“Pray for me! I am looking for a way to get saved,” a Ugandan student implored his roommate a couple of weeks before AE’s Greater Kampala Mission in July 2009. Thankfully for this student, Stephen Lungu, AE’s International Team Leader, went to Kampala to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to every sector of the city. Stephen’s passionate preaching convicted both the Ugandan student and his roommate such that they gave their lives to Christ with joy and thanksgiving. One of them had been involved in armed rebel activities in the past and so Stephen’s story of having found forgiveness in Christ for his own violent past spoke powerfully into this young man’s life.
The enthusiastic response to the Gospel demonstrated by these two young men was characteristic of the thousands of Ugandans who found Jesus because of AE’s outreach efforts. One of the mission committee members, Benoni Mugarura-Mutana, noticed a young man listening intently to Stephen’s message and fiddling with the strap of a bag hanging from his shoulder. When, at the end of his message, Stephen invited any who wanted to give their life to Jesus to come forward, Benoni smiled as he watched this young man bolt forward, running up to the platform to find Christ.Several police officers, who were asked to guard the mission platforms and equipment at night after the evangelistic rallies were over, asked AE’s David Masiko, “Why don’t you tell our boss so that we could come earlier and listen to the message?” David did just this and, after the mission, received a request from the police for Bibles, which he gladly took to them so that they could read God’s Word.
Prior to the evening evangelistic rallies, AE organized medical outreaches to provide vital health services to citizens of Kampala, many of whom stayed around afterward to hear the Gospel and participate in the rallies. On top of this, AE partnered with Scripture Union and other student ministries to evangelize the schools and universities around Kampala in the month leading up to the mission. As a result, thousands of students have come to know Jesus because of these efforts.
AE Uganda is headquartered in Kampala, the country's capital, and led by the Rev. Geoffrey Byarugaba (in photo to the left). The Uganda Team was launched in 1972 by the late Bishop Festo Kivengere, the "Billy Graham of Africa," who was known worldwide for his gracious opposition to former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, leading him to write a book entitled I Love Idi Amin.
AE Uganda engages in evangelism, especially to university students at Makerere University in Kampala, and spearheads numerous practical ministries, including assistance to AIDS orphans and childhood disease inoculations. Most recently, AE Uganda launched a citywide mission to Kampala.
