Our discipleship course is now in its second year and running successfully in Northern and Central Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and the Philippines. We are thrilled to receive reports from the field that it has been a huge success. The appetite for students to learn about the true meaning of the Gospel and the message of Jesus has been enormous and we are hearing stories of lives turned around as God impacts people through His Holy Spirit.
It has been our intention, with the use of the material provided by Emmanuel Press to be able to present this course in the languages and manner relevant to each country that runs the course. The importance of delivering the course with material that is applicable to its regional audience cannot be overstated.
Our ‘course administrator‘, Milkyas Lelago explains, “The material itself – the pictures, wording, and contextualisation for specific countries is not what we see in other materials. It is simple language and an easy translation that is not challenging and can be understood by students in the culture they are living in.” It is using this method that means that students are able to truly grasp the message of the Gospel and how it pertains to their everyday lives.
This 14-week course focuses on explaining the Biblical truths of the Gospel including repentance, salvation, how do I love God, how do I love others, water baptism, baptism of the Holy Spirit, reading your Bible, how to pray, healing, giving, and what happens when we die.
From Ethiopia, Milkyas says they have 42 registered for starting the course and 10 students currently working through the material. The course takes a standard format in each country with students receiving teaching, times of fellowship, printed materials, food and drinks.
WIN’s Sponsorship Manager, Bevs Lobredo, based in the Philippines described the course as “A complete course that is very good at explaining the way of Christ, baptism, how we live and work in the community.” She said that the 15 students that have finished the course in her country have follow-up monthly meetings to share and continue to grow in their faith.
Robert Mulumbi, our Global Family Leader in Kenya has seen 43 people graduate from the first course that was run, and out of those, four will become leaders of further courses. The next course has been running in the Living Faith Church at the military barracks near Eldoret and has 28 students who want to share the Good News of the Gospel with their colleagues in the barracks.
“The real school is when you are out doing, living the faith,” explained Robert, “It is important to apply the Gospel in real life and experience the practical aspect. This course has been like a new, fresh clarion, awakening call for people to see the need to go out and tell people about Christ. It is catalysing because it encourages you to go out and try to apply what you have learnt.”
In Central Uganda, Global Family Leader, Albert Aryagasha, has seen 75 graduates complete the course last year, with the next course having 60 students who are currently two-thirds of the way through their lessons. The teachers of the Marantha Primary School have been participating in the course which has been held in the school, and it has been such a blessing to hear of the transformation that has been taking place in the hearts of the attendees.
One male teacher confessed that he used to bully female teachers, and he became convicted of this behaviour while he was doing the course. The transformation took place as he broke down and vowed not to do it anymore. He felt moved to voluntarily step down from other leadership roles as he repented and realised that followers of Jesus do not behave in this way.
Albert highlighted the importance of the transformations that are taking place saying, “You can be a Christian school by name, but not by practice. Bringing Christians together and reading scripture together, means we are seeing people convicted of sin and repenting. This makes our Christian school a ‘Christian school’.
Meanwhile in Northern Uganda, Global Family Leader, George Amoli, expressed his delight at seeing 62 students attend the course spread across different locations, “This Basic Discipleship Course is wonderful for new believers and will also be great for those in church, training to be leaders.”
You can see some of our discipleship graduates in the photos below. This second year’s students are well on their way into their course and there is an excitement and desire from these countries to continue the good work. The enthusiasm of our global family leaders and the joy of seeing lives transformed by God as people hear the truth of the Gospel, is something that spurs us on to support them in this endeavour. If you would like to contribute to the Discipleship Course then you can do so on our Discipleship Course appeal page.
