OUR TESTIMONY

“they shall rise up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, because they wait upon the Lord….” Isaiah 40:31

And it came to pass . . . .

God has been so faithful to His work at Edmonton Temple. As the pioneering church of UPG Ministries, Edmonton Temple has to the praise of God, given birth to many ministries over the years. In the latter part of 1996, it became obvious to all the members of Edmonton Temple that we had outgrown the premises. It later became necessary to hold 2 services to accommodate everyone and as well as facilitate comfort. As a growing church with a large number of young families, catering for our children’s ministry was becoming a challenge. Therefore looking a larger place of worship became a matter of great urgency. Under the able and anointed leadership of Pastors Sam & Betty Ohene-Apraku, Senior Ministers, the entire church was mobilised into a season of prayer, actively petitioning God for His direction and assistance.

The Bible says in Psalm 105:19 concerning Joseph that until the time that His Word came to pass, the Word of the Lord tried him. Indeed ahead of us, there were going to be several years of waiting patiently. Throughout 1997 and 1998, we continued our search, but God was reserving a far greater portion of His excellent grace and kindness for us.

The year 1999 proved to be a fateful and memorable year for the church. To the
glory of God, it came to the attention of the ministry that Gaumont Palace, a
former Bingo Hall was up for sale. The church by God’s grace secured an interest in the property but it was not to be. The building was purchased by a large financial firm who leased it to a leisure company. We however stood our ground in faith and pressed on with our search and continued fervently in prayer.

Our God is still in the business of performing miracles. His ways are infinitely high above our ways and thoughts and He certainly orders the steps of the righteous. Time moved on and we continued to do the work of the Kingdom. However, 4 years on, we were suddenly approached by the then leaseholders of Gaumont Palace. They had learnt that in the past, we had had an interest in the property and they wondered if we were still interested. From then on, events were steamrolled and taken over by the Holy Spirit. Within just a year of being contacted by the leaseholders, their company which was an international conglomerate had gone bust and gone into receivership. Instead of being offered a leasehold which had previously been the case, we now had the option once again, to purchase the freehold.

God greatly magnified His Name by blessing and touching the hearts of His
people. So it was, that in September 2003, we completed the purchase of Gaumont Palace, 9 The Broadway, Wood Green. God continued to lift up His Hand of power and favour over the church and planning permission for change of use was granted very soon after.

Miraculously, the building though owned, had not been put to any use since the time that Edmonton Temple had declared an interest in it in 1999. The acquisition of this glorious building has indeed been a tremendous and sacrificial journey of faith by many.

We give God praise for the life of our Senior Minister, Rev Sam Ohene-Apraku.
His faith, fortitude, tenacity and confidence in God and the faithfulness of
His Word was a great inspiration and motivation to many. We also appreciate
God for his wife Pastor Betty, the Board of Trustees, the leadership and
membership who stood by the man of God and his God-given vision to see it
come to pass.

This is the doing of the Lord and it is really awesome in our sight. To Him
alone be all the glory and honour.

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