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There is story of two brothers. The older one was a medical doctor, the younger one a doctor of pharmacy. The older one ran his own hospital as head physician, the younger one his own pharmacy. Both came from Ghana, both were named Kankam, and both were Apostles of the New Apostolic Church.
Joseph Bernard Kankam was the first Ghanaian who was ordained a Deacon. This was back in May 1970. As he worked as a surgeon in a hospital in Eschwege in Germany, he met the New Apostolic ministers in the town, specifically District Elder Rudolf Schilling. They understood each other, even when it came to beliefs.
Isaac Nantwi Kankam, the younger of the two brothers, also lived in Germany for some time and worked for a pharmaceutical company. He was born in Jachie in 1936, a town in the centre of the Ashanti region of Ghana. After the early death of his father, the family fell into hardship. At first, his mother could not even afford to send him and his four siblings to school. Nevertheless, the family managed to lead a sheltered and later even a successful life.
Successful academic studies
The two brothers attended the Anglican High School, Adisadel College, Cape Coast in the south of the country. Joseph described himself as an unshakeable Anglican during that time. After completing secondary school, Isaac Kankam studied pharmacy at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi from 1955 to 1960.
Both brothers received scholarships due to their outstanding achievements: Joseph went to study in London in England, while Isaac was awarded a government granted scholarship, which enabled him to work with pharmaceutical companies in Hungary, Great Britain, and Germany for a period of four years. Joseph then moved to the Georg August University in Göttingen in Germany and Isaac back to Ghana where he worked for the Health Department. In 1979, he opened his own pharmacy.
Becoming acquainted with the Church
In the meantime, his brother Joseph had told him about the New Apostolic Church. But Isaac was not interested in going to an apostolic church. It was not until 1970 that a special kind of meeting took place: Joseph, now back in Ghana, and Isaac visited the then District Apostle Gottfried Rockenfelder and District Elder Rudolf Schilling in their hotel to talk about matters of faith.
The conversation had an impact on them! The following Sunday, the two of them attended a New Apostolic divine service—it was Isaac’s first. Later Isaac said, “It was during this service that the Lord won my whole heart.”
Founding fathers
From then on, they became the closest friends and partners of Rudolf Schilling, who was affectionately called Papa Ghana. Joseph was ordained as a Deacon in 1970. Isaac Kankam received his first ministry in 1971. More were to follow. During these years, the Kankams became founding fathers. They were instrumental in building up the New Apostolic Church in Ghana.
In 1983 Isaac Kankam was ordained an Apostle in a divine service with Chief Apostle Hans Urwyler in Saarbrücken in Germany. Isaac Kankam was the first local to be ordained an Apostle for Ghana. He filled this office with life for 21 years, until his retirement in 2004. Chief Apostle Richard Fehr travelled to Accra and thanked him on behalf of the active ministers for his devotion.
Isaac Kankam died just six months later. There was great sadness in the congregations. Isaac Kankam passed away on 27 January 2005, twenty years ago. He was the first Apostle in Ghana. Chief Apostle Fehr described him as a man of the first hour and a striking personality.
Today, 420,000 members of the New Apostolic Church Ghana gather for divine services in more than 2,800 congregations. They are looked after by 7,650 ministers.