In one way, Pastor Joel Okyere’s life journey is well underway, but in another, it’s only just getting started.
Okyere, who has been pastor of the Third Horton (Canaan) Baptist Church for the past year-and-a-half, is leaving the Valley to return to Montreal, his first destination in Canada after emigrating from his native Ghana. His final Sunday service, taking the form of a special musical farewell, took place Oct. 27.
When you examine the last decade or so of Okyere’s life, it’s hard to believe he is still only 27.
“I’ve only been a pastor officially for about three years,” he says. “Before that, I was engaged in mission work and non-denominational leadership for about seven years, first in Ghana and then here in Canada.”
Brought up in the African Traditional religion, Okyere embraced Christianity in his late teens and began working with Scripture Union Ghana as a student missionary. He was part of a group that would visit villages and do mission work, he explains.
He attended university in Ghana and earned a degree in computer science and engineering. After graduation, he started working for the government, doing information technology (IT) projects.
Eventually, he “got more interested in the software side” of IT, and came to Canada to study towards a master’s degree at Concordia University in Montreal.
“I came here with the intention of pursuing my MBA and getting myself established in the IT field, but before I finished, God changed my direction.”
Okyere had always been interested in becoming a pastor someday.
“It’s something I’ve always been engaged in and passionate about,” he says.
When he began his MBA studies, “it seemed like I had a plan, but it turned out it was God’s plan for me, not my plan for myself.”
He was attending the Westmount Baptist Church in Montreal and he approached the pastor about what he needed to do to pursue full-time ministry. His pastor had taken his Master of Divinity degree at the Acadia Divinity College, but introduced Okyere to three different seminaries - one in Montreal, Briercrest in Saskatchewan, and Acadia.
Okyere applied to all three, figuring he might be accepted at one. As it turned out, he was accepted at all three, so he had a decision to make. His pastor and mentor recommended Acadia, so he headed to Wolfville.
He began his studies toward an M.Div. degree at Acadia in the fall of 2016.
He qualified as an international student, as he had at Concordia. By taking five or six courses per semester, he was able to finish the three-year course in May 2019.
On arriving in Wolfville, Okyere was introduced to the Wolfville Baptist Church. As part of their studies, M.Div. students are expected to do two years of mentored ministry at a local church, starting in the second year. His first year of mentored ministry was at Wolfville Baptist. Barry Morrison, the pastor who was just retiring, “had been the pastor at Westmount Baptist before I got there.”
As he had at Westmount, where he helped out with the church’s youth ministry, Okyere became involved with youth and young adults at Wolfville Baptist and helped out with some of the services. He “has always been passionate” about working with youth and young adults.
One of his Acadia professors, Dr. Glen Wooden, is a member of Third Horton Baptist.
“He invited me to come here and preach a couple of times,” Okyere explained.
In the spring of 2018, Okyere was approached by Third Horton, who was looking for a pastor, after the previous pastor retired. He accepted and has been their pastor since May 2018.
Despite not being musical himself, Okyere “really loves music; I always have.” Not surprisingly, music has been a big part of his ministry at Third Horton.
He realized early on “this congregation has a lot of musical gifts, and a lot of musically-gifted people.”
He suggested “a musical service, once a month to start with. I provide some words of encouragement - usually about five minutes - and the rest, probably 95 per cent, is music.” In between, “we have hymn sings as well, a chance for people to choose their favourite hymns.”
Okyere has accepted a call to be the senior pastor at Westmount Baptist in Montreal, “which was my first home here in Canada.” It wasn’t an offer he felt he could turn down, but at the same time, he has genuinely mixed feelings about leaving.
“I’ve loved every minute of my time here,” he says. “Even as a guest preacher, I felt very welcomed.” The Third Horton congregation includes “a wide spectrum of people, but it’s just like one big family. In my own life, I’ve had a lot of challenges. I’ve felt very much at home here, and I’ve appreciated that.”
While returning to Westmount Baptist will be “a lot like going home, this has become my home. I’ve been here (in the Valley) longer than I’ve been anywhere else in Canada. I’ve had a special relationship with the people here. That’s what makes it so difficult to leave.”
He is hoping his schedule, which will allow him the opportunity to go elsewhere as a guest preacher on occasion as well as his annual vacation, will allow him to return to Kings County from time to time.
Overall, Okyere is “looking forward to the experience” of being the senior pastor at Westmount Baptist. “I’ve had a lot of moves in my life, and I’ve seen each move as an adventure guided by God.
“When I came here, I knew no one, had never even lived in this part of Canada before. Going to Montreal, at least I know it from having been there before, and I’ve been back there every year. It’ll be a different kind of challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”
He acknowledges, “God usually puts you in the place you need to be, where he wants you to be, and where you belong. I found my calling a long time ago, when I first felt called to become a Christian. It was a gift from God. I see myself as a servant, serving God wherever he wants me to be.”
Okyere's life so far “has been a real adventure, very different,” he says, and at age 27, he is “still only getting started.”
