Entering the ­sanctuary of Trinity Chapel in Accra, Ghana, I felt spiritual vitality flowing through the pulse of warm handshakes, ready embraces and joy in each face, young and old.

But the physical surroundings defied what one would expect from a denominational headquarters in a major city. Paint peeling off olive-green cement walls. A rusted tin roof that provided shade but not much shelter from rain. An earthen floor that dusted my shoes.

Amid the bustling streets of Accra — where modern high-rises complement mountainsides and traffic crawls past open-air markets buzzing with crowds — Trinity Chapel, the headquarters of Ghana Mennonite Church, looks as though it has been left behind.

The compound, established decades ago with the help of Mennonite missionaries, remains structurally sound but visibly worn.

For Francis Dzivor, moderator of Ghana Mennonite Church, the conditions symbolize a deeper problem he wants help to solve: How can the Mennonite church grow in the West African nation if people perceive it as impoverished and therefore unstable and unappealing?

“In the urban areas, most people do not know about Mennonites, and that is why we are not taken seriously,” Dzivor said. “It is high time for us to promote our work in the urban areas.”

I was in Ghana last October as part of a five-person delegation of Black leaders from Mennonite denominations in the United States, invited to network with our African counterparts. The tour was initiated and hosted by Thomas Oduro, president of Good News Theological Seminary, a Mennonite Mission Network partner since 1971. Many Ghana Mennonite leaders are alumni of the seminary.

Representatives from LMC, Mosaic Mennonite Conference and Mennonite Church USA attended the MMN tour made possible, in part, by a grant from the Schowalter Foundation. We met with African leaders, visited cultural sites and enjoyed Sunday worship at different congregations.

The leaders agreed that the Anabaptist emphases of peace, justice and reconciliation are sorely needed in Ghana. Dzivor and Trinity Chapel Pastor Emelia Amexo expressed gratitude for North American Mennonites and urgency for strengthened ties. Dzivor appreciates the historic relationship with MMN, Mennonite Men, Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Economic Development Associates and other entities.

He wants North American Mennonites to support and recognize the headquarters as the hub of Mennonite life in Ghana. He said that as Trinity Chapel members reach out to reflect God’s love, the headquarters facility must also be lifted up to project a positive perception of Mennonites.

Founded in 1956, Ghana Mennonite Church has about 5,000 members in 29 congregations. It began in rural communities where worship facilities were minimal. Services were held outdoors under a tree or bamboo structures exposed to the elements.

Through the efforts of Matthew Krabill, a mission worker who teaches at the University of Ghana’s Sanneh Institute and the Center for Justice and Peace at Université de l’Alliance Chrétienne d’Abidjan in neighboring Ivory Coast, Dzivor secured a $2,000 grant from Mennonite Men last year to help the rural Santramozorh Mennonite Church build a place of worship.

As young people migrate to cities for education and employment, the Ghana Mennonite Church has expanded into urban areas, where people have higher expectations of a church meetinghouse and supporting facilities.

In Accra, people are drawn to the gleaming facilities of charismatic and prosperity-driven congregations, Dzivor said.

“People compare buildings,” said Pastor Agbenuakor Harrison Mawulawoe, a ministry team member and seminary student. “They assume a poor building means a poor church, spiritually and financially.”

Yet when Ghanaians hear the Anabaptist message, particularly through the seminary-trained passion of ministers like Dzivor and Amexo, something shifts deep within them.

“It sounds biblical to them,” Agbenuakor said. “When people know the Bible and understand the doctrine . . . they see [the Anabaptist message] is rooted in scripture.”

The key challenge is getting visitors to see beyond the headquarters’ weathered condition: open square holes as windows that leave worshipers exposed to the elements, outhouse lavatories instead of indoor plumbing, musical instruments patched and repatched.

“Vibrant worship and singing and instruments are very important to the church experiences and very important to attract youth,” said Blessing Charles Samoah, a student pastor and seminarian. “When young people see the instruments and the quality of the building is lacking, they are attracted to other ministries that have these things. Young people are moving away from the Mennonite churches in Ghana that lack these things.”

Dzivor and members of Trinity Chapel are not deterred by their limited resources. They worship with a Spirit-filled joy. I felt their warmth and hospitality reflecting the love of Jesus. I thought about the churches I’d visited in the United States with abundant material possessions but a poverty of spirit toward a stranger in their midst.

Dzivor proudly pointed to the small garden along the concrete property wall. The congregation wants to develop income-generating projects: mango farming, tilapia fishponds and a guesthouse.

A sister congregation, Somanya Mennonite Church, has developed an income-generating mango farm. Some rural churches have had success with agricultural projects, Dzivor said.

He wants all Ghana Mennonite congregations to succeed but is especially focused on Trinity Chapel as the denominational headquarters.

Ghana Mennonite Church needs partners, Dzivor said. Ministers are bivocational because congregations cannot afford salaries. Youth rarely consider careers in ministry, fearing it will not sustain them financially. Training programs are needed for pastors, youth and church administrators.

Another challenge is that branding influences reputation. In Ghana, Christian churches are in abundance and must differentiate themselves.

“People hear ‘Mennonite’ and think it is a person,” Amexo said. “They don’t know the name, though the church has been in Ghana for many years. They say, who is Menno? You are following a man who is dead? We want to follow Jesus, who is still alive in us.”

The term “Anabaptist” also requires explanation, Amexo said. Several other denominations long ago rejected infant baptism. The prefix “Ana” leads people to assume it refers to a woman, rather than “rebaptizer.”

They are unaware Anabaptism is a peace-church movement that emphasizes believers should read the Bible for themselves and model the life of Jesus, Amexo said. Other denominations are better known because of the schools or hospitals they developed.

Dzivor said Ghana Mennonite Church is committed to fostering relationships and shared vision to spread Anabaptism throughout Ghana.

As Mennonite Mission Network and other agencies reassess their global partnerships in a rapidly changing world, investing in Ghana Mennonite Church offers an opportunity to build Ghana’s spiritual future.

Wil LaVeist is Mennonite Mission Network senior executive of advancement. To support MMN’s work with Ghana Mennonite Church, donate to the MMN General Fund.