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Testimony

Through the trials of several tumultuous years, God showed us that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He will guide and direct our path in life; how He will comfort and sustain us even in the worst of times; and that His abundant provision is always there, just when we need it. He poured out His love to us and prepared our hearts to share that love with the people of Uganda -- and to bring His message of mercy, hope and faithfulness. CLICK HERE to read our testimony of lessons learned through those years, which prepared the way for us to hear God's call to the mission field.

Discipleship

The Great Commision of Matthew 28 calls for us to go make disciples of all nations. We understand that this involves more than sharing the Gospel; we must share our lives as well. We can help most by sharing our love and teaching the Bible precept by precept, coming alongside our Ugandan friends as they grow in faith and knowledge.

Since 1998, we have had a "life on life" ministry of teaching and discipleship to young men and women who are the future leaders of Uganda. We work directly for the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, a nine million-member Province of the Anglican Communion, and we work throughout the country’s thirty-one dioceses. Jennifer meets regularly with several university women in Kampala, to share her life and the Scriptures. Phil is discipling leadership teams to carry on the work of teaching about worship renewal.

Worship Renewal

Phil's vision is to encourage the renewal of public worship that is spiritually vital and theologically rooted. His goal is to raise up leaders of worship renewal who develop a passion for worship that glorifies God, reflects indigenous life experience, and where language, song, culture and theology work together to provide a new sense of the power and presence of God. Phil does not promote one cultural style of worship over another; rather, he promotes worship that is culturally relevant and has Biblical integrity.

Since 1998, Phil has taught in 17 dioceses of the Church of Uganda, as well as Anglican dioceses in Kenya and Rwanda. He is currently concentrating his efforts in leading Worship Foundations and Worship Arts classes and discipling leadership teams to carry on the work of teaching throughout the nation. His course of study in Worship Arts at Uganda Christian University occurs every year and invites the involvement of teams from the U.S., U.K. and New Zealand to participate in teaching.

Ministry to Displaced, Orphaned and Street Children

Jennifer has a passion to teach the Word and to impart the love and compassion of Christ to the displaced, orphaned and street children of Uganda. The devastation of the war in Northern Uganda and AIDS has left over two million orphans, and a significant number of those children have nowhere to live and have taken to the streets. Jennifer is involved in three ministries to serve these children. She is working to bring relief to the "Night Commuters" of Northern Uganda by raising public awareness of the plight of thousands of desperate children in Kitgum. She received a donation of 5000 blankets for the Night Commuters and is beginning several projects, including a secondary school in Pader, counseling home for formerly abducted girls, and a leadership project for middle school students in Gulu. In past years, Jennifer helped build an orphanage in Mukono which was started by former Archbishop Livingstone Nkoyoyo. Fifty-four orphans from 5 to 16 years old currently live in the orphanage. In Kampala, she worked with Cornerstone Ministries to provide a home for young street girls; most of whom are Muslim and many had desperately turned to prostitution. She currently works with Rhema Ministries to help get young girls out of prostitution, and into school and a loving home environment.

Wheels for Pastors

The Church of Uganda has more than 9 million members, most of whom live in the expansive rural areas of the country. Each pastor cares for over 6000 people, in ten or more congregations, stretched across many miles. Archdeacons provide care and oversight for 8 to 10 pastors and must travel even greater distances to serve their people. Because clergy salaries are so low ($20 a month), they cannot afford transportation between their churches and thus they must make the long journey by foot. Through our Wheels for Pastors ministry, many of our supporters are helping clergy reach their congregations by providing bicycles (for pastors) and used motorcycles (for archdeacons) to enable them to do their vital ministry of prayer, pastoral counseling and oversight.

Statement of Faith

We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the Bible is God's written revelation to man and that it is verbally inspired, authoritative, and without error in the original manuscripts.

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, death on the cross to provide for our redemption, bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, present ministry of intercession for us, and His return to earth in power and glory.

We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, that He performs the miracle of the new birth in an unbeliever and indwells believers, empowering them for ministry and enabling them to live a godly life.

We believe that man was created in the image of God, but because of sin, was alienated from God. That alienation can be removed only by accepting through faith God's gift of salvation which was made possible by Christ's death.

What is Worship Renewal?

Worship renewal cannot be reduced to a formula or generated by a set of techniques. The dynamics of worship renewal:

  • Worship renewal is not something that human ingenuity or creativity can produce or engineer, but is a result of the work of God’s Holy Spirit. Renewal is a blessing for which we pray, rather than an accomplishment we achieve.
  • Worship renewal mines the riches of scripture and leads worshipers to deeper encounters with the message of the gospel.
  • Worship renewal arises out of and leads to the full, conscious, and active participation of all worshipers—young and old, the powerless and powerful, newcomers and lifelong worshipers.
  • Worship renewal leads a congregation beyond itself, to give itself away to minister to the needs of the local community and the world.
  • Worship renewal happens best in healthy congregations, which are marked by honesty, integrity, unity, and pastoral concern for each worshiper.
    • First Steps to Worship Renewal

    Pastoral leaders who yearn for renewal begin by asking thoughtful questions about the purpose and meaning of worship before addressing the style or mechanics of worship. A worship committee, a board, pastoral staff, or worship team might begin by asking questions such as:

  • How can we help our congregation to pray more honestly and deeply through the words we speak and the music that we sing together?
  • How can we experience more of the power and presence of God in our worship?
  • How can we proclaim the gospel message more meaningfully through preaching, music, and the arts?
  • How can we practice Christian hospitality in worship more intentionally?
  • How can we celebrate baptism and the Lord’s Supper in more profound and significant ways?
  • What practices will form our congregation more richly in the contours of the Christian faith?
  • How can we improve patterns of unity among our leaders and all members of the congregation?

    • These questions will eventually lead to suggestions regarding worship practices and styles, but they begin by probing deeper issues about worship.