TOT in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya

Tororo, UG--TOT class

Cutting cake presented to us at Webuye, KE TOT

Martin Odi teaching at Mbale, UG TOT

Kigali, RW TOT class

On Nov. 9 I returned from 3 weeks in East Africa, where we completed 4 TOT ("training of trainers") sessions in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. This included our first-ever TOT in Rwanda. Fourteen pastors (including 3 from Burundi) got together for 4 days of intensive study, discussion, and Q&A concerning the book of 1 Timothy. Theophile Rugubira, a good man with much experience and many contacts in Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo, coordinated the TOT. Theophile is taking over as our new coordinator for Rwanda and Burundi.) Each of the participants made 2 oral teaching presentations (one toward the beginning of the course, and one at the end), and was then critiqued by the other participants. That was a valuable learning experience! (especially since most African pastors never have their sermons critiqued and evaluated--our critiques were both directed to style as well as substance).

Theophile had told me that, when he was inviting the pastors, one had said something like, "You mean we are going to spend 4 days on the book of 1 Timothy? What can we talk about for all that time?" They found out! Toward the end of the TOT one of the pastors said that, although he had been to Bible School, and had studied 1 Timothy at Bible school, he had never gone as deeply into the book, or seen such riches as it possesses, before. At the end when I asked for any final questions, a pastor said that he couldn't ask any more questions, because he was almost in tears at how significant this had been.

I was particularly pleased that, in making his concluding remarks, another pastor said that this TOT experience was particular helpful for him in that 14 pastors of different denominations and traditions had been able to get together. He said that he now had a number of new friends whom he could call, and was happy to welcome any of them, even those from denominations different from his own, to preach at his church.

The participants have now been commissioned to go and teach 1 Timothy on their own. They will be evaluated when they do so and, assuming they do a good job, will receive their certificates and be qualified to evaluate others. They will also be able to lead pastors conferences, just as Martin Odi and Theophile did in Congo earlier this year. May God be praised for the dedication and enthusiasm of these good African pastors. As time goes on, I anticipate that they will have a real impact in their churches, communities, and nations.

Similar results were seen in Uganda (TOTs in Mbale and Tororo), and Western Kenya (TOT in Webuye). At the conclusion of the Mbale TOT, one pastor commented: "Thank you very much for TOT. It has made a U-turn in my life. I had lost my commitment to ministry. Now I have regained it and my enthusiasm." In Webuye, the pastors have drawn up an agrement to form the "Western Kenya Equipping Pastors International Network." They will carry on EPI's work indigenously, and draw upon each other for support and fellowship. One church leader said that before he began working with EPI, the only people he associated with were those of his own denomination. Now he acts as a facilitator to bring people of different churches and denominations together.

Both EPI's Uganda national director, Martin Odi, and I see TOT as vitally important. In-depth training of smaller numbers of committed, capable pastors will pay greater dividends over the short and long term than simply focusing on larger pastors conferences. Thus, this year we have completed 7 TOTs, including our first all-African (i.e., facilitators as well as participants were all African) TOT. Over 100 pastors from all 5 countries of the East African Community have been trained. Your support makes this all possible. Thank you for your commitment to EPI and the churches of East Africa!

Report from Uganda--Part 2

Martin Odi teaching at Kamuli

Elephants near the road on the way back from Nebbi

Bishop and Mrs. Matovu and JMM at Kasaka

In my recently-completed trip to Uganda, Martin Odi, Moses Isabirye, and I completed 6 pastors conferences (we would have done 7, but one had to be cancelled at the last minute). Five of the conferences were with pastors of the Church of Uganda (COU).

Following the 3 conferences which were mentioned in Part 1 of my "Report from Uganda," we did 3 Biblical Stewardship conferences, at the Busoga, Nebbi, and Central Buganda dioceses. The Busoga diocese is the largest Anglican diocese in Africa (it includes about 2 million members). These conferences proved to be ground-breaking in that we did not simply make photocopies of our notes, as we had done in the past. Instead, we had 1000 copies of our Stewardship materials printed and bound into paperback book form (and size). The cost was about $1.10 per copy, and it appears to have been well worth it. The impression on the participants was very good. It is more professional-looking and will last much longer. This is important, since for most of the pastors, our materials probably will be the only written materials on these subjects that they will ever own.

Printing, of course, increases the cost of our mission. Your tax-deductible financial support is thus most appreciated. If you go to our website (http://www.equippingpastors.com/) there are ways you can give online, or checks may be made payable to EPI, and sent to me at 714 S. Summit St., Appleton, WI 54914. At the Central Buganda diocese we decided to charge the participants a nominal fee (1000 Uganda shillings [about 50 cents]) per copy to recover some of the printing cost and to give the participants an "investment" in the book (and, hence, more of an incentive to read it). We explained those dual purposes to the participants, and they both understood and eagerly paid for the books (some participants bought more than one). After looking through the book, one of the pastors said, "There's enough for a sermon on each of the topics for years to come." That sentiment was echoed by the Bishop in his closing remarks to the conference.

Unlike many places we go, the bishops of both the Nebbi and Central Buganda dioceses were personally present throughout much of the conferences. At Nebbi, the bishop said that he had begun reading through the stewardship book, and was so excited by the content that he could hardly go to sleep. He added that he sees "a miracle in the offing" as a result of the conference. In Central Buganda, the Bishop said that he had been in ordained ministry for 30 years and, because of this conference, for the first time he understood the meaning of Jesus' parable of the unrighteous steward (Luke 16:1-9), which he had always wondered about.

This round of conferences has helped to crystalize our follow-up plans. I have recognized the importance formally following-up with conference participants. I am happy to report that Martin and Moses are completely on-board with that, and will be persoanlly leading follow-up at the different venues in approximately three months. That will help us guage the effectiveness of the conferences. Further, the participants are more likely to apply what they have learned when they know that they will be follow-ed up. Thus, the plan we have been formulating to effectively reach the churches of East Africa, so as to actually lead to transformation of lives, is on track.

Finally, although I think I know what I am doing in teaching this important biblical material to the leaders of the East African churches, I have often told the participants that, "you can be better teachers of this than I can--because you know the people, the language, and the culture, and know the examples that can relate these things in ways that your people can relate to" (whereas there will always be a language and cultural divide when I teach). That was confirmed at the end of the Nebbi conference. The woman who was giving a concluding address thanking us said that she "particularly thanked our speaker from Teso-land [i.e., Martin Odi]" because "your stories were down-to-earth, and true, and really spoke to our hearts." That warmed my heart, and demonstrated the great value of having good African teachers (like Martin and Moses). Your support this ministry makes this all possible.

I will be home for a little over a month. Then I am planning on leaving on October 17 for four TOT sessions in Rwanda, Uganda, and western Kenya. I will keep you advised, and hope to see some of you while I am at home.

Report from Uganda--Part 1

Lwakhakha, UG

Participants at Tororo conference

Jonathan teaching at N. Mbale

I have just returned from 3 1/2 weeks in Uganda. The following is from an email sent to friends and supporters while I was there. (If you would like to be on my email list, please email me at jonathanmenn@yahoo.com, and I will include you):

The rainy season has begun here in Uganda. Our first conference, on Stewardship, was held in North Mbale, for the North Mbale Diocese of the Church of Uganda (COU). I had been there for the first time 2 years ago. It is a beautiful and mountainous part of the country. The pastors were amazed at the information we presented. We gave one a ride back after the conference ended, and I heard him saying to Martin Odi in the back seat that he had never heard about stewardship of the environment from a Christian perspective before, and all the possibilities for the church's making a difference in that area.

One of the things I stress is bringing leaders of different denominations together. I emphasized that in my last session of the conference. The bishop is a good, born again believer and also favors this. Coincidentally enough, he brought in two others (a Ugandan and a Briton now living in Mbale) who are working to facilitate inter-church cooperation. I am hoping that next year our work in North Mbale will be to an interdenominational group of church leaders.

I have found that the men and women of Uganda are very dear and very polite. That--and the peace that only Jesus Christ can supernaturally bring in very hard circumstances to those who are very close to him--was epitomised in an extraordinary way on the second day of our conference. As we were arriving at the venue, we saw one of the pastors walking the other way. He said that he had "a little problem at home," and so had to leave. When asked what it was he said, "I just lost my son." We prayed with and for him and his family. I am happy to say that he returned later that afternoon. He said that his 18 year old son had been badly beaten and was in the hospital. The boy had not died, and the doctors believed he would pull through. We thank God for that.

We then had a conference on 1 Timothy at the Bukedi Diocese of the COU in Tororo, UG. This conference seemed to work powerfully in the over 100 priests who attended. Moses Isabirye of the Archbishop's office, who had arranged and taught at the conference, was visibly moved, with tears in his eyes. He said, "I do not take this for granted." He was referring to the fact that, although this is an influential diocese, he had heard that it was a very hard and somewhat spiritually dry place. No other "outside" organization like EPI had previously been allowed into the diocese to conduct a seminar. Nevertheless, the bishop had agreed to allow us, although the conference almost was cancelled at the last minute for financial reasons. Fortuantely, the conference went ahead, and all of the diocese's archdeacons, the diocesan secretary, the bishop's chaplain, as well as almost all of the diocese's priests, attended. At the conclusion of the conference, the diocesan secretary acknowledged on behalf of all the participants that something great had occurred. They all heartily requested that we return next year. By God's grace, we will.

Martin Odi and I are now in Jinja. Tomorrow we begin our 4th conference, in Kamuli (which is rather "deep in the bush"). We have just returned from a 1 Timothy conference in Lwakhakha--which is in the Mount Elgon region of eastern Uganda, right on the border with Kenya. It is a small village with no electricity. The number of participants grew over the course of the conference (we ended up with 77). Only one of them had ever studied an entire book of the Bible before. I always stress reading the passages in context, looking for the logical flow of the author's thought and his main point, and thinking "paragraphs," not "verses." That seemed to have a particular impact on the participants, as did my emphasizing that the churches have to start working more closely together, and demonstrating greater unity and cooperation. I think that message got through. In fact, one pastor told me that, on the second day, he had had a funeral he was supposed to have attended, but he had to come to the conference instead, because the teaching was so significant. Needless to say, comments like that are very humbling to me.

My wife, Nancy, also was in Africa for the first time. I didn't see her after the first day, however. She is a specialist concerning dyslexia, and spent a week in Kampala working with Rev. Paul Njuki and Deborah Mutumba who have started the Uganda Dyslexia Association. From the text messages she sent me, it sounds like she had a very worthwhile trip, intoducing many Ugandan teachers to dyslexia, and teaching certain dyslexia reading therapies (that may not be the correct term) which the Ugandans had not previously been trained in. It never ceases to amaze me that God has called both Nancy and me to these important ministries after we both had spent our entire professional lives doing other things. We are both eternally grateful. For more information about dyslexia, go to Nancy's website:

http://www.dyslexiareadingconnection.com/.

Leaving for Uganda

For the past 5+ weeks since I returned from Tanzania and Kenya, I have been spending most of my time working on a new EPI course on Biblical Theology (i.e., the basic "storyline" of the Bible; how Christ and the church fulfill the Old Testament; the major biblical themes, etc.). This should take me until the end of the year to complete, and I think will prove to be a very good, necessary, and important additon to EPI's "core curricula."

Now I will be leaving for Uganda on Saturday, and am scheduled to return to the States on Sept. 10. This trip is special in that my wife, Nancy, will be accompanying me. This will be Nancy's first trip to Africa. However, other than the first night in Kampala, we will not be together. Nancy is a specialist in testing for dyslexia and tutoring people who have dyslexia (a condition that affects about 20% of all people to one degree or another, and makes it difficult for them to learn to read). Through her training, she has gotten in touch with a pastor in Kamapala and a woman who works with him who have formed the Uganda Dyslexia Asociation. She will be working with them for a week, and then returning home. To find out more about dyslexia, and what help she can provide, please go to her website: http://www.dyslexiareadingconnection.com/.

I myself will be having 7 conferences in various parts of the country, as follows:

North Mbale, Aug. 17-19--Stewardship or Mariage
Bukedi, Aug. 19-22--1 Timothy
Lwakhaha, Aug. 23-26--1 Timothy
Busoga, Aug. 26-29--Marriage
Nebbi, Aug. 31-Sept. 3--Stewardship
Arua, Sept. 3-5--Stewardship
Central Buganda, Sept. 6-9--1 Timothy

Please pray for this work. Also, if you would be so kind, please pray for one medical condition of mine: I just had an eye appointment because I have been having some floaters and light flashes on the right side. The doctor said that the vitreous is pulling away from the retina, which is an age-related thing, and in itself is not worrisome. However, there is a (low) possibility that the pulling could be hard enough to cause a tear in the retina. Because this phenomenon just began a couple of weeks ago, I need to monitor my vision while I am in Africa. If a tear occurred, I would have to get to a retinal specialist right away. I would, of course, prefer that such a complication not occur at all, and especially while I am in parts of Africa where retinal specialists are few and far between.

Great news from Congo!

Martin Odi and Theophile Rugabira

Bakavu, DRC conference participants

The following is the report I just received from Martin Odi about EPI's first-ever conference in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The conference was held in the eastern city of Bakavu, and was entirely African-run:

May I tell you these about our Bukavu conference. IT WAS WONDERFUL.
The journey took me three days by road and it was tiresome. I will also take the same back home, but the reception of the Word comforted me. They had planned for 50 people and all of them came: 44 men and 6 women. Theophile told me more people wanted to come but he limited to what our resources could handle. There were 5 Bishops in the meeting each day for 3 days; none defaulted in attendance.

Every pastor who attended came from his home each morning, but they were always on time. The first day we started a little after 9:00AM, and on the following days we started at 8:30 in the morning and closed at 4:30 each day so they could walk back home. Some of them walked for 5 km or more. That is the reason we did not have group work and also, because this was Theophile's first time to teach, he took long to drive the points home. But you must know that he is a good teacher; you must use him in Rwanda more than me. He is highly respected there.

They do not have any good Biblical training at all. None speaks English except the one who translated for me. Bishop Lungu had learned English as he travels to Uganda. He is very good, and has promised to do the same again when we return there.

The hotels are very expensive, but we used the one owned by the Baptist church. They charged us $40 per night for all of us as we shared the room. The best ones cost from $50 and above even $100. You need to know that this is a dollar country. I had to get a visa for $50. Fortunately, Theophile does not need one because he was born there. Again that is why it is good to use him for DRC. According to him the funds you sent were sufficient for this arrangement. We thank you so much for this.

The pastors were very receptive to the teaching. They sat there listening with more interest than any other place I have ever gone. Listen: yesterday after we closed the meeting, they stayed there standing and wishing I could continue to teach them more things. All the Bishops escorted us across the border to Cyangugu, Rwanda were we stayed for a night to catch up the early morning bus for Kigali.

The Bishops requested that we visit even their capital city Kinshasha which has close to 11 million people and many more churches. They will organize conferences in 4 areas, then other neighboring cities. Did you know that Bukavu alone has close to a million people and over 300 different churches with all kinds of names.

In summary, it was worthwhile teaching those people. they believe in many religious fables and tales that are not in the Bible. They need an urgent help!

I also want to thank Floribert for his good organization and planning. Together with the influence of Theophile, every thing was done so well. Food was served on time.

EPI expands to Congo!

Theophile Rugubira

Martin Odi, teaching last February

Floribert Kikwabantu

One of my hopes is that EPI will expand to surrounding countries from its East Africa base. That is now taking place. It is also occurring in the way that I am most happy to see--by a completely African-led team! Martin Odi (EPI's Uganda national director) and Theophile Rugubira (an excellent teacher who is helping with the work in Rwanda, and who also has translated the 1 Timothy Inductive Training Manual into French) are now in the Democratice Republic of Congo (DRC) leading EPI's first conference in that country. They are teaching 1 Timothy.

Last January, some pastors from DRC (led by pastor Floribert Kikwabantu) had joined us for our conference in Gisenyi, Rwanda. They very much wanted EPI to come to DRC. I told them that I would not personally be able to do so in the foreseeable future, but that our African affliates could do so. That is now a reality.

This conference is important because it demonstrates that EPI is not simply reproducing the "colonial model" of making the Africans dependent on Westerners. That is an important value of EPI. It also demonstrates the significance of TOT ("training of trainers")--i.e., intensive training of some of the pastors (in addition to our regular pastors conferences), to insure that they are thoroughly equipped to train others, in places where I will never be able to go myself.

May God get the glory for this great work of equipping his people in a vital part of the world!

Report from Tanzania & Kenya--Part 2

Jonathan and Philemon Bokyo











Ernest Mwilitsa and interpreter


















George Kariuki














The EPI team at the conclusion of the Kilifi conference








Following completion of our TOT and Biblical Stewardship conference in Tanga, I proceeded to the island of Zanzibar. Zanzibar is about 96% Muslim. The churches, and Christians in general, on Zanzibar are oppressed by the Muslim majority. I had visited Zanzibar last year, since it is a strategic location. Our host and primary conference organizer is Philemon Eseka Bokyo. Philemon has been on Zanzibar approximately 20 years as an evangelist and church planter. He has been imprisoned for his faith, but maintains a good, Christ-centered attitude, and has earned the respect of all who know him, including the Muslims.

We did two conferences back-to-back: 1 Timothy and Biblical Stewardship. I observed that, although the churches constitute only a small percent of the people, nevertheless there was a lot of division along denominational and other lines. I strongly urged that they start building closer relationships among each other, and begin working more closely together. In a place like Zanzibar they cannot afford not to. Further, the demonstration of unity is one of the basic missions and purposes of the church (John 17:18-21). I think that this message was heard. Since I require African-initiated follow-up for the conferences I do, we will see.

From Zanzibar I took a 13 1/2 hour bus ride (which should have been about an 8 hour ride) to Mombasa, Kenya. The bus was supposed to have left at 2:00PM, but was an hour late. It then broke down shortly before we got to Tanga. Ultimately, we had to change buses. This is Africa.

In any event, we held a conference on Biblical Stewardship in Kilifi, Kenya (north of Mombasa) for approximately 95 Pentecostal pastors. The teaching team consisted of myself, the conference organizer Ernest Mwilitsa, and pastor George Kariuki from Murang'a, Kenya. I have worked with Ernest and George before. They have each gone through TOT training, and are both good teachers and good men. The people of Kilifi appeared to be eager learners. Indeed, the conference seemed to affect many of them quite profoundly. EPI's Stewardship course is both a theological "eye-opener" and a very practical course. It deals with applying Christianity to many facets of life: stewardship of the environment, the mind, time, the body, money and possessions, and stewardship of the church (the basic mission and purpose of the church, the church and finances, and the church's responsibility to the poor and needy).

As a part of the course, I did a critique of the so-called "prosperity gospel" (i.e., the idea that if you simply "sow a seed of faith" [i.e., gives money] to some prosperity teacher, then God will give you back 100-fold). Unfortunately, this money-centered "gospel" was invented in the US shortly after WWII, and has spread largely in Pentecostal circles so that it now exploits the people of East Africa. Most of the Christians there have never been exposed to a sound biblical critique. Our Stewardship notes include more than 20 pages on that subject, because it is such a corrosive teaching. When I finishd with the critique, the elderly bishop who was hosting the conference gave a spirited affirmation of what we had taught, and (in a sincere but jocular way) urged that God bless EPI "100, 200, 300-fold!" May God, indeed, bless the churches of East Africa as they apply the Bible's teachings to all areas of life.