“Even the drunkards are saying ‘these people are different’”
This story was from our Kampala mission 21-20 September 2018.
“ What I have, they need it!” – Pastor Rebecca Katongole
“Mission is a shared responsibility, not pastors alone. It is not the work of AEE alone or the missions committee. Whilst I can do something about it as an individual, and so can individual brothers and sisters, we can do much better together.” – Rev Paul Ssembiro
What drives mission volunteers to come to Uganda to reach out? AE CEO Ben Campbell provides insights from the mission volunteers who are up early and working late to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of Kampala.
The context for the mission was aptly summarised by a sermon given by Rev Paul Ssembiro, African Evangelical Enterprise (AEE) team leader in Uganda at King Jesus Church Kampala during the mission.
“Partnering together means caring about what God cares for. What moves God must move you. We are not a shareholder. We must care about the deprived, depressed, drunkards, troubled marriages, street children, the mess in the streets, and want to do something about it, empowered by the spirit of God. You may not be a big name in evangelism, eg, Billy Graham, but if you are obedient to God, you are a partner with God.”
“As believers, God has given us eternal life. Our life will not end here. Life is more than food and good houses, good job, financial investment. This will stop here. But I have eternal life. My life will go beyond the grave, and this is my focus. When we invest in relationships, think about eternity. If we are living as Christians, but our vision stops here, God needs to open our hearts and to live in the perspective of eternity.”
The Lord has called over 300 Gospel workers to be involved in this Kampala outreach, inspired by the Holy Spirit and equipped by our beloved supporters. A small group of Gospel workers took time out from mission to share their insights with supporters.
A common theme for everyone is that they are convinced that people are really ready to come to Jesus in Kampala, and this is reinforced by their everyday outreach.
Pastor Duncan of Loungujja Community Assembly Church said that there is so much ‘low hanging fruit’ to pick amongst the city district of Rubaga, with people quickly making a decision to accept Jesus and see their lives transformed. “People are waiting to come to the Lord”, he said.
Clearly, God has prepared the way and opened the hearts of people in Kampala to hear His word through your prayers.
Also, the training provided by African Enterprise in evangelism called Explore has helped to ensure that people are well grounded in their theological basis in reaching out to the community.
Pastor Josephine of Nateete Miracle Church said that she has entered this mission very prepared as a result. “It has opened my eyes to how to best learn from the bible”, she said. “I am so touched by the course, I just have to transfer my knowledge of the bible to so many.”
Pastor Rebecca of Sanctuary church in Rubaga said that she is so thankful to AE for the training in evangelism. “Before this training, I could make mistakes or be too aggressive in my outreach”. “I have really needed this training to help bear fruit, and now I don’t fumble around”, she said. “I used to be afraid to reach out to Muslims because they quarrel, but now I have the confidence with the knowledge I have to reach out to them. I am now very passionate to evangelise to them.”
The passion and the fire that people have for Christ makes a real impact amongst the community they are outreaching to. Evangelist Peterson Muhimbise of Makere Redeemed church Kampala said that there is something that is really attractive and distinctive about the mission volunteers as they reach out to the community with the Good News. “Even the drunkards are saying ‘these people are different’”, he said.
These mission volunteers are very clear that God has called them to give what they have. Rev Paul Ssembiro gave an example of how a 12-year-old led him to Christ when he was in primary school. “When Jesus gave us the great commission, as per Matt 28: 18-20, it was not addressed just to a few people, those passionate and gifted. It was given to the entire church, children as well as adults. Women as well as men. Students and those out of school. Today I am an evangelist because God worked through that 12-year-old to bring me to Christ.”