I used to be solely seven years previous when Idi Amin's troopers arrested my father. He was a pastor in a small village in Luweero, central Uganda, and through that point Christians have been seen as a menace to Amin's regime. His authorities persecuted believers, arresting, torturing and even killing those that stood agency of their religion. My father was one in all them. I keep in mind being afraid, watching our neighborhood stay in fixed worry of navy brutality. The bush struggle has torn households aside, left properties in ruins and claimed the lives of 1000’s of Ugandans. It was on this atmosphere, amidst chaos and oppression, that I first encountered Jesus.
Rising up, I grew up in a Christian household. Regardless of the difficulties, my dad and mom faithfully taught me about God, and in main college I gave my life to Christ by Unity of the Scriptures. I used to be fifteen, the struggle was over, however we have been nonetheless combating. My dad and mom may barely afford to ship me to highschool. For a lot of kids in Uganda, the fact is that schooling is a luxurious, not a assure. I used to be fortunate sufficient to complete highschool, however when it got here time for greater schooling, the door appeared closed. My household merely didn’t have the means to assist me any additional.
However not for the primary time, God paved my manner, this time by giving a possibility to Kiwoko Hospital, a Christian well being facility that provides scholarships to younger individuals like me. I enrolled of their nursing program in 1994 and later educated as a pharmacist. Kiwoko was greater than only a hospital, it had a coronary heart for mission and I quickly discovered myself preaching the gospel to sufferers and workers. On weekends we went to the close by villages and shared the excellent news.
However one thing frightened me. Though individuals initially surrendered their lives to Christ, their discipleship didn’t proceed. Native church buildings have been overburdened and most pastors lacked the coaching to guide new believers. It was like planting seeds however by no means tending the backyard. I wished to assist, however I didn't know what to do both.
In 2005, God opened one other door. I entered the Kampala Evangelical College of Theology (KEST) and the whole lot modified there. As I sat within the classroom, I spotted that what our village pastors lacked wasn't ardour—it was data. They’d the guts to guide, however not the instruments. Even earlier than I graduated, I knew I needed to do one thing. So I began Kiwoko Bible Institute. The concept was easy: to convey theological schooling to those that couldn’t afford it. Pastors from close by villages may come and be educated to evangelise, pray and lead their congregations extra successfully.
The institute was formally launched in 2008 and we began with a handful of scholars. Across the similar time I used to be launched to Christianity Exploreda Bible examine program that goes by the Gospel of Mark. It was precisely what our church buildings wanted – a useful resource to assist new believers perceive the fundamentals of the religion. I began utilizing it in small teams and it quickly unfold like wildfire.
Kiwoko Bible Institute continued to develop however we confronted challenges. Our first drawback was discovering a spot. By the grace of God, we’ve got already established a main college in Goshen after we adopted a boy we discovered near demise. This one act of kindness led to us discovering many extra kids and inside six months we had 48 kids in our care. We constructed a college for them and it quickly grew to become a thriving neighborhood with over 300 college students!
The elementary college has change into the proper place for the Bible Institute, which makes use of the college amenities through the holidays. Pastors come for two-week intensive modules the place they examine the Phrase of God after which return to their villages with a course. I personally go to them all year long to see how they apply what they’ve realized of their weekly routines.
However one other impediment got here shortly: we would have liked books. Our pastors didn’t have entry to libraries or biblical sources. How may they examine and develop with out the correct supplies?
That's once I heard concerning the Langham Partnership. I attended one in all their preacher's conferences in 2008 and it opened up a complete new world for me. Final yr, Langham supplied books for our game-changing Bible Institute. Now our pastors can delve deeper into their research and a few may even return to borrow books to additional enrich their understanding.
Langham's Books for Bible Faculties (BfBC) marketing campaign is crucial for leaders like me throughout Africa. It's about extra than simply books. It’s about equipping pastors with the instruments they should lead their congregations, preach faithfully, and disciple new believers. With out these supplies, many leaders are left to determine issues out on their very own, usually and not using a sound theology or biblical basis. Due to Langham's assist, we’ve got educated over 500 leaders over the previous 15 years and the affect is spreading.
Christianity Explored has now been translated into six languages and we’ve got reached tens of millions by these sources. However there’s nonetheless a lot work forward. My imaginative and prescient is to see each pastor in Uganda educated to deal with the phrase of God with care and conviction. We’ve lately expanded our coaching to northern and jap Uganda and even refugees from South Sudan. The necessity is nice, however I consider God will present.
In case you are studying this, I’m asking on your prayers and assist. Pray for the pastors we’re coaching to stay devoted to their calling. Pray for the growth of our applications and extra sources to equip our leaders. Pray for the Books for Bible Faculties marketing campaign and for individuals who contribute on to our work at Kiwoko Bible Institute and Goshen College. Collectively, we are able to make sure that the gospel continues to remodel lives throughout Africa.
For extra details about Books for Bible Faculties go to: uk.langham.org
