Developing the Center in Uganda

[Video - Dr. Solomon Nkesiga from KEST on Cults in Uganda]
False teaching and cults are rampant across East Africa. The need for a wide-ranging, biblical response is obvious, but what is the best approach to such an enormous challenge? Since my first trip to Uganda, God has made it clear that equipping African Christians for discernment and defending the faith requires strong partnerships with nationals who are committed to the same vision.

By returning to Uganda last month, the Lord enabled us to take major steps toward building a strong ministry partnership between ACFAR and the Kampala Evangelical School of Theology (KEST).

There are at least five strong reasons why working with KEST is strategic:

• It’s indigenous—a seminary by Africans and for Africans.
• It’s nondenominational—its students include Anglicans, Baptists, Pentecostals, and others.
• It’s highly respected—KEST has had a twenty-year association with John Stott’s Langham Partnership, and the national leaders and missionaries we’ve met have consistently spoken well of KEST.
• It’s strategically located right in the heart of Uganda’s capital city, close to Makerere University, one of Africa’s oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning.
• It’s committed to combating error.

KEST is led by Dr. Solomon Nkesiga, a pastor and educator with extensive experience in East and Southern Africa. We’ve spent much time with Solomon, gaining valuable insights on the spiritual situation in Uganda and mapping strategies for making ACFAR a reality. Not only has our time together been encouraging and productive, but I’ve come to deeply respect him as a man of God.

As our partnership with KEST begins, ACFAR will develop:

1) A quarterly research bulletin for pastors, featuring practical articles on discernment and the defense of the faith
2) An extensive web site devoted to news, research, and analysis of new and controversial religious groups in East Africa
3) Training seminars and conferences for pastors, seminary and Bible students, Christian workers, and lay believers
4) Resources for mass distribution in English and local languages, including tracts, pamphlets, books, and audio and video material

African Christian leaders are clamoring for us to begin, but one last step remains: raising our remaining support. Will you pray with us as we seek to begin this unique ministry as soon as our Lord provides?

(Previous posts on our recent mission trip: Advancing Biblical Discernment in Uganda, The Challenge of Islam in Uganda)