Isaac, James and Peace (left to right) are all graduates of the African Bible University (ABU) in Kampala, Uganda.
James’s father was the village witchdoctor and James was raised to follow in his footsteps. Miraculously, he was called out of darkness and into the light of the gospel. The Lord opened the way for him to study at ABU. James now works as an evangelist amongst young people in villages across Uganda, a nation where three quarters of the population are under 25.
Isaac also trained in church leadership at ABU and is now a minister in the Episcopal Church serving Christ in the war-torn and broken country of Sudan.
Peace specialised in education and after leaving ABU she founded the Zion Educational Establishment, which exists to train Christian teachers for Ugandan schools. Stories likes these could be multiplied many times over and offer a flavour of the remarkable work of the African Bible University.
It is estimated that hundreds of new churches spring up every week in sub-Saharan Africa. Believers are invariably enthusiastic and keen to evangelise. Some commentators suggest that one-third of the population in East Africa is in church on any Sunday morning. In the light of these figures, there are people suggesting that a new Christendom is emerging, this time in Africa.
However, as anyone who spends some time on the continent quickly discovers, the enthusiasm and statistics disguise deep needs within the church. In many cases leaders are poorly trained (if at all), expository Bible teaching is rare and many people who confess Christianity still retain an animistic worldview when one presses a little beneath the surface. Then there are the threats: the cults are out in Africa in force, as is Islam. Couple this with the ubiquitous ‘prosperity, health and wealth gospel’ and you realise that there is an urgent need for the training of Christian leaders.
Move to Kampala
My family and I currently live in Therfield, north Hertfordshire. I have been pastor of Therfield Chapel for eight years. Our time in Therfield has been so rich and enjoyable that we could easily settle here for another eight years.
However, back in January of this year I met up with Palmer Robertson, the Principal of ABU. Palmer invited me to join the faculty to teach theology and the Bible to their students. During the weeks that followed, we prayed plenty and thought hard about whether this was the next step for us. I travelled out to Kampala at the end of April and it became apparent to me that our family would fit in well and be able to use our gifts in a fruitful way in that setting. Most importantly of all, my wife and I feel a strong call to go to ABU.
The position is not salaried and assuming we raise the support we need, our plan is to fly out early in the New Year to work in long-term mission there. While living in Therfield we’ve been blessed with four children (Edward 8, Isaac 6, Lydia 4 and Carys 2). ABU has a house for us to move into on the campus of the university and we anticipate home-educating them for the foreseeable future. Raising our children in Africa will bring new challenges, but it should also provide many rich experiences as they live amongst other cultures and observe their parents participating in the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations.
African Bible University
ABU was founded in 2005 and exists to ‘offer quality education from a Christian perspective to students from Uganda and the surrounding countries’. At present the university trains around 100 students from 14 countries, who each work towards graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Studies which is paired with a minor in Business, Communications, or Christian Education. In other words, the university seeks to embed in students a biblical worldview and equip them to be servant-leaders in churches, business, the media or education. I found the students I met in April inspiring and motivated. Most come from very poor backgrounds and without ABU would never have had the opportunity to obtain a higher education.
And finally
Please pray for us as we move to Uganda, especially that our children settle, that we quickly gain a love for the students we’ll be teaching and that we’ll obtain the support we need to live there.
