On January
11th of this year 4 teachers and 20 students met in Kabaale Village
for the first day of school at Faith Bible School. They were joined by Paul Mwesigwa (Africa
Director of Hope and Mercy Mission). The
day had been much anticipated and there was a lot of excitement amongst the
group.
We received this report from Paul Mwesigwa regarding the
first couple of days: “We had a great start…Today being the reporting day, we
started a little bit late but by 10am we had all the students. The teachers
started with orientation and then each made an introduction to the lesson
topics… The pastors (students) had selected among themselves a leadership team.
With a class captain, prayer leader, welfare. I was able to meet with each
teacher to assess their comments and all seems to have worked perfectly for
each…Day 2 was great and better, unlike yesterday, everything was on time.
There are great testimonies from the students already and they can’t stop
thanking you for obeying the voice of God and start a school. Last night I was
able to visit with a few of them and they shared how the school had started in
high gear already focusing on those important things they want to learn.”
The school meets at Sunrise Christian school in Kabaale
Village for one week per month. This
allows the pastors to continue to serve in their ministries and care for their
families while they attend. Students meet
Monday through Friday for a period of one year (Certificate of Biblical Studies)
or two years (Diploma of Church Ministry).
They receive instruction in the following: Bible Knowledge (including an
overview of both the Old and New Testaments); Bible Study Methods; Christian
history; Bible Doctrines; Personal Spiritual growth; Biblical Ministry
Practice; English Language.
A lot of planning and preparation went into establishing the
school. As Pastor Bob Emrich (US
Director of Hope and Mercy Mission and pastor of Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church0
explains, the school has been established to meet the specific needs of these
pastors: “During the past seven years, we have worked with pastors in many
villages of the Masaka region. It has been a great joy and blessing to witness
the desire to honor the Lord among these pastors. Very often with little or no
formal education, and without an adequate knowledge of how to interpret
Scripture, these pastors have faithfully preached the gospel and have given
themselves to establishing local churches. Other pastors from the US have
worked with us and bear witness to the same things. We have helped distribute
Bibles and discipleship materials alongside these pastors. We have hosted Bible
teaching and training conferences at least annually over the last seven years.
We have been privileged to help pastors in five geographical areas to form
alliances with one another for encouragement and shared ministry. We have sent
some pastors to schools close to the area, but have found it difficult to
follow up with them during the process. While these efforts have helped to
provide wonderful results in the churches, it is very clear to us that they are
not enough. The pastors have a great need and strong desire for a deeper
understanding of the Word and the Work of God. We also believe that good
stewardship requires us to use available finances more efficiently. Thus we are
convinced that God is directing us to establish a Bible Training Institute in
the region. Because of the economy of
the region, it is unreasonable to expect pastors to leave home to attend school
for a prolonged length of time. The churches in the region are unable to
provide for the financial needs of the pastors and their families. Therefore,
the pastors must be home to continue caring for their family’s needs.”
According to this plan we have worked together with the
alliances to select both the teachers and the students for the school. Again, as Pastor Bob explains, the school has
been established according to the model that we find in Scripture: “Our
intention is to begin with the foundational principle of 2 Timothy 2:2; “The
things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust
these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Our plan is to
continue spiritual mentoring of three or four faithful men who have
demonstrated spiritual maturity, gifts and abilities to serve as teachers. The
work of these men will be supplemented by occasional visits by pastors from the
US. We will provide, as God enables us, necessary guidance, curriculum and
materials for these teachers and their students. We will do our best, by God’s
grace, to provide a stipend for those chosen to teach.
Four well-qualified
men gladly responded to the call to serve as teachers. These men are not only well-qualified
spiritually, they have a lot of experience and have demonstrated both the
desire and ability to teach and lead.
All four—Pastor Henry; Pastor Grace; Pastor Titus; Pastor Joel—currently
serve as pastors. A limit was set at 20
students for this first year of the school.
The 5 pastor alliances each selected four students. These students all currently serve as
pastors.
There was a need for funds to cover the costs of the school
for its first year. God provided all
that was needful and sometimes in a surprising way. At the end of last year there was still the
need for $500 of the needed $5000. Pastor
Bob visited a small church last December to give an update of the ministry of
Hope and Rescue Mission. They had been
previously praying regarding how they might use the $500 of money they had set
aside for missions. When they heard
about the ministry of Faith Bible School and the need for $500 they gladly
donated it to that cause! On a more
recent occasion an additional $2500 of unanticipated startup costs were covered
in one unexpected gift.
Materials for the various courses of instruction have either
been prepared or provided by Pastor Bob or me.
Some of the things that we’ve used before are being incorporated (i.e.
spiritual disciplines study; First Steps with Jesus book; Bible Study Methods
materials). We’ve been busy writing some
of the other lessons and tests.
Thank you for your prayers for Faith Bible School. Pray that God might lead the teachers in all that
they do that they might do a good job in their teaching. Pray that the students might learn well and
work to apply what they learn in their ministries. Pray for Pastor Bob and I as we continue to
provide and prepare materials. And for
Pastor Bob and Paul Mwesigwa as they oversee the ministry. Praise God for His provision and direction
in getting the school started!
