Open Door USA Home
Our Work News Support Get Involved About Us

Home arrow News arrow Gateway Content arrow Kingdom Workers: Ugandan Pastor Thanks Open Doors for Support

Kingdom Workers: Ugandan Pastor Thanks Open Doors for Support  
Gateway Content
Ugandan Pastor Says “Thank You” for Support from Open Doors 
In this firsthand report, Pastor Stephen shares how Open Doors played a strategic role in his ministry…which is now leading thousands to Christ.

PastorStephenKaweesa.capBack in the ‘70s, when Idi Amin was closing churches and murdering people, I was one of the youngest pastors who had ever pastored in Uganda. I was 18 and had an underground church of about 100 people.

A couple of pastors and I had an opportunity to meet Brother Andrew in Kenya. He opened up his heart to us and said, “We are going to help you.” I was one of those young pastors who got a chance to be supported for what we were doing in Uganda.

We were given $30 a month…and that was a lot of money! I was also given a bicycle, and that was a great blessing because I could run around and visit the churches we had in different locations around Kampala.

What is happening today in Uganda can be traced back to what happened in the ‘70s. We were in a difficult situation…every day and night bullets were falling like rain and you could see people dying. We lost everything.

But God used that time to prepare us for a greater harvest in the future. The foundation for what was to come was built in those difficult days of Idi Amin.

We found that the only way to come through that time was through prayer, fasting and seeking the Lord. We read 2 Chronicles 7:14 time and again, and we interceded every day and hoped that one day the Lord would heal our land.

Now we have all this freedom and the church is going so great…everywhere you turn there are crusades and seminars—even deep in the villages! We have even touched our neighboring countries and we’re reaching the whole of Africa and other parts of the world.

For the past four years I have been pastoring a church in a strongly Muslim area. Within the first year we grew to more than 100 people. In the second year we grew to 250. Now we have 500 people and 700 children! Over 50 former Muslims have been converted and baptised.

We run a feeding station to provide children with a meal and share the love of Jesus with them. More than 150 of these children are from Muslim families.

We have nine primary schools and a secondary school, so we reach about 2,500 kids from different backgrounds through the education system. The Lord is touching these children and they are coming to accept Jesus as their Savior!

We have over 50 other churches in Uganda alone, and we have church planters starting more. We have also been reaching into Southern Sudan for the past seven years. We have churches and two medical clinics there…and we’re also working in Kenya, Tanzania and other areas.

The Lord has called us to reach the unreached. Where others don’t want to go…that’s where we go!

So the church is growing and reaching out, and people continue coming to the Lord. Many formerly strong witchdoctors and strong imams are today pastoring big churches. It’s happening…the Lord is doing something!

There is a big mosque near our church and they had a conference to discuss how they can stop their people from being born-again! And when a member of the witchdoctors’ association was interviewed recently he said, “The greatest challenge we are having right now is the born-again people. They are taking our strong people and binding our work.”

I am so grateful for what the Lord is doing in Uganda. In the past we didn’t hear about these kinds of things, but now we are seeing it time and again. President Museueni and his wife recently went to a crusade. We are excited when we hear things like this…and we know that God—the living God—heard our prayers.

It was a great encouragement to me during those terrible years of war to know that someone out there cared. That although you’re going through this difficult situation, you’re not alone…there is someone who is praying for you. There is someone who is standing with you and wants to help.

You came to our rescue…and because you came, it was such an encouragement. It challenged us too, because if someone came from the outside, how could we not go on with the Gospel? We had a number of opportunities to leave the country, and many did, but we decided to stay.

What you are doing is touching people all over the world. You go where not many people go…where other people fear to go. I don’t think you can even comprehend how big an impact you make on those people you support. But when we get to heaven, everything will be out in the open…and you will know how many people you impacted.

You have been such a blessing. The support you gave me during those very difficult years enabled me to reach out to many places with the Gospel. I am so thankful for your ministry. May the Lord richly bless you!





Reddit!Del.icio.us!Google!Live!Facebook!StumbleUpon!Yahoo!

Home | Our Work | News | Support | Get Involved | About us | Site Map
© Copyright 2008 Open Doors USA. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us
ECFA