John Kessie
Kumasi, Ghana
John, a native of Ghana and the son of idolatrous parents in Kumasi, learned the gospel from Carl Robinson, who had moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast to establish a Church of Christ. Several years later, John returned to Ghana and attended Ghana Bible College. He worked in World Bible School follow-up before once again moving to Abidjan in 1980 to help the small church there. When Hilton and Wanda Terry visited Ivory Coast, they found John supporting his family as a goldsmith while trying to build up the church in the Abobo-Gare area of Abidjan.
During the last 20 years, John has worked with nearly all the churches in Ivory Coast. He also taught at the Bible School in Bouake since its creation in 1995. John has preached in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Mali, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Djbouti and Ghana. He moved at times because of civil war and at times to plant a Church where there was none.
John and his first wife, Cecilia, had seven children together. Cecilia died in childbirth and John later married Mathilda. They now live in Kumasi.