The superintendent
Very Rev. Bernard Bamfo-Bosompem, PhD, carries pastoral and administrative oversight of the whole Belgium/France/Sweden Circuit, presides at Holy Communion and chairs the Circuit Council.
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A circuit of the Methodist Church Ghana, planted in Europe.
We are one circuit under one superintendent, gathering the Ghanaian Methodist family and all who will worship with us across Belgium, France and Sweden.
Our heritage
Out of 1835, into the present.
1835
Your Kingdom Come
The year inscribed on our crest — when Methodism took root in the Gold Coast. The map of Ghana beneath the cross, ringed in gold, is the emblem every society in this circuit carries.
The Methodist Church Ghana traces its life to the arrival of Wesleyan Methodism on the Gold Coast in 1835, and its doctrine to the apostolic faith that preceded it by eighteen centuries. What began with a handful of Fante readers asking for Bibles became a national church — and then, as Ghanaians settled across Europe, a church with congregations far beyond Ghana’s borders.
The Belgium Circuit is one of those extensions. It gathers nine societies in three countries under a single pastoral oversight, so that a family moving from Antwerp to Göteborg, or a student arriving in Leuven for one semester, does not have to start again from nothing. The same liturgy, the same hymns, the same class meetings, the same welcome.
We are not a chaplaincy for one nationality. We are a Methodist church that happens to have been carried here by Ghanaians, and we embrace all and sundry — whoever walks through the door.
What we believe
The doctrine of the apostolic and Wesleyan faith.
Held in high esteem, taught plainly, and expected to show in how we live.
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Scripture as our rule
The Old and New Testaments contain all things necessary to salvation. We read them together, in public worship and in midweek study, and we let them correct us.
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Grace for every person
Wesley’s conviction and ours: Christ died for all, not for a select few. Grace goes before us, meets us, and keeps working on us after we turn to him.
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Scriptural holiness
Faith that changes conduct. We take seriously the Wesleyan call to grow in love of God and neighbour, and we hold one another to it in fellowship rather than in isolation.
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The present work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is present in all our activities — in preaching, in healing prayer, in the gifts distributed among the congregation. Our worship is experiential because we expect God to act.
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Connexion, not independence
No society stands alone. Societies form a circuit, circuits form a diocese, and the whole is accountable to the Methodist Church Ghana — which is why the welcome you find in Kortrijk is the welcome you find in Paris.
Your first visit
What a Sunday actually feels like.
Expect two to three hours, and expect to be noticed — in the best way.
- Arrival
- A steward meets you at the door, finds you a seat and a hymn book, and sits near you if it is your first time.
- The liturgy
- The Methodist order of service, mostly in English, with hymns and choruses in Twi, Fante and English. Nobody minds if you only listen.
- Dress
- Come as you are. Many wear cloth or suits; visitors in jeans are just as welcome.
- Children
- Sunday School runs alongside the service. Children are never a disturbance here.
- Afterwards
- Tea, food and introductions. This is where koinonia stops being a word and becomes people who know your name.
How the circuit is ordered
Oversight, societies, and the organisations within them.
Societies & stewards
Each of the nine societies is led day to day by its own stewards and local preachers, who arrange the venue, the service rota and the pastoral visiting in their city.
Organisations & fellowships
Susanna Wesley Fellowship, Men’s Fellowship, Christ Little Band, the Guild, Youth Fellowship and the Singing Band — the groups where most of the week’s life actually happens.
Class meetings
The oldest Methodist institution we keep: small groups meeting for prayer, giving and honest accounting of how the Christian life is going. Every member belongs to one.
Come and catch the fire.
Find the society nearest to you, or write to the circuit office and we will point you to the right door.