Threats of execution failed to overcome the call of God

Transcription

1 Leading Ugandan minister Dr Joseph Serwadda reveals how a remarkable vision of Christ confirmed his call to the ministry and helped him build a 10,000-strong church and plant 500 others Threats of execution failed to overcome the call of God Above Dr Joseph Serwadda and his wife, Freda Main image Dr Joseph Serwadda had to face daily threats as a new believer in Christ When the brutal dictator Idi Amin came to power in the West African nation of Uganda he outlawed all evangelical churches, and among those arrested was a young convert called Joseph. Imprisonment and daily threats of execution failed to overcome the call of God, and today Dr Joseph Serwadda leads a 10,000-strong church in the capital, Kampala, and has planted nearly 500 churches throughout the nation and in other countries. Dr Serwadda, you have a very significant ministry in Uganda, but first tell us about your early years as a child. I was born third child to a peasant family in Masaka District, Uganda. My parents had two boys who died at birth. I came third. As a child I had a lot of difficulty at school, but the early exposure to hard life, and the religious influence, instilled in me a life of discipline, character and resilience. How did you come to know Christ? In 1975, a team of street evangelists held an open air gospel crusade in my home town. On arrival from the school where I taught, waiting to connect to the next one, the team of preachers was singing and testifying to the passers-by. Moments after they left, a voice spoke to me so clearly that these people had whatever I needed in life! I could not resist the authority and compulsion with which the voice spoke! I immediately followed and caught up with them and their team leader led me to Christ, right there by the roadside. How did your call to ministry come about? Two years passed without much incident except that occasionally I would travel to Kampala to attend the Full Gospel Church at Makerere. Then, dictator Idi Amin banned the churches in September Pastors told us to ignore the ban and continue praying and so we were arrested. We were threatened with death on a daily basis. Churches across the nation were vandalised and many leaders escaped into exile. Finally we were released and, after fleeing the area, I enrolled in the Grace Baptist Bible College and eventually was assigned to pastoral leadership 26

2 27

3 in a church plant in Mombasa. Muslims would openly oppose the gospel and everything to do with church. Mombasa was so hostile to the gospel it almost made me doubt my calling. In 1981, on the 11th day of a complete fast, I saw Jesus in a clear day visitation, and got personal confirmation and direction for my ministry! That was when I knew without doubt that I had been called to the ministry! His instructions then are the very core of my entire ministry to this day. What was it like living under the oppressive regime of Idi Amin? In 1971, Amin overthrew his boss, Milton Obote and seized power. He became internationally infamous in 1976 when he provided a safe haven for hostage-holding Palestinian hijackers, who were then attacked and killed at Entebbe by Israeli forces. Amin used brutal force against any opponents during his reign, and it is estimated that he is responsible for at least 500,000 deaths. In 1977, Amin banned all the evangelical churches in the nation, leaving the traditional Catholic, Anglican, Greek Orthodox and his own Islam religions as the legal faiths in Uganda. To be a bornagain Christian was illegal! Pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran and other denominational churches, closed down; buildings becoming drinking pubs and cow shelters for those that were not well built. In 1978 Amin invaded neighbouring Tanzania, but Tanzanian forces drove them back and invaded Uganda, forcing him to flee. After fleeing Uganda he settled in Saudi Arabia. He died there in Tell us about the small beginning of Victory Christian Centre, the degree to which it has grown and what it is like today. When Jesus appeared to me in To be a born-again Christian was illegal! Pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran and other denominational churches were forced to close Above Pictures from the recent visit of Elim GS John Glass, International Missions Director Chris Jones and Missions Development Director Paul Hudson Mombasa, he clearly gave me instructions on how I should conduct my ministry. His instructions were to take the gospel to markets, roadsides, and places where the Lord was unknown. In Kampala city alone, I chose five spots where I spoke every day, rain or shine, at regular times, Mondays to Fridays. These meetings became so popular that after two years of constant, non-stop meetings, from 1985 to 1987, we had raised a church of 1,500 members in the city. Out of this humble beginning, we have to date planted 475 churches across Uganda and several in neighbouring nations. Our central church has reached 10,000 members and, for lack of room, we opted to hold multiple services, currently three services each Sunday. We also conduct a regular early morning service on Wednesdays at 5am that attracts about 4,000 believers. We have done this for four years and have registered unprecedented miracles! The beauty of this service is that it attracts even members of churches other than Victory! But we have also established several other ministries that complement our calling. Because of my earlier training in communications, I was able to see the power of radio. When the Government of Uganda decided to accept the privatisation policy and free enterprise I was one of those that applied for a license to own a radio broadcasting station. I was told that I needed a quarter of a million dollars to purchase basic 28

4 reaching over 15 million listeners each day! What is the secret of your church growth success? As a team we decided to study every church growth pattern and scheme to see what would fit Uganda most. Nothing seemed to be effective. Our eventual resolve was to stick to the Bible pattern of the Book of Acts. We decided that accelerated church planting, open air witnessing, street evangelism, regular teaching sessions, the emphasis on the miraculous, fellowship, ministry to the needy, ministry to those in jails, specific outreach to the youth, women and men and the use of the holy mysteries (communion, feet-washing, point of contact, divine healing etc) were our best deal. That is what we did and being the word of God, it works! studio and transmission equipment. I have never been tried in faith as in this regard. Then, in 1996, I was invited to speak in Copenhagen at a pastors conference. In the service, I told the story of how Joseph had a vision instilled in his spirit by God and no force or power could quench it. I suddenly heard the spirit of God say to me, Tell the story of your struggle for a radio station in Uganda. The next day I was invited by the host pastor to meet a Government officer in the city of Copenhagen whose interest in me I knew nothing about! On arrival we were ushered into his beautiful office and my mind kept wondering where I had seen this man before. He began to talk, and suddenly I realised that on the previous As a team we studied every church growth pattern... our eventual resolve was to stick to the Bible pattern of the Book of Acts day this man had been seated on the front row in the conference! The previous evening, he had been in church in shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt! Now, here is a man in a Bond Street suit. He then told me he was a most senior officer, just below the Minister of Information and had authority over all establishments in the major towns and cities of the Scandinavian countries! They had used equipment sitting in Copenhagen, Malmo, and other cities. He offered me ANYTHING I wanted to start the radio project off. He even offered a technician to come to Africa to set up the equipment. The rest is history! We have now expanded the ministry to five radio stations spread over the central, southern and eastern regions of our nation, Uganda has major social welfare issues, what is the church doing to help? Uganda has been through a series of civil wars. These, coupled with the HIV/AIDS scourge, have left the nation with a very large number of orphaned children totalling some two million children according to UNAIDS statistics. As a ministry we wanted to invest in a generation that would produce a society with dignified, decent life and godly values. In light of this, Victory Christian Centre established the Victory Childcare Project, which currently cares for over 400 children in a School Fees Sponsorship Programme, and also an orphanage to house the parentless, those little ones who are abandoned in hospitals, streets, latrine pits and garbage dumps. Ty Cariad is Welsh for House of Love, an initiative launched by Chaplain Paul & Mrs Jan Thomas with the support of a loving team of good-hearted people 29

5 from City Temple, Cardiff, and others in Wales and elsewhere [as reported in Direction in July 2007], and enables us to provide a healthy and nutritious diet for the children so that, on top of having a good education and spiritual upbringing, they have a healthy lifestyle as well. We also carry out treatment for the children including vaccination and medication for all those who are sick. One is Robert Musoke, who became part of our home at the age of 11. He had lost his parents during the war and was on the streets as a newspaper vendor to earn a living. When we took him to our home, we noticed how brilliant this boy was and decided that we would invest heavily in his education. The rest is history! Robert graduated from medical school four years ago, and has been working for our National Hospital here. As I speak now, he is at Harvard University in the USA, pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Health on a $25,000 scholarship. That does wonders for encouragement! You have been elected to the head of the Born Again Federation. Tell us about that group. The story of the Born Again Church in Uganda is one of tears and great triumph! The entire Movement has its roots in the evangelistic efforts of Western missionaries and converted nationals in the 1950s and 60s. This is what is known today as the Born Again Church, the Pentecostal church or the Balokole a direct translation for the Saved! In 1977, all Evangelical & Pentecostal Churches were outlawed by the late President Idi Amin, and only four were spared. Our church buildings were turned into drinking joints! Overseas missions closed down and moved to other nations while others returned to their The church suddenly thrived and grew so fast and became so large that we were called the mushrooming church! Above John Glass during an altar call at Victory Christian Centre bases. The remnant church went underground! The period immediately following the overthrow of Amin saw the Pentecostals, also called the Born Again Faith Church, returning to action, but on a very low key and small scale. We had been operating in the underground and under cover for more than five years. Successive governments that followed Amin s exit were short-lived and had no time to reconsider the return of full freedoms in Uganda. Meanwhile, the church suddenly thrived and grew so fast and became so large that we were called the mushrooming church! Evidently, we became a subject of concern in national security circles. Persecution was inevitable and many believers and leaders fled to other nations. The current government came to power in 1986, and to a great extent tolerated this vibrant church, allowing it to blossom as they tackled other, more pressing, political issues of their time. On the 19th February 1990, the then Minister of State for Security, the late Hon Baraki Kirya, invited the Pentecostal and Evangelical Church leaders to unite and form a single and unified voice in the wake of attacks from local administration councils and chiefs. Some churches, especially in rural areas, were being terrorised and attacked, and accused of harbouring bandits. Little did the leaders know that it was religious people persecuting the 30

6 church for the revival that was taking place. In 1995 a new law was enacted in Uganda to regulate foreign organisations and non-traditional churches. Our churches were then registered as non-governmental organisations. This denied us the chance to be institutionalised as churches! These churches have grown exponentially both in numbers and influence, from mediocrity to high profile. Some churches have established branches across the nation becoming large denominations, and others are just huge, massive single congregations but with a national influence. According to unofficial information, which is still to be The Born Again Church is now on official rotas to minister and offer prayers at national functions. What more could we ask for? verified, there are just over 26,000 churches and about eight million believers out of a national population of 33 million. Since the introduction of our new constitution in 1995, we pursued a peaceful, but clearly defined campaign, for the reversal of Idi Amin s decree that banned our faith. We pushed for the recognition of our faith alongside others in fulfilment of the freedoms enshrined in the constitution. The Born Again Faith Federation serves as our visible and organised structure for contact with the state and the public. This massive force of eight million souls has entrusted me and a team of eleven others with their future as their National Leader or Presiding Apostle. We have the grand task of turning this massive populace into a united, modern, connected, growing and Spirit-led church. You have been favoured with significant access to the current government. What opportunities has that opened up for the gospel? I wish I had the space to show you evidence of how contact with the state has been such a blessing! The list is endless. The First Lady and all her children are practising Christians; in fact one of her daughters is a pastor of a Covenant Church. The Government Minister in charge of Ethics and Integrity (a rare portfolio!), and the current most senior officer in charge of our Customs Department, the Uganda Revenue Authority, are both Born Again Christians. Several Members of Parliament are Spirit-filled believers. The unrestricted freedom to broadcast the Gospel on TV, Radio or other media in Uganda is another opportunity. The President has presided over numerous prayer occasions organised by us. He has NEVER hosted a leader of another country and forgotten to read the Bible! He is open about his trust in God. He has, in many a forum, told how his friend President Muammar Gaddafi (Libyan President) donated a Qur an to him in a bid to convert him, but goes on to say that he can never convert to Islam. Once I had the opportunity alongside six others to pray for him in his own bedroom. He was not sick! I believe that many others may have had the same encounter. The Born Again Church is now on official rotas to minister and offer prayers at national functions. What more could we ask for? What value do you place on your affiliation with Elim? I came into contact with Elim UK in the early 1990s when a team of ministers visited Uganda and offered one of my spiritual sons an opportunity to study and work with their church in Liverpool. Pastor Paul Epton invited, accommodated and trained a young graduate William Kasaija, at the Wirral Christian Centre. I was later introduced to the then Missions Director, Brian Edwards. He allowed us to belong to the Elim Church Incorporated. In 1994 I ministered in London with Pastor Sam Larbie and later struck up a friendship with Wynne Lewis. In the entire UK, Elim is probably the most stable and most successful mission with a purely spiritual agenda that has global impact. My relationship with Elim has deepened through my friendship with the current General Superintendent, John Glass. His recent ministry in Kampala is a clear example of the value we place on the Elim Movement. As mature leading ministers, we had never sat under preaching that so ministered to our specific needs as to what God was saying to us a church and nation. 31