STEPPING OUT PROGRAMMEMenu
The Stepping Out Programme is a way to facilitate biblical outreach, discipleship and leadership development for life and ministry. It is not so much a programme as it is a lifestyle and way of life. It begins not with understanding the system but knowing the heart of God and carrying a desire for service. It stems from a conviction that every believer is called to the work of the ministry and that discipleship and leadership are critical in fulfilling the Great Commission. It challenges each person to develop a heart for evangelism, service to others, and a closer walk with God.
EvangelismMenu
Sharing the good news of the gospel is the greatest gift that we have been able to present to anyone. We have seen literally thousands of people come to faith in Christ and added to local churches. Churches have been planted and people reached in schools, University, hospitals, prisons, displaced camps and the wider community. While social action is important the need for forgiveness before God is the paramount need both for now and eternity. Recently we have been a catalyst in developing evangelism teams with representation from the different local churches. We sponsor bi-monthly outreach events in the locality of a church and facilitate the early discipleship process in adding people to the church. This incorporates both personal and public evangelism which has seen churches working together in a new and fresh way.
Update 2010 has seen the training of evangelist coordinators from the local churches who will coordinate the outreach, follow up and growth of the new believers added to the churches. In early April they succesfully baptised in water 47 people including a man who was blind. They then prayed for them and some were filled with the Holy Spirit and received a genuine ministry of encouragement for their life.
The response to the Gospel was truly overwhelming, and all told the number of people who surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ was 1,763. The spiritual hunger in Uganda for the Gospel and the ministry of the Holy Spirit was so clear during this mission. The ongoing spiritual nurture and discipleship of these new believers has been assigned to local churches in the area.
DiscipleshipMenu
It is easy to underestimate the importance of discipleship, as it never sounds as glamorous as evangelism and leadership. Nevertheless it was one of the key priorities identified by the local leaders when I first met with them in 2000. If a natural baby is left to its own devices after being born it will not survive and the same is often true of those who come to faith in Christ and struggle to grow in their faith. Over the years we have focussed intensely on the importance of the teaching of the word rather than an overdependence on preaching. We have also sought to emphasize the need for spiritual parenting in the local church. We have held monthly training for leaders in the Stepping Out Programme who then disseminate the word through the Sunday service, house groups or small group meetings after the main church services. The next stage for us has been to draw together those with a passion for discipleship and teaching from the different churches and strengthen this ministry through working as a team. This helps to bring accountability in doctrine and prevent error amongst the people.
LeadershipMenu
Raising and releasing leaders is one of the strongest calls upon the ministry of TEAMS. It is of limited benefit to build a foundation in this generation if you dont prepare for the next. Cycles of poor leadership can destroy a people and a country. The Acholi have a strong call to leadership as a people with an independent mind. The challenge we have laid down over the years is to see this generation of leaders be a model of godliness for the next. This applies to the home, in business as much as it does in the church. The Each One Release One material lays a foundation for leadership in all walks of life and provides clear and practical teaching to equip every leader. Through our monthly leadership training days we are seeking to begin this process of lasting change. Jesus chose 12 and moulded them into apostolic men who could influence nations. They were not theologians; they were ordinary people who did extraordinary things because they served an extraordinary God. The whole of the life cycle of the SOP is developing leaders in children, youth, women, prisons and adults. As we move forward we desire to see leaders in the market place and leaders in ministry rise up and be strategic in their sphere of influence.
Update In February we commissioned the key leaders who completed the training in the Stepping Out Programme. The material covers 3 areas of Evangelism, Discipleship and Leadership with nearly 300 pages of training over 39 weeks if done on a weekly basis. They will be responsible for coordinating the SOP in the local churches. It was a tremendous day of empowerment as each person was prayed for and received a personalised certificate. They were then commissioned and challenged to be spearheads in this critical post war period in northern Uganda.
Children
Since our inception we have had a strong focus on ministry to children and one that holds the needs of the orphan very centrally. This area is often neglected, as people tend to focus more on youth and adults. For more than two decades, the inhabitants of Northern Uganda suffered 20 years of unrest, with children as victims of the atrocities. In caring for children affected by conflict, we have sought to address every aspect of a child's life in meeting spiritual as well as practical and social needs.
Stepping Out Programme for ChildrenThe Stepping Out Programme for Children is a discipleship teaching programme that helps to meet those needs. It has been very successful in reaching out in love and care and has been designed especially for children in Uganda who have chosen to give their lives to Jesus Christ. This programme also teaches them about what it means to be a Christian.
Stepping Out Fun dayChildren's Fun Days bring together children from a specific locality and gives them the opportunity to share in fun and learning through play, sports and drama. The first Children's Stepping Out Evangelism Fun day was launched on 14th March 2009 and has continued on one day of every month up to the present day. At the first fun day, children from many churches in Gulu, Uganda were invited and encouraged to bring their friends along. A total of 210 children attended that day and 15 became new believers. These children then went onto attend their local church and were introduced to the Stepping Out Programme discipleship teaching by their Sunday school teachers.
Sunday school teachers from different churches come together under the guidance of the Children's Stepping Out Programme's main coordinator Pastor Daniel Onyango, Together they lead the days activities of games, singing and teaching. Throughout 2009 the Stepping Out Child Evangelism Fun days took place in 10 different churches. The total number of children attending these events in 2009 was 2,177. The total number that became new believers through the programme for the year 2009 was 225 children.
We work in partnership with local churches and have over 25 Sunday School teachers representing these churches. Children who make a commitment are brought into the family of the local church through liaising with their family and community. This is a growing and credible work and the Sunday school teachers follow up on the discipleship and development of the children through the local Sunday Schools.
YouthMenu
In many parts of Africa children and young people are the majority of the population as mortality figures are so high. In Northern Uganda there has been genuine fear and disillusionment amongst the young people as a result of the war and the attendant abduction and recruitment as child soldiers. This sense of fear and hopelessness coupled with fragmented education has created a real need amongst the youth for positive input and hope for the future. We have been involved in sports and schools ministry with great success. The local medical school students have taken on the Stepping Out Programme and developed 12 house groups for nurturing people in the faith. In 2008 we earmarked a portion of the land for a football pitch and opened this up to the community. With local youth leadership this has been a fruitful development. We have a real passion to see the youth ministry grow and restore a generation that had their youth stolen from them.
WomenMenu
The women of Northern Uganda have carried the brunt of maintaining family and home life during the time of conflict. Widowhood, abduction, abuse and coping with extended families with orphan needs have stretched these women to the limit. Yet their spiritual and practical resilience has been astounding. We have heard many testimonies of Gods faithfulness in the midst of adversity, including that of Mama Lucy Oryem who gave us five acres of land. Her husband was killed during the time of Idi Amin and the underground church during this time met in her house with considerable risk to herself. She prayed since those days for a church to be on her land and she has lived to see the dream. The women's ministry has been in some ways the strongest and most vibrant. We had seen women empowered in their lives and calling through hospital visitation, women's ministry events, prison's visits and church ministry. Through our projects (see TRANSFORM) we are seeing women empowered practically. In 2009 I heard a testimony while meeting with some women of how they began to take upon themselves the needs of the community. They gathered what they had to meet the needs of those without. In one community a women who was known to be destitute received practical care as she was fed and given the chance to bathe. This was a shocking and powerful testimony to the community of that church.
FamilyMenu
Families are the foundation of communities. The war in northern Uganda has torn at the very heart of family structure in the north. Rebuilding strong family units is critical to the rebuilding of the society; economic development can only go so far. The Discipleship phase of the SOP, Each One Teach One begins with Personal Life. Discipleship must begin in the family as we are brought into the family of God. The next phase is to develop regular times of drawing couples, singles and communities of the churches together to discuss, share and minister in this area so that a strong sense of godly family and relationships becomes the links holding the community together.
Update It was exciting after 10 years of relationship and ministry in Gulu to see the launch of our family ministry. Couples were gathered from the local churches and had a rich time of sharing on the 'biblical perspective on marriage'. Strong marriages are the key to strong families and strong leadership and high on our priority for 2010.
HealthMenu
Over the years we have looked to develop a health work that is both effective and sustainable, the formative stages including the identification of some of the health needs of our orphan children. In recent years we have built strong links with the local hospitals and medical school, the fruit of which is the launch of a hospital visitation ministry team comprised of 33 people from local churches, community health outreach and training initiatives. We have also successfully initiated a government-supported community based training programme that seeks to address the urgent need for accessible health care.
Community health outreach Every year we send out teams from the UK to minister and deliver practical aid to rural communities in Uganda. This February, over two weeks, team members held two free consultation and treatment days in Busulumba, Kaliro district, and Kirimwa, Iganga district in Eastern Uganda. The need for primary health care remains a pressing concern, and so these innovative public events provide much needed treatment for communities that struggle to access health care.
The model consists of recruiting local voluntary health professionals, on this occasion 4 doctors, 4 nurses, a dentist and an optician, who give up a day to serve the local community. Once a site has been secured, a basic dispensary is prepared and stocked with drugs, toothbrushes and reading glasses, all of which are funded by donations from supporters in the UK and made available to the public without cost.
Over the course of the two days in March, 678 people were treated for a variety of health issues and 1,000 toothbrushes handed out with information supplied about their proper use, and a recorded number of 167 pairs of glasses were handed out. There were many cases of trachoma being diagnosed as well as a high number of dental problems. It was recommended that the district health officer include an oral hygiene health education and care programme from the nearest Health Care centre III.
The average cost of treating a patient is only a few pounds; a seemingly small direct cost and yet an amount that many simply cannot afford and so it is critically important to develop a long term strategy to provide accessible quality health care for both Iganga, Kaliro and indeed the remaining 78 districts in Uganda.
The idea of whole person health care is central to the ethos of The East African Missionary Society and one that embraces spirit, soul and body. It is this belief that motivates care for the physical condition and ministry for the spiritual wellbeing of an individual. This is outworked in health care, personal outreach and prayer being made accessible for everyone; a total of 139 people responded to the Gospel invitation over the two days. The local government has expressed their gratitude for the invaluable service provided to the community and has offered their support in facilitating future events.
Hospital Visitation Gulu regional hospital is the main government hospital. It is severely lacking in facilities and characterised by malnutrition, minimal ventilation and is poorly resourced. Each Saturday a team from local churches spend several hours ministering to the spiritual, emotional and practical needs of the patients. The staff have positively received this and further support through mosquito nets and blankets have significantly improved the general well being of patients.
Medical School Since the reopening of Gulu University several years ago a Medical School to train doctors has been instituted. Our Health Coordinator was a medical student and introduced us to the students. Dr Chapman was struck by the vibrancy, commitment and clear understanding the students had in scripture and their desire to serve God. Despite their busy schedule we began implementing the Stepping Out Programme to facilitate their vision to reach medical students and lay a foundation for their future life as a doctor. This has proved very successful and as the health work of TEAMS continues to grow will be part of an ongoing and developing relationship.
PrisonMenu
The prisons of Northern Uganda are some of the neediest and lacking in basic provision that we have ever come across. With overcrowding, poor facilities and lack of food, the conditions are desperate for inmates. The call to the prisons was very clear and specific. Matthew 25 was highlighted to the Founding Director of TEAMS and an opportunity arose to visit Gulu Central prison where 123 inmates came to Christ. We are now working in 15 prisons in Northern Uganda.
Update During the months of February and March, team members embarked upon a two-week tour of prisons in Uganda that included 21 correctional facilities. It was a gruelling schedule for the team and they distributed practical aid to more than 3,000 male and female inmates and over the course of the tour, a total of 517 people made commitments to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of the personal nature of our visit and work in the prisons we can be confident that these are not mere numbers but individuals through which we have an ongoing relationship. It was an amazing time of witnessing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by many healings, testimonies of people being delivered from demonic bondage as well as baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is fair to say that revival was experienced in some prisons and the theme of the prison tour was Joel 2:28 - "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on an all flesh".
The tour forms part of a year-long programme with the aim of supporting ministry and practical aid to more than 15 prisons. Our continued efforts have resulted in TEAMS being acknowledged as the leading prison ministry in the North, and enjoy strong relationships with prison staff and the various Officers in charge. The fruit of the faithful and committed spiritual input of team members has resulted in more manageable prison populations who as result of responding to the Gospel, have had a fundamental change of heart. The continued practical relief delivered at each scheduled visit as well as during the two annual prison tours continues to improve the living conditions of inmates. The practical aid includes boxes of soap, sandals, bibles, cash donations for building materials, hygiene products, basins, kitchen equipment and jerry cans and recreational items like local musical instruments. The conditions in many of the prisons are appalling and desperate so these items are deeply appreciated and critical. Whilst the contributions make an immediate impact, there is a pressing need to see the welfare of inmates improve long term. To that end there are numerous projects currently being undertaken that include a literacy programme and a small income generation project:
Literacy classes Inmates, in most prisons in Uganda, do not have access to quality education or rehabilitation programmes. The establishment of a literacy programme in Gulu central prison offers male inmates the chance to advance their education. Whilst it costs little to run and employs a very simple educational model, it is bearing fruit; currently there are 100 students as well as an additional 30 individuals who are taking 4 additional subjects.
InternationalMenu
While Northern Uganda is clearly our ministry base the call upon TEAMS stretches much further. Re-digging the wells of former missionary generations in ways that are relevant for this generation is a part of our vision. The first phase is the base in Northern Uganda. The second phase is to extend that into the East African sister nations of Kenya and Tanzania. In 2006 a pilot mission was conducted in Arusha, Tanzania where our Stepping Out coordinator met with pastors and leaders of the local churches. They received the SOP gladly and several follow up missions have taken place. The Each One Reach One evangelism material has been translated into Kiswahili and we have identified a potential link in western Kenya.
