Wow, last night was an amazing experience! A few of my local friends and I attended an all-night monthly prayer meeting in the heart of the Ugandan bush land with more than 350 people that has been happening since 1986. This is what Church should be like!
25 years ago, a man from this small village, who had been living in the city, committed his life to Christ after hearing an evangelist speak. After a short period of discipleship, this man decided to bring the Gospel back to his virtually unreached small village. Within a week, he had led seven people to the Lord. These eight men were very hungry to grow closer to God. So, they started meeting the last Friday night of each month to study, sing, and pray that God would move in their land.
After a few months, these eight men met my friend, pastor and evangelist, Apollo Kabaale. He began to disciple them, and encouraged them to share Jesus with the rest the surrounding villages, and to form a real church. They soon began to grow! First, it was 15 people attending the meetings, then 30. Next, their church was able to plant another church in a neighboring village, then another, and another.
Now, there are 25 connected churches in this rural area with several thousand members! And the monthly all-night prayer meeting is still going strong. The 25 churches send representatives to attend the prayer meeting. And, of course, the meeting is open to any person from the community who wants to attend. What an amazing testament to how God can use a few unequipped, inexperienced, but willing people to change an entire area!
It is experiences like these that bring 1 Corinthians Ch. 12 to life! We are one body with many parts, baptized into one spirit. It is incredibly obvious that God is the same in the heart of Africa as He is back home! The Oneness of Spirit felt in moments like this is impossible to describe with words. I’m determined to find some people back home who are willing to help me start a yearly all-night prayer meeting like this!
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