Ghana has been an independent nation for over 40 years but has suffered
 through much civil unrest.  In the last 20 years, the people have shown an
 openness to the gospel.  Many have come to Christ and abandoned the
 practice of traditional African religions.
 
 Ghana is located on the west coast of Africa.  It borders on Cote d'Ivoire,
 Burkina Faso, and Togo.  The terrain is mostly flat, wooded planes and
 grasslands.  The climate is tropical.
 
 Nearly 20 million people live in Ghana.  The population is ethnically
 diverse with over 100 people groups and over 70 languages spoken.
 
 Ghana is blessed with valuable natural resources such as gold and timber
 and, consequently, is in better economic condition than most of its
 neighbors.  Still, years of civil unrest has kept the economy from
 developing to its potential and many live in poverty.
 
 In 1957, Ghana became the first nation in colonial Africa to gain its
 independence.  Since then, the country has endured several coups and
 uprisings.  The constitution was suspended in 1981 in the face of large
 scale unrest.  A new multi-party constitution was put in place in 1992.
  The government has been relatively stable since then.  There is freedom of
 religion guaranteed in the constitution.
 
 Ghana is a mixture of many different religious groups.  20% practice
 traditional African religions exclusively (although many more practice them
 in combination with other religions), 20% are Roman Catholic, 30% are
 Protestant, and 15% are in marginal groups (similar to the Mormons or
 Jehovah's Witnesses).
 
 Ghana has a long tradition of Christianity, but for many years it was mixed
 with traditional religions and usually didn't include a living faith in
 Christ.  However, recent years have shown a real openness to the gospel.
  The last 20 years in particular has seen a large increase in the number of
 evangelicals.  They now account for approximately 10% of the population.
 
 Such growth has left the church with a real need for pastors.  Pray for
 native men to be called to the ministry and pray for the means to educate
 them.  Pray for the Bible schools in Ghana.
 
 Pray for outreach to the lost.  The northern part of the country has been
 less evangelized.  Pray that the Lord would continue to raise up harvesters
 for this field.  Pray also for efforts in Bible translation.  Several
 languages have already been completed, but many more are still needed.