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“search the scriptures” John 5:39
I have posted Bible teaching videos and audio on various social media platforms for many years. My initial aim was to make Bible teaching available to believers in the UK who may not have come across New Testament church truth as it is taught among believers who gather in the way with which readers of this magazine may be familiar. To my surprise, and in a way that would majorly extend my sphere of service, the people who showed the most interest in Bible teaching were from Pakistan, and then Uganda. This was around July 2019 in Uganda, Pakistan being a year earlier.
Sanya Charles, a local pastor in Musoto, Mbale, contacted me and asked if I would be willing to meet him to study the scriptures together once a week online. My response was that I was willing to consider it. Still, there were some issues that we needed to discuss initially. I was concerned that it was not profitable to spend a lot of time disagreeing and debating where he saw the scriptures differently in several fundamental areas of church doctrine, i.e., the leadership structure of a local church (elder-led as opposed to pastor-led), the specific roles of men and women in assembly gatherings, the concept of the church as a body where all members have a vital role, and the cessation of the apostolic era and the gifts that were associated with that period. I knew that there would no doubt be other issues. My initial response was not to ensure that Sanya agreed with my point of view, but that he was open-minded and willing to look honestly at what the scriptures teach, as we should all be!
The response was most encouraging. In brother Sanya’s words - ‘If there are things that I have never seen before in the scriptures, I want to know’ and ‘I am willing to obey the word of God as long as you can show me clearly what they teach’. I have to say that this attitude was refreshing, and we would be wise to adopt the same attitude when studying the scriptures. We started studying 1 Corinthians the following week, and, after that, we moved on to 1 Timothy, and nearly six years later, we are still studying together. The only difference is that some other elders join each week where possible. I say ‘other elders’ because Sanya quickly accepted that his role as the sole pastor was not biblical, and he is now one of the elders in the assembly in Musoto, along with a couple of other brothers.
In October 2021, Sanya asked if I would consider helping him set up and broadcast a weekly radio programme. After looking at the costs, which were minimal in UK terms, it was agreed that it was a good idea. The programme is for one hour each week on local FM radio and reaches as far as 100 miles from Mbale. It is listened to by many people. We called the programme - ‘Bringing God’s Word to your world’. The aim is to preach from the Bible on a verse-by-verse basis. Over the last few years, we have studied the Epistle to the Romans, Mark’s Gospel, and John’s Gospel; we are currently studying Genesis. As a result, we know of many people getting saved. One of these people was Peter, the chief of the rural village of Sakiya. He has since witnessed in his own village, people have been saved, baptized and a small assembly established. The potential of this work is staggering.
Over the years of our involvement with Uganda, our aim has been to encourage local companies of believers to develop New Testament church practices. Paul Jenkinson of Kilmarnock has been visiting other areas of Uganda for many years, and so his help was invaluable when he accompanied me on my first visit to meet the saints in March 2022. I have since been on three more occasions.
Carole and I had a very encouraging visit to Uganda at the end of January 2025. We arrived in Entebbe on the 14th of January. We stayed overnight in Nansana (which is a district of the city of Kampala). Our driver picked us up the following day, and we travelled to Mbale in Eastern Uganda. Our first stop was at the radio station in Mbale, having put our bags in our accommodation. It was a privilege to present the programme in person with Sanya Charles instead of doing it online from my home in the UK. The radio programme is always very encouraging as many people listen, and many phone in and ask questions about what we have been dealing with.
On Thursday, we travelled nearly five hours to Naminyinga. This was a tough journey and was hard on the vehicle we used. A good number of believers gathered to hear the word of God. Sanya travels to this rural village every four or five weeks to help them with Bible teaching and encourage them in the things of God.
Our journey was much shorter on Friday as we travelled to one of the two assemblies in Butebo area, Kashibayai. They were delighted to see us and especially to meet Carole. There were many young people and children at the meetings. We spent from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. teaching the word of God. I met with the elders from this assembly the following Monday. I felt it would be good to go over several points that might hopefully be helpful to them and give them some direction regarding their practices and activities as an assembly.
We spent the weekend with the saints in Musoto, Mbale. It was a very encouraging visit. The believers here are making really good progress. There is a great interest in the teaching of scripture, and many couples and families have dedicated their time to the service of God and to understanding the word of God. I also spent some time with the overseers from this assembly the next day as they wanted to discuss various issues and seek guidance about things they faced. There is opposition in the area to their stance on New Testament church truth, so they need to be encouraged and know that others are standing with them.
Tuesday was spent with the believers in Sakiya. There are about twenty believers here. They have a very rural and simple lifestyle and need straightforward and encouraging teaching. It was delightful to hear Alozious (one of the elders from Musoto) open the word of God and teach them about baptism. Sanya and I then followed with some teaching on the coming of Christ. The faces of the believers were a delight to see as they seemed to be discovering for the first time that the Lord would come for the church and then, at a later stage, return with the church. It is an incredible privilege to see the joy on believers’ faces when they learn truth for the first time.
Please pray for these believers in Uganda. The Lord is working among them, but they still have a lot to learn. There is no recent history of New Testament assemblies in this area of Uganda and they face opposition from unexpected sources, so they need the Lord’s strength and encouragement in their service for Him. False teaching is quite normal in many church circles, and the influence of the so-called prosperity gospel and charismatic teaching is very powerful.
The saints in Uganda really value your prayers and are encouraged to know that they are not alone in their desire to know and obey the truth of scripture.
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