PROVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICES BY THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH IN THE SUHUM DISTRICT OF EASTERN REGION

ABSTRACT The fundamental thrust of the study was to investigate the social services provided by the Assemblies of God church in the Suhum District of the Eastern Region in Ghana. The study was guided by six research questions. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The target population for the study was made up of all the church members including the pastors and leaders and nonmembers in the Suhum, Asamankese and Nsawam towns in the Suhum District. Stratified proportional sampling technique was used to select the 100 members from the church whereas convenience sampling was used to select the community members. However, the 50 pastors and leaders of the church were purposively selected. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires and interview guide. Frequency and percentage scores were used to analyse the data. The results showed that pre and post-marital counselling, contribution to healthcare and involvement in sanitation issues were the paramount social services the church provided to the community. The main beneficiaries of social services were the members of the church with occasional annexation to the needy, poor and those who ask for it in the community. The study also revealed that lack of finance as well as support from community members was the challenge that confronted the church in its social services provision. It was therefore recommended that the Assemblies of God church should consider increasing their assistance to the community in the area of education, microfinance and conflict resolution. Again, the church should solicit funds from external sources like NGOs to enable them accomplish their projects for the community. iv ACKNOWLEDG