For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming.

EPHESIANS 4:12-14

Last year, I (Matt) was heartbroken to hear about the state of some churches from one of my students. He told me that he had recently moved to a village called Acet to open a drug store and plug into a local church. Acet had five evangelical churches, but they were all in disarray. In three out of the five churches, the pastors had recently been caught in adultery, their reputations were ruined, and their churches were in shambles. The fourth church had undergone a recent church split because the youth pastor refused to relinquish control back to the senior pastor when he returned from a long trip away. Finally, the fifth was overseen by an emotionally charged, unstable woman who changed her theology and direction weekly. Unfortunately, although I was heartbroken to hear about the state of the churches, I was not surprised. Because the zeal to further God’s Kingdom was not accompanied by knowledge of His Word, many churches have imploded, and many faiths have been shipwrecked.

However, this week, I was encouraged to catch up with a good friend named Bismark Okwera, who graduated from our pastoral school in 2019. Bismark had witnessed many well-meaning pastors open churches and fail to maintain them. In most cases, when they fell into hard times financially, they turned to the more popular message of the prosperity cults to try and increase the offerings of their congregations. Desiring to avoid the temptation of following in their footsteps, Bismark and his wife worked hard for five years and saved their money by buying cattle. At the close of 2023, they sold five of their cows, used the money to make a down payment on two acres of land, and built a temporary church structure for a fellowship of people they had evangelized to and were actively discipling. Bismark and his wife Concy, one of my wife’s best friends, cleared the land and constructed the church building with their own four hands. By doing this, Bismark is protecting himself from future allegations of hidden motives and is providing the refugees with an example of a Godly work ethic.

Calvary Chapel Ogili was planted adjacent to a large refugee camp in northern Uganda. They hold multilingual services to witness to those fleeing for their lives from war-torn areas in East Africa. Bismark and Concy also opened a nursery school that meets in their church building to minister to the refugees and help sustain the church financially.

• Please pray for Calvary Chapel Ogili. Pray that God would continue to add to their number daily those who are being saved as Bismark and Concy faithfully teach God’s Word.

May God bless you and continue to strengthen you in your faith.

Matt & Noelle & Family