Sudanese Graduates of Uganda Baptist Seminary: A Good Investment

Women's Bible School, Bidibidi Camp

Sudanese Graduates of Uganda Baptist Seminary: A Good Investment

The picture to the left was sent to us by Edward Dima.  It is of women who are enrolled in a Bible school program carried out in the Bidibidi Camp of northern Uganda.  The class recently graduated, and Edward posted a video and pictures of the big celebration which attended that event on his Face Book account.

The class was started by two ladies whom CRM sponsored to attend the Uganda Baptist Seminary (UBS) of Jinja, Uganda.  The school recently posted a video on You Tube and its link is  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmBuqTocPSc&t=108s.  You can also visit the school's website at https://ugandabaptistseminary.org/  

The ladies who started this particular ministry are named Joyce and Rose.  They have also been helped by another lady CRM sponsored name Mary Yanga.  Two classes have now graduated from the school.  Given that most Sudanese women, historically speaking, have not been given the opportunity to attend school, this ministry is very special. 

With the help of partners, we began sponsoring Sudanese students to attend UBS back in 2012.  Since that time, we have lost track of how many have graduated and gone on to an effective ministry.  Those graduates are serving the Lord in Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan.  They all serve in hard places and among least reach people groups.  In a few days, I will have the privilege of visiting with some of them in Juba, and seeing with my own eyes the ministries they have carried out since 2014 in area IDP camps.

You can help us sponsor both current and future students.  You can do that by sending a check directly to the International Mission Board designated "For Uganda Baptist Seminary, sponsorship of Sudanese students."  You can also do that online at https://www.imb.org/give/ and use the same designation.


CRM also provides Bible training and leadership development for Sudanese women by carrying out training events on the ground in E. Africa.  You can help us fund our upcoming November event by donating to CRM, www.calvaryroadministries.com.  See the "donate" tab and choose "Giving for Going" and "While it Is Still Day."  Or send in a check to the supplied address.

Funding future church leaders for Sudan is a good investment.

David


 

What Men Intended for Evil, God Meant for Good

Edward Dima President of BCoSS

What Men Intended for Evil, God Meant for Good

Our on-the-field partner in our CRM related ministry is the young, but growing, Baptist Convention of South Sudan.  The president of this coalition of Baptist churches since 2011 is Edward Dima.  The picture to the left is of him holding some MP3 players we provided back in August of 2018.  Edward and his wife, Rose, have provided outstanding leadership for the convention, and having the privilege of working with him since 2011 has been a major encouragement in my life and ministry. His commitment to seeing that all Sudanese have an opportunity to hear the Gospel has inspired and challenged many.

However, like many of history's other outstanding Christian leaders, the character and qualities displayed through Edward and Rose's lives were forged on the anvil of hardship.  The main cause of their toughest hardships has been fighting and war within Sudan and Uganda.

Several years ago, Edward and Rose both told me stories connected with their growing up years which involved living in refugee camps.  Edward's own grandfather moved his family to a refugee camp in the mid-1950s after war broke out in Sudan in 1956.  Later on his father had to move him and his siblings into a refugee camp because of renewed fighting within Sudan.  Edward and Rose are currently on refugee status in Uganda, which means their children are fourth generation refugees.  What a sad and regrettable set of circumstances!  Rose and her family have actually lived on refugee status in both Uganda and S. Sudan.

However, all of those hardships did not lead them to be embittered.  Instead, God used what people intended for evil to produce within them a firm commitment and resolve to be used of Him to serve the suffering communities of both northern Uganda and Sudan.  As a result of living on both sides of the Uganda-Sudan border, they established a wide relationship network in both places.  Because of their commitment to the vision given to the Apostle John in Revelation 5:9-10, they have utilized that network to help both Sudanese and Ugandans do evangelism, plant churches, train disciples and start Bible schools.

While doing a mobilization ministry for the IMB, I studied factors which have impacted the willingness and ability of the American church to give money and personnel for taking the Gospel to the world's remaining least reached peoples.  One study I read had convincing proof that Americans gave more during the Great Depression than in the economic boom years of the 1990s.  This in terms of the percentage of both personal and church income.

God forbid that it require circumstances such have transpired in northern Uganda and Sudan over the last 6 decades to wake up His church in the USA.

Whatever happens here or anywhere in the world, God be praised for the hope inspired by the words of Joseph spoken in Genesis 50:20 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."   (NIV)

David

Leadership Pyramid: Bible Teaching at Mulitiple Levels

Kakuma Camp Bible School

The Leadership Pyramid: Why We Support Bible Teaching on Multiple Levels

 This picture is of the signboard located just by the gate of the Bible school center we built in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in 2018.  We used money raised during my "Hiking to Help Refugees" campaign.  The center includes two dorms, classrooms, a small house for teachers, a kitchen and of course toilets and shower stalls.  Because of the generosity of our donors, we were also able to supply a solar system and build a baptistry.  I will attend the graduation of the school's first class on August 31.

The bulk of what we do has what I call the "common man approach."  This implies that before one begins ministry among a particular people group, one has to study their culture and way of life.  One big factor which will determine how you go about making disciples among the people is that of literacy.  If it is determined that the "common man," or average person, lacks sufficient literacy skills to read the Bible or other literature then an adjustment must be made as to how you will go about doing evangelism and Bible training.

We have for years worked with people groups having a very high illiteracy rate.  This factor forced Calvary Road Ministry, in conjunction with the Maasai Team of Kenya, to develop what are called "Story Cloths."  They can be viewed at www.calvaryroadministries.com. 

Now to relate this to what I call the leadership pyramid.   A pyramid is obviously held up by its base.  If the base is not wide and strong enough then the whole structure will topple over.  In the same manner, if one is to be used of the Lord to initiate and grow a movement among an unreached people, the strategies employed must meet the needs of the "common man."  Thus we use the chronological Bible storying method when teaching church leaders, and we supply scripture resources in digital format which can be listened to or watched, as in the case of the Jesus Film and other Gospel films.  Using such strategies enables people who have never, and may never, attend school become effective evangelists and disciple makers.

However, in every society there will be a certain percentage of the population which is literate.  To move those folks up the leadership pyramid, we help start and support local Bible schools.  Then a certain percentage of those who complete the Bible school will qualify for a seminary education.  Those who graduate from a Bible school or seminary will be the most likely to start similar schools back home, once their days as refugees are over.  They will be the folks who can read, teach and preach the text of the Bible in their churches.

If you visit CRM's website check out the "donate" button and give so that we can continue to sponsor students at the Uganda Baptist Seminary, or in a local Bible school.  Even more importantly, you will thereby enable us to supply more materials to the "common man" who forms that very important base, without which the "structure" cannot exist.

 

Vistas, Inspiration and Hard Work

Wayah Bald

Vistas, Inspiration and Hard Work

This picture is of me standing atop the Wayah Bald, a mountain located in western NC.  A nice couple from FL made this picture and emailed it to me.  The sun shining on the clouds below made the vista in the background that much more beautiful.

Standing on a promontory like Wayah Bald, or Max Patch, affords one the opportunity to better see where he/she has already hiked, and to view what work lies ahead.  The view backward brings a rewarding sense of accomplishment.  The vista ahead reminds one that much hard work remains undone.  Thus, as one reluctantly descends from such a view, one feels both inspired and challenged.  Thoughts of territory already conquered bring fond memories.  Contemplation of the unknown lying ahead can raise doubts, questions and worries.

For example, when a thru hiker sits on a high bald like Max Patch, it is almost impossible to resist the temptation to pull out one's copy of the ATC Trail Guide, and contemplate the route ahead.  Such contemplation involves thinking about issues such as: where will I get off the trail to resupply; are there good sources of water; will the shelters ahead be as nice as those behind; will I be more likely to encounter bears and snakes ahead?  These questions, and a plethora of others, can temper the feeling of exhilaration just inspired by the vista looming ahead.

The Bible offers followers of Jesus views of what lies ahead for them.  One such "vista" passage is found in Revelation 5.  Verse 9 states "worthy are you to take the scroll and open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation..."

Wow, now that's a view which inspires and gives real hope.  As Vance Havner once said "I read the end of the book, and Jesus wins!"  However, that view of what lies ahead is tempered by where we currently sit, for millions of people still remain without any portion of scripture translated into their heart language, and billions of people still are denied access to the Gospel and to the privilege of membership in a local church.  Much work remains, and that knowledge poses its own set of questions to each disciple.   

Thankfully, for each of us granted the awesome privilege of owning God's guidebook, the Bible, we can take heart in knowing and claiming its promises of His continuous presence and provision.

Join us please in empowering the suffering Sudanese church with scripture resources by visiting www.calvaryroadministries.com and using the "donate" button.  The "vista view" God has given us should call forth from each of us our "upmost for His highest." 

David

Context Makes All the Difference

Baptism Aiyolo Camp, Northern Uganda

Context Makes All the Difference

 We have all heard the saying "context is king."  It is one employed when teaching followers of Jesus who are new to the faith in matters pertaining to interpreting the Bible.

Many cults have arisen over the years which claim to be Christian, but in reality their teachings involve biblical texts which they have wrested out of their original context.  They do this so they can claim biblical authority for presuppositions and practices which in reality have no true biblical basis.

Many popular public figures have, to their dismay, discovered that a TV news outlet has edited an interview they granted in such a way that the final version appears to make them supportive of viewpoints or opinions to which they do not hold.  Only the original version or context could disprove the distortion.  Yes, context is king, and can make all the difference in how a text, an act or statement is interpreted.

The above picture was taken by me in 2016 in a refugee camp located in northern Uganda.  It was conducted openly and those who witnessed the event were supportive.  Hymns were sung, people applauded as those baptized emerged from the water, and overall it was simply a celebrated event.

Baptism is one of the first steps of obedience a new follower of Jesus should take.  It supplies his/her public testimony to the fact that God has done a work of saving grace in their lives.  As Christ died, was buried, and rose triumphantly from the grave, even so baptism represents the reality that this new believer has also died to their old life, buried it, and is now risen to new life in Christ. Baptism is one of the ordinances Jesus gave to His church which represents the believer's union with Him.  When undertaken in contexts which are majority Christian, or at least neutral to the practice of religious faith, the act generally does not immediately result in persecution and rejection.

 However, when conducted in contexts which are openly hostile to the Gospel, the act of baptism can result in immediate hardship.  Thus a person who has been raised in a Muslim context will see the act of being baptized in the light provided by such a context.  The potential and actual dangers sure to follow taking this step of obedience generally force all involved to exercise precautions not necessary in more friendly contexts.

Our work with refugees has now expanded to those who at some point fled Sudan.  Almost %100 of those who now follow Jesus came out of Islam.  Yet, even though the contexts in which they witness to the truth of the Gospel message present dangers foreign to Americans, they still joyously baptize, celebrate the Lord's Supper, and witness to the power of their Risen Lord to forgive sin and transform lives.  Their boldness and determined resolve to reach their own people has in turn challenged us to be more faithful and courageous in our ongoing attempts to empower them by providing scripture resources.

If you want to help us empower those whose natural context would deny them access to the Bible and to a local church then visit www.calvaryroadministries.com and use the "donate" tab.  Heaven will provide our ultimate and eternal context.  Until we reach that environment, may our use of our time and money reflect that "make disciples of all nations..." is indeed our number one priority.

David