Help Support A Ugandan House Church Network

Dear Friends

Three years ago a trusted friend with a lot of experience in Africa returned from a summer long stay in Uganda. He began to tell me about a man he met who was willing to risk his life and endure incredible hardship to travel to South Sudan and share the Gospel. He was hoping our house churches would partner with this man to bring the Gospel to South Sudan. This was significant for us because a number of people in our house church network had long been feeling like our involvement in Uganda was for the purpose of reaching north into Islamic parts of Africa, but we’ve lacked a “how.”

Through a long series of circumstances we became very involved with this brother from Uganda (who I will leave nameless for security purposes). We became convinced of both his willingness and ability to share the Gospel and start churches in Africa. We also became convinced of his integrity and his genuine desire to serve. One of the unique things about this brother is he has renounced all forms of a title and position of privilege that are so prevalent in the African church and embraced meeting simply in homes with the converts that he is making in remote Muslim villages.

Last year a team of two men from our house church network traveled to Uganda to see first hand some of the work that is being done.  Their report was extremely encouraging. Multiple house churches have been started among primarily Muslim and animistic people. Everyday people were being trained to build up the church into maturity.   It was something we had been believing God for, but had not yet seen in our time in Africa.

We are continually being stretched because other needs in this house church network continue to come up. People are struggling with starvation, others are dying and not being buried, etc. We’ve sown a significant amount of money into our African brother to help him and his family while he received training for reaching Muslims. But as we’ve prayed and sought the Lord, we’ve sensed that our brother needs the churches that he’s planted to be strengthened to come up around him and stand with him, both in the ministry of the Gospel and in the material and physical needs of those around them. We strongly value long term sustainability, so while we can continue to send money to Africa, we feel like our best way to help is to empower those we know and love to provide for themselves. In addition, the men of this house church network want to provide for themselves and their families. They want to be able to sow into the work of the Lord themselves. It’s just hard to start from nothing.

Which is why I’m writing. Currently, my friend Josh is running a campaign to help raise money for some of the men in this house church network in Uganda. The money is not to support these men or their families. Rather, we’re hoping to pull together enough money to help each of them start a small, sustainable business. As each business gets up and running, we believe that the overall effect will be a much more stable house church network able to support our brother and others on apostolic missions beyond their borders as well as take care of some of their more immediate needs.

This is where you come in.

Would you or your house church (or heck, even your traditional church) consider helping one or more of these African brothers start a sustainable business? If you’d like to get involved, click here. It will take you to a YouCaring crowdfunding page where you can make a donation and read more about these future entrepreneurs.  Also, we’d love it if you helped share our story so others can take part in the Gospel going forward and house churches being started across Africa.

Thanks for taking the time to read this story and for doing whatever part the Lord directs you to do!

Photo Credit: Ugandan House Church Network by Josh Hulme