Welcome to Building Uganda

Strategies:
Church Planting

In Romans 15: 20-21, Apostle Paul discouraged the idea of planting a local church where another local church already existed. He encouraged church planting in areas where Jesus Christ has never been preached. It worked very well for him and his team and many local churches were planted in different regions.

Since 1979, BBT and Alex Mitala have planted 147 local churches in both Uganda.

THE GOAL

After the Gospel is preached to all, we give opportunities to people to REPENT of their sins and to BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When they do, we disciple them and prepare them for water baptism. Then we begin to meet regularly for bible study, fellowship, worship and for developmental education.

CHALLENGES

The scriptures will never allow a newly converted person to lead a church.

Therefore, we are always challenged as to who should immediately take care of these new congregations! One of us normally remains to disciple the people. Sometimes we work with the nearby church, but sometimes we train one person in our bible school who will stay as the first elder in the new planted church. BBT takes on the responsibility of supporting that local Pastor for at least 2 to 3 years until he and the church establish their own sources of funding.

Religious hostility among the diehard religious and animistic worshipers who hate the Gospel and those who preach it is a big challenge. In some locations, where devil-worship and witchcraft are prevalent, BBT will first buy a piece of land there, before preaching. Then, the preaching is done and the land is used for the new church of the newly converted Christians. If the land is not purchased first, the devil-worshipers will make it very difficult once converts have been made. This land generally costs US$1,000.

In most cases, about 2 years are needed for the new, small church to be able to support its Pastor. BBT, therefore, pledges to support him and his family financially, at a rate of generally $100/month during this time. BBT is also very involved in the spiritual and social development of the new church during this period. Whether renting a tent, a building or having a temporary structure built, BBT takes on this task. Most often, any of these options totals about $4,500.

Although BBT does all it can to ensure that the Pastor's family finds a house, occasionally it is difficult and long commutes are required from the Pastor. In these cases, bicycles or motorcycles are needed. A dependable bicycle costs about $100.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

In 1992, BBT started a school of ministry in Uganda commonly known as FOMPSOM (Fishers of Men Permanent School of Ministry). In this school, church leaders and their assistants are trained in the following areas: Bible doctrine, behavior, church management, challenges of church growth, discipleship, indigenous church development, sanitation and primary healthcare and much more. These subjects are divided into a total of 4 courses, each totaling 40 days. They are done in the local languages, and each student takes with them all the needed materials to train their local congregations when the class is over. Since 1992, BBT has trained over 600 church leaders, and currently is training at a rate of 160 per year.

All Pastors and other church leaders must be trained, both in fundamental Biblical teachings and in leadership. However, the majority of such pastors that are called to serve in the bush regions are not educated and do not always speak the common languages. These take special care. New lessons must be developed and translated into their respective languages. Also, new locations for these school venues must be located. As these classes are 40 days long, funding is an issue.

COSTS & NEEDS

It costs BBT $2,500 to run a school of 50 church leaders for 40 days.

BBT needs a 4-wheel-drive truck for evangelism ($12,000)

BBT needs 1,000 Bibles in local languages ($10 each)

BBT needs 200 bicycles for bush evangelists and church leaders

BBT needs short-term visiting Bible Teachers and Mentors

BBT needs Portable Public Addressing Systems

BBT needs your Prayers!

We ask you to pray for this business of converting and discipling, because a true church is composed of disciples but not just converts.

Please click "How can I help?" for more information.