Ghanaian Tennis legend Bishop Frank Ofori has revealed he launched out into full-time ministry in fulfillment of a promise he made to the Lord when his wife encountered problems with childbirth on LifeStyle TV’s Heart and Soul programme.
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The center court of the Accra Sports stadium tennis court is named after Bishop Frank Ofori for his contribution to the game of tennis.
In the 30-minute interview, Frank Ofori spoke about his passion for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ using sports as a tool for evangelism.
He spoke about his innovative programme dubbed the Christ-Party which brings kids together at a tennis clinic at the Accra Sports stadium. The Fra-Nak Ministry also periodically gives to the poor on the streets of Accra and para wheelchair tennis.
Asked how he became a Bishop, the Ghanaian tennis maestro said it all happened in 2007.
“That is about 15 year ago,” he told show host Erasmus Kwaw, before adding, “It was in the States. To make a long story short, my wife and I were expecting a baby but were told we can’t have a baby.”
Desperate but unyielding, the former Ghana number one turned to the Lord for help.
“So I kind of raised my hand in the hospital and told the Lord, I need three things: I said one, I want you to give me a boy, I want him to look like me and I want him to be born on a Sunday like me. If you do this, I am going to do everything for you. I will give myself to you.”
“Funny, you should see my first son. His head is just like mine. He looks so much like me. He was born on a Sunday. So after this, I was happy and all until one day I was in the bathroom and the Lord was like: hello? Oh, you will hear his voice, clear, gentle but you hear it loud.
“Son, your time has come (the Lord said). Remember your promise? You said if I do it for you, you are also going to do it for me. So I just knelt and my wife was right there in the bathroom with me. I started crying. I raised my hand and said Lord I surrender. Men, I had things going at the time. We were doing well.”
At the tail end of the programme, Bishop Frank Ofori was asked by the show to inspire other people.
“The Lord is coming very soon,” Ofori said. “When we say it people laugh at us. When you have the Lord, you have everything. Even in your down moment, the Lord is going to be with you.”
“If you are down, the Lord is going to shoot you up to a whole new level. Whatever you are going through right now, don’t look at it as a downfall. Whatever wrongs you have done, it doesn’t matter because the God that we serve is a good God who only sees the good in you. Plus, God wants to show you off. You have to be down before he raises you. You have to be laughed at before he can put you up. If the bread does not go through the fire, it cannot become bread. Whatever you are going through, rejoice because God loves you and he only sees the good in you and he is coming soon,” he summed up.
Heart and Soul explores the role of the supernatural in sports on Saturdays at 11:00 am and is also replayed on Fridays at 3:30 pm on LifeStyle TV. The show is hosted by Ghana’s two-time Press Attaché at the Olympic Games, Erasmus Kwaw.
Heart and Soul has in recent times broadcast accounts from a former Minister of Youth and Sports Hon. Nii Lantey Vanderpuye about how he was made to sleep at the cemetery, bathed in water used on dead bodies, and swallowed certain objects during his colts football days.
Former Ghana U-17 captain Emmanuel Bentil claimed to have seen maame water spirit (marine spirit) at the Korle Gonnor beach during his colt football days. Former Black Stars players Rev. Awuley Quaye Jnr., Rev. Osei Kofi, and Godfried Aduobe equally confessed to using juju to aid their careers before eventually committing their lives to Jesus Christ.
