastor Amakye and his wife have been vessels God has used to help establish churches. They were involved in establishing the Slough and Reading Ghana churches. In March 2010, the Slough Ghana church board voted to establish a church in Bracknell, and Pastor and Mrs Amakye was asked to lead this mission. By the grace of God, beginning with afternoon Bible studies and house-to-house visitations, the new church proliferated and was organised on 22 August 2015.
In August 2016, Louis and Juliana accepted a call to the Welsh Mission to pastor the Telford Ghana church, which was organised in March 2016 and has a membership of 32 adults.
Pastor Louis Amakye's dedication and service were recognised when he was ordained into the gospel ministry on 25 September 2021 at a Welsh Mission Day of Fellowship at Holiday Inn, Newport, Wales. With gratitude to God for enabling him to serve, he retired from active employment on 30 June 2024, having nurtured the church to a membership of 80 adults and about 40 children.
Pastor Louis and Mrs Juliana Amakye and their family are thankful to God for the privilege of serving His people in Slough Ghana, Bracknell and Wokingham Ghana, Telford Ghana, and Wrexham churches. They are also grateful for the support from the British Union Conference and the Welsh Mission officers, the membership of Telford Ghana, all the churches in the Ghana Adventist Congregations (GAC-UK), colleagues, ministers, friends and well-wishers for their support and encouragement.
We pray God's richest blessings on Pastor Louis Amakye and his wife Juliana as they enter into a new phase in their lives.