South Africa (MNN) — An African pioneer of radio ministry has died unexpectedly. Stephen Boakye-Yiadom, Trans Word Radio's (TWR) International Director for Africa, died June 2 of heart failure, reports Idea News.
The 63-year-old received his missionary calling in Germany. After his training as a bank manager, the son of a cocoa farmer in Ghana, West Africa, went to Germany in 1970.
He abandoned his plans to move on to the United States for further studies after he received his calling as a missionary to Africa by listening to a program on Evangeliums-Rundfunk (Gospel Radio) in Wetzlar.
He studied theology in Basel, Switzerland, and was trained as a radio missionary at Evangeliums-Rundfunk, the German partner of TWR. In 1976 he went to Nairobi, Kenya, where he established a TWR branch. Subsequently he became TWR's International Director for Africa in 1992.
In this capacity he succeeded Horst Marquardt, former director of Evangeliums-Rundfunk. Marquardt paid tribute to Boakye-Yiadom as a Christian who spread the Gospel message with dedication and love.
Boakye-Yiadom did not see his latest project come to fruition. He had planned to open a new station in Benin, West Africa, in August. He leaves behind his wife, Grace, and four adult children.
