PROFILE
The Rt. Rev. Prof. Cephas Narh Omenyo is a Professor of African Christianity. He has served as a Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) for the past 31 years. He was born to Mr. Cephas Tettey Mate Omenyo and Mrs. Felicia Namo Omenyo, both deceased. He is the fifth among 10 children (seven male and three female). He had his basic and secondary education at the Presbyterian Primary, Middle and Secondary schools at Bechem in the Brong Ahafo Region respectively. He completed his sixth form education in Science at the Sunyani Secondary School.
Rev. Prof. Omenyo started his theological education at the then Trinity College (now Trinity Theological Seminary) from 1982 to 1985. He was subsequently commissioned into the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in June 1985 at Teshie and ordained in 1987 at the Unity Congregation, Tamale. He graduated from the University of Ghana with BA in Sociology and the Study of Religions. He obtained his M.Phil. (Study of Religions) from the University of Ghana in 1994 and his Ph.D from the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, in 2002.
He was appointed Training Officer at the Akrofi Christaller Memorial Centre for Mission Research and Applied Theology (now Akrofi Christaller Institute for Theology, Mission and Culture),Akropong Akuapem from Sept. 1990–Nov. 1995. During this period he was responsible for the training andorientation programs for Catechists, Lay leaders and ministerial probationers. Prof. Omenyo was appointed Lecturer in the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana in October 1995. He was promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in 2001, Associate Professor in 2006 and Full Professor in 2013. Prof. Omenyo was appointed Professor Extraordinary by the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa for an initial period of three years(1 October 2015 to 30 September 2018). He has successfully supervised several PhDs and numerous M.Phil/M.A theses. He has more than 56 scholarly works including three books to his credit.
Prof. Omenyo has served as External Examiner at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, Amsterdam Free University and University of Nijmegen, Netherlands, University of Western Cape, South Africa, University of South Africa (UNISA), Akrofi Christaller Institute, University of Wales, UK, KNUST and UCC. He is an assessor for the American Council of Learned Societies’ African Humanities Programme.
He has held several guest professorships including the following universities: Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana (September 2008-August 2009); Central andEastern European Institute for Mission Studies (CIMS) and Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, Budapest, Hungary (2008), and University of Basel, Switzerland (November 2015). He was the Occupant of John A. Mackay Chair of World Christianity, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton (September 2007-May 2008).
For more than half of his 21-year service at the University of Ghana, Prof. Omenyo held senior administrative positions including, Master of Akuafo Hall (four years); Vice Dean and later Dean, Faculty of Arts (five years). Currently, he is the founding Provost, College of Education, University of Ghana, and since October 2016 he has doubledas the Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development. He has served on a wide range of boards and committees including the following: Member, Senior Management Team;Member, Business andExecutive Committee;Member, Academic Board;Chairman, Joint Examiners’ Board;Member, Promotion Guidelines for Academic Staff Committee;Member, PhD Technical Committee;Member, Residence Board;Chairman, Committee of Heads of Halls;Ag. Chairman, Chaplaincy Board;Member, Graduate Board; and Member, Advisory Board, International Programmes.
He is a member of various national and international scholarly associations and societies, including the International Association of Mission Theologians (IAMS), Society for Pentecostal Studies, USA; and the African Association for the Study of Religions, and the German Association of Mission Theologians. He serves on many international academic boards and committees, including membership on the International Academic Advisory Board, Exchange: Journal of Missiological and Ecumenical Research (published by Brill), and member of the Editorial Board of Verbum et Ecclesia published by the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He is Chairman of the Management Board of the Legon Theological Series that publishes theses and major works in theology on Africa. He served on the International Reformed-Pentecostal Dialogue, Geneva for ten years and is currently a member of the ongoing World Council of Churches-Pentecostal Consultation.
On the local front he serves on the following Councils:
i.Council of Kibi College of Education (Chairman);
ii.Council of Trinity Theological Seminary(Member);
iii. Pentecost University College Council(Member);
iv. Ghana Examinations Committee of the West Africa Examinations Council(Member); and
v. Methodist University College Council (Representative of the University of Ghana).
Rev. Prof. Cephas Omenyo enjoys pastoral ministry, his first love. Consequently, he has consistently kept one leg in the academy and the other in the church. He has served in the following capacities in the PCG:
i.Assistant Minister, PCG, Tamale Urban District, Tamale, Northern Mission Field Sept. 1985- 1987
ii. Chaplain to Protestant students, Education Ridge Schools, Tamale Sept. 1985-1987
iii. Ag. Minister-in-Charge, PCG, Covenant Congregation, Dzorwulu, Accra Jan. 1988-June 1988
iv. Associate Minister, Trinity United Church, Legon Sept.1989- July 1990
v. Associate Minister, PCG, Emmanuel Congregation, Madina March 1996- Dec.1998
vi. Minister-in-Charge, PCG, Victory Congregation, Fafraha Jan.1998-August 2008
vii. Minister-in-Charge, PCG, Grace Congregation, West Legon Jan. 2013-Nov. 2016
Other services he has rendered in the PCG include the following:
i. Member, Committee on Church & Society, PCG 2005-2008
ii. Member, Worship Committee, PCG, 2005-2008
iii. Member, Constitution Review Committee of the PCG, 2007-2008
iv. Member, Literature Committee of the Bible Study & Prayer Group, 1992-1999
v. Facilitator, Leadership Training for BSPG leaders 1992-1999
vi. Member, Education Sub-Committee, National Youth Council of the PCG 1992-1998
vii. Recorder at Synod/General Assembly of the PCG 1987-2004
viii. Chief Recorder at General Assembly 2004 -2006
ix. Secretary, Ministers Conference, Northern Mission Field(Northern Presbytery) 1985-1987
x. Member, Editorial Committee, History of the PCG Project 1997-1998
xi. Technical Committee to Review the Constitution of the PCG 2015-2016
Professor Omenyo has been involved in several international and ecumenical projects and engagements including the following:
i. African Representative, 14-member International Joint Consultative Group between
the World Council of Churches andPentecostal Churches (meets annually) Since 2007
ii. Member, Annual Reformed-Pentecostal Dialogue, Geneva (meets annually) Since 1996
iii. International Facilitator, Charismatic Renewal Seminars for Pastors andleaders of
the Swiss Reformed Church, Switzerland 1994-1997
iv. Facilitator, Seminars on managing Charismatic phenomenon in the Presbyterian
Church in Malawi 1997-1998
v. Guest Speaker, Synod of the Protestant Church in Baden, Germany 24thApril 2010
vi. Keynote Speaker, 200th International Symposium, Basel Mission 1825-2015 Nov. 2015
vii. Guest Speaker at the Twin Consultation “Reformation – Education – Transformation”
process in Brazil and Germany. 2015 & 2016.
Rev. Prof. Omenyo enjoys listening to Classical and choral music, watching football matches and gardening. He is married to Rosekel, a professional teacher and a professional librarian. They are blessed with two sons, Cephas Tettey, a lawyer and Andrew Tetteh a final year MBA student at the University of Ghana and a daughter, Anna Tetteki, currently in lower sixth form.