Tag Archive for: Uganda

Faces of Faith ā€“ Abraham

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Abraham lives in Uganda, where faith is closely tied to community identity. He was raised as a Muslim and firmly grounded in the beliefs of his family and community. Yet God was at work. When Christian leaders began holding meetings nearby, Abraham, a respected community leader, allowed them to gather out of a desire for peace and even opened some of their sessions. Many in the Muslim community became angry and accused him of betrayal.

Those Christians continued to show patience and love. They came to Abrahamā€™s home, prayed with him, and spoke plainly about Jesus Christ. Through their faithful witness, the Holy Spirit worked, and Abraham was brought to faith. He publicly confessed Christ, even writing a letter to the local Muslim leaders declaring that he was leaving the mosque.

That confession came at a steep cost. Abraham faced severe persecution. He was rejected by those who once called him friend and threats were made against his life. Yet Abraham remained steadfast. Anchored in the promises of Christ, he continued to grow in faith trusting that obedience to Jesus is worth the cost, even when the road is painful.

Desiring to serve others faithfully and to share the gospel with clarity and compassion, Abraham joined the TELL Network. The training he has received through TELL has helped him grow in his faith and speak Christ-centered truth rooted in Scripture. This training immediately strengthened his ministry, equipping him to reach people with backgrounds similar to his own. His faith journey is an example of how God may use someone to plant the seed, another to water it, and ultimately it is God who causes it to grow.

The Lord is blessing this work. Today, the majority of Abrahamā€™s congregation consists of former Muslims. Because he understands their questions and fears firsthand, he speaks with humility, patience, and credibility. Abraham is also training other leaders using the TELL method. This ministry bore visible fruit in February 2026 when 17 children and young adults were baptized.

Abraham and the members of Adonia Lutheran Evangelical Ministry recently joined in fellowship with the Obadiah Lutheran Synod, WELSā€™ sister church in Uganda. Through the training and support he has received from TELL, Abraham is being equipped to shepherd others with confidence and Christ-centered care. Abrahamā€™s journeyā€”from persecution to pastoral leadershipā€”stands as a living witness to the power of the gospel.

From Joel Hoff, TELL Network missionary

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Unexpected discovery

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Have you ever reached into a pocket and discovered money you didnā€™t remember putting there? The discovery is completely unexpectedā€”and delightful.

First Impressions of CLSU
That is how I felt after a recent trip to Uganda to visit the Confessional Lutheran Synod of Uganda (CLSU). At the end of March, I accompanied One Africa Team missionary, Ben Foxen, on a visit to Ibanda, located in the western hills of the country. Because it was my first time representing the WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations (CICR), I wasnā€™t sure what to expect. In the end, the experience far exceeded anything I could have imagined.

The purpose of our visit was to explore a potential partnership between WELS and the CLSU. Together, we studied CLSUā€™s statement of faith and constitution, asking questions for clarification and deeper understanding. These discussions proved both productive and encouraging. The CLSU holds firmly to the Bible, teaching and preaching in accordance with Scripture. We share a strong emphasis on gospel ministry that keeps Jesus at the center. We pray for and look forward to the day when our synods can formally declare fellowship.

The CLSU consists of 40 congregations across Uganda, with approximately 3,200 baptized members. After analyzing the demographics of their congregations, their leadership has developed a clear plan for ministry. With nearly 80 percent of their members under the age of 18, they are focusing on youth ministry and strengthening catechism instruction. They are also working to expand access to education through their schools and are eager to encourage more young men to pursue seminary training and become pastors. In short, they have ambitious goals, coupled with a deep trust in Godā€™s blessings.

Connected Through Christ

On a personal note, getting to know the members of the CLSU leadership team is something I will carry with me for years to come. Worship on Palm Sunday was a particular highlight. Witnessing the faith and dedication of these Christian menā€”and forming friendships with themā€”was a remarkable joy. Though they live on another continent, I now count them among my dear Christian friends. Our time together lasted only a few days, but the memories will last a lifetime.

This trip also gave me valuable insight into the work of our One Africa Team missionaries. Watching Missionary Foxen interact with the CLSU was a joy and an encouragement. God is clearly blessing the efforts of our pastors in Africa as they seek out partnerships with groups like the CLSU. The Holy Spirit is powerfully at work through the Word, bringing souls into Godā€™s kingdom. Uganda is a vivid example of the gospel as ā€œthe power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believesā€ (Romans 1:16).

In the end, perhaps the unexpected joy of this trip should not have been so surprising. God is always at work, advancing his kingdom. I look forward to the day when believers from every nation will gather for an eternity in his presence. That joy will far surpass even the happiest unexpected discovery.

Written by Jon Bilitz, WELS CICR representative




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Why we visit

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This article originally appeared in the One Africa Team blog. Subscribe to future updates from Africa at oneafricateam.com.

A pastor who visits people makes people who visit church. Thatā€™s why I devoted two nights a week to visit both members and visitors when I lived in the United States. Sometimes I would call ahead; most times I just showed up at the door. I only got a gun pulled on me onceā€”but thatā€™s how he greeted everyone.

I donā€™t make house calls anymore because I donā€™t have a congregation. However, every other month Iā€™m on the road. My father asked me, ā€œIs it necessary to visit all these people?ā€ Itā€™s true that we can handle a lot of our work online. But this post will show why we visit in person.

What we saw

I just returned home after a two-week visit to Uganda, where we partner with the Obadiah Lutheran Synod. We are also pursuing relationships with two new groups. One is called the Confessional Lutheran Synod of Uganda (CLSU). Two years ago, conservative pastors broke away from the Lutheran Church of Uganda. They formed their own church body and seminary and are seeking a partnership with WELS.

Missionary Ben Foxen and I were greatly encouraged by what we saw during our visit. Members of Christ the Vine enthusiastically welcomed us. We worshiped in their newly constructed sanctuary, constructed of mud and wattle and roofing sheets. We witnessed baptisms, confirmations, and the installation of four congregational evangelists. They were greatly honored by our visit.

We also visited Mt. Calvary congregation, whose members worship in a schoolroom. Several CLSU congregations have started schools as a means to reach out to the community. Bishop Benson Barahuka, the leader of the CLSU, joined in the dancing and fun. He asked the members to contribute toward a church building project. A visit like ours shows that every member and congregation are valued and connected to the body of Christ.

Missionary Foxen and I sat down with CLSU leaders for a week to study Lutheran teachings and practice. I had met some of them previously, while leading an online course on the Augsburg Confession. We all agreed that meeting face to face is better. Bishop Benson thanked WELS donors for making our visit possible. He told us, ā€œYou care.ā€ He was glad we made a visitā€”and so are we.

What needs work

The other group we are working with in Uganda is the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession Uganda (ECACU). This group also came out of the Lutheran Church of Uganda. Rev. Simon Peter Waako is their leader.

At our opening worship service we sang from The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH), which had been donated by LCMS congregations in the U.S. The tunes we sang did not always match what was printed in the hymnal. Almost all of the long meter (LM) hymns were sung to the tune of ā€œI Know that My Redeemer Lives.ā€

The liturgy was conducted in the Runyoro language, although not everyone in attendance spoke that tongue. Throughout our visit, everything we spoke in English had to be translated twice. This slowed us down considerably. Did you know that more than 3,000 languages are spoken on the African continent?

Our visit to God Bought congregation was also a challenge. Our van got stuck in the mud and we had to walk the last kilometer to the church site. A small group of Christians gather every Sunday under a tree. The owner of the adjacent property evicted them from their building because he wants to farm crops there.

The next visit was to Kakasato church, which has 50 members. A local man invited ECACU to start a congregation in his barn. They offer Sunday school and Bible class in addition to worship. We also made a visit to Kabatindule, which means ā€œfelling a tree.ā€ The congregation meets under a lean-to on the property of one of the members. They do not have any Bibles, catechisms, or hymnals.

Our visit showed us thereā€™s a lot of work to be done with ECACU before we declare fellowship. Thereā€™s no way we could know this without coming in person. This is why we visit. And God willing, we will make another visit soon.

Written by Missionary John Roebke, missionary on the One Africa Team




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Moments with Missionaries – Ben Foxen

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Missionary Ben Foxen shares an update from Lusaka, Zambia about the work being done with churches in Tanzania and Uganda! One of these churches includes the Africa Mission Evangelism Church (AMEC), which is in the process of reviewing doctrine and working towards declaring fellowship with WELS. Hear more from Missionary Ben Foxen about his work for the One Africa Team.

P.S. – Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to watch even more videos from our missionaries in the upcoming weeks!

Seeking and strengthening synods in Uganda

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What do you get when you add together three Ugandan synods, two missionaries from the One Africa Team, and one representative from our WELS Commission on Inter-Church Relations (CICR)? A spiritually uplifting and productive cross-country journey!

At the beginning of April, Missionaries Foxen and Mohlke traveled to Uganda, rented a car, and struck out on unfamiliar roads to meet with representatives of two church bodies, or synods, who were seeking a relationship with WELS.

A synod in western Uganda

The first of these was the Confessional Lutheran Synod of Uganda (CLSU), headquartered in Ibanda in the hilly regions of western Uganda. The area was extremely pastoral, with beautifully green pasturelands and lots of cows. The leaders of the CLSU proved to be equally pastoralā€”very attentive to the spiritual needs of their people and eager to meet those needs to the best of their ability.

We visited a number of the local congregations and also got to see the site of their functioning seminaryā€”a simple two rooms that housed a small library and a number of crowded bunks for students. A nearby church hall serves as their classroom.

The CLSU serves about 3,000 members with the gospel. Their seminary program has 7 students who will be graduating this December, with another 12 students ready to join the next intake.

A synod in central Uganda

After our time in Ibanda, we set out on the road again and headed east for eight hours to arrive in Jinja in central Uganda, on the north banks of Lake Victoria, one of the sources for the Nile River. Here, we met with representatives from another synod, the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Uganda (ECACU). Though smaller than the CLSU (it serves about 950 members), we found them to be no less eager to share the truth of Godā€™s Word with others in their communities.

A large focus of their strategy for reaching out is schools, which they organize in communities that lack them. They then organize congregations out of the people making use of the schools. Their largest school serves about 300 children.

Our visits with the leaders of both ECACU and CLSU were very encouraging when it came to discussing our respective beliefs about Scripture and their focus on gospel ministry. We are looking forward to continuing discussions to see if fellowship with these synods will be possible.

The Obadiah Lutheran Synod

After our time was done with ECACU, we drove back to the airport, where I dropped off Missionary Mohlke and picked up MLC Professor Nicholas Schmoller, who also serves on the WELS CICR. The two of us then drove farther east, past Jinja to Bugiri, where our brothers in the Obadiah Lutheran Synod (OLS) are located.

We were meeting with them to help them organize a written confession of faith, which would be used as they apply for membership in the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), the worldwide fellowship of churches of which WELS is a part. We spent three days with Pastor Musa and other leaders of the OLS, studying Scripture and putting on paper articles of faith especially important to them for their churches, communities, and context. The Lord blessed our work and allowed us to accomplish everything in the time we had available.

So, after 16 days on the road and about 1,300 kilometers driven, what did we have to show for it? New friendships established, old friendships reaffirmed, and more opportunities to marvel at the grace of our Lord Jesus, who makes us his coworkers in the ministry of his gospel! May he continue to bless our work with these three Ugandan synods!

Written by Ben Foxen, missionary on the One Africa Team




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Sing a New (Old) Song to the Lord

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In the closing days of August, Rev. Dr. Terry Schultz from Multi-Language Productions (MLP) and Rev. Ben Foxen of the One Africa Team traveled to Uganda.

The goal? Fulfill a request made by our brothers and sisters in the Obadiah Lutheran Synod (OLS) to help them create new songs with Christ-centered lyrics.

Thanks to funding provided by MLP, we were able to gather about 20 musicians from the various districts of the OLS in one place for 5 days of training, encouragement, and hands-on work composing and performing songs. MLP also provided funds for the purchase of some equipment that will be used by the OLS to train future musicians in their church body.

In the time spent in this workshop, we were continually amazed at the musical talent and creativity that had been assembled. In a short time, these men and women composed and recorded 68 new songs that showed incredible diversity. Since the composers came from different parts of the country, they composed in no less than seven different languages. The musical styles differed as well, ranging from traditional Ugandan beats, to more of a hip-hop style, to chants and chorales. It was eye-opening to witness how the people of OLS sought to incorporate all these different styles, showing that all of them are now a part of their cultural heritage.

The content of these songs also differed, some focusing on themes of praise and thanksgiving (among them my personally favorite melody, ā€œNebaza Musumba Wange,ā€ or ā€œI thank you, my Shepherdā€); others focusing on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; others on sin and repentance; and others a recasting of the timeless songs of the liturgy.

One of the goals of this workshop was to preserve any music that was produced. So, a handheld recording device was used to capture the compositions as they were performed for the group, and handwritten lyrics were transcribed into a Microsoft Word document. Both were then transferred to SD cards that can be shared with all the congregations of the OLS, so that the entire church will be able to benefit from what was produced at the workshop.

OLS leaders have plans to take this project further. They want these composers to continue their work in producing new melodies and lyrics, focusing their talents on the various seasons of the church year, so that in time an entire OLS hymnbook might be produced and digitally recorded. Itā€™s an ambitious project, but one they certainly have the talent to accomplish.

Through it all, we rejoice in the amazing gifts that God has given to his people. Throughout the ages, new songs have always been created to praise and glorify our God and teach people about his amazing deeds and love. The OLS may be singing some new songs to the Lord now, but theyā€™re also singing the same song that Godā€™s people have always sungā€”Christ for us, and Christ in us. All glory and praise be to his name, in whatever melody you sing it!

Written by Rev. Benjamin Foxen, world missionary on the One Africa Team.

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TELL: Connecting East Asia to the Philippines
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The TELL program was designed with flexibility in mind. Its framework is made to be used in many countries, by many cultures, by many ages. Perhaps this is best displayed by Peter. Peter is a Ugandan, living in Hong Kong, training believers in the Philippines.

A few years ago, while living in Hong Kong, Peter was introduced to Asia Lutheran Seminary (ALS). He was interested in furthering his Biblical education when a pastor he knew in Canada encouraged him to study through ALS. He enrolled as a student and began completing classes regularly. This connection with ALS also led him to begin studying with the TELL program.

Peterā€™s church in Hong Kong has a strong membership of Filipinos working in Hong Kong. As some of the members returned to the Philippines, they brought their worship life with them. They soon saw a need for small group leaders and for training. Peter took the opportunity to put his own Biblical training into practice. He uses the TELL method to regularly meet online with eleven small group leaders from the Philippines. He chose to use the TELL method because: ā€œI have been exposed to quite many Bible study methods, but I find TELL method cutting across all scenarios and levels, ages, and categories, a very easy way to administer Bible study. Also, for learners, no matter how much prior knowledge of the Bible they have, through TELL they will always learn something easily.ā€

The TELL program is working with ALS and will soon be implemented more widely by our Asia One Team. We pray that God blesses the use of this program to reach and equip more leaders like Peter, leaders who are willing and ready to pass on their training and knowledge of the Bible to others!

Learn more about the TELL Network from WELS Multi-Language Productions.

Written by Rev. Tony Barthels, world missionary on the Asia One Team

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The Obadiah Lutheran Synod expresses its thanks

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Last January, I had the privilege of attending a special worship service of the Obadiah Lutheran Synod (OLS) in Uganda. Nearly 1,000 members of the Obadiah Lutheran Synod, some traveling for hours, attended this special service celebrating the fellowship that had been declared between our two church bodies at WELSā€™ 2023 synod convention.

Our synod does not provide operational support for the Obadiah Lutheran Synod. But thanks to special gifts received from WELS members, we are able to help with pastoral training, church building projects, and other special programs.

As you might expect, travel in Uganda can, at times, be very difficult due to bad weather and roads that can become nearly impassable. Since Pastor Makisimu Musa, the president of the synod, spends much time visiting the various congregations and pastors of his synod, reliable transportation is a vital necessity. Thanks to generous gifts from WELS members, the Obadiah Lutheran Synod was able to purchase a used Toyota Land Cruiser.

Pastor Musa would like to express thanks from his entire church body for this gift. He wrote, ā€œIt is my pleasure again to say thank you, brother, for your gift of the vehicle to the OLS. This is helping us a lot to do church ministry work in Uganda. Please extend our heartfelt appreciation to the brothers and sisters in WELS for the gift. The gift (vehicle) reminds me of the day you visited us in Uganda to attend our celebration of fellowship and unity in the faith. Thank you for blessing our ministry of the Word in this region of Africa. May the Lord of the church Jesus Christ continue blessing you all for your generous support to the OLS.ā€

We pray that the gospel ministry being carried out by our brothers and sisters in Uganda will continue to be blessed richly by the Lord.

Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder

 

View a short video from the service.

 

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Welcome visitors from Uganda

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One of the highlights of the recent synod convention was the declaration of fellowship between WELS and Obadiah Lutheran Synod of Uganda. The president of Obadiah Lutheran Synod, Rev. Makisimu Musa, had planned to attend the convention in person, but he was unable to receive a visa in time. Instead, he was encouraged to visit as soon as he was able to obtain a visa as a way for him to become personally familiar with our synod.

Those plans became a reality last week when Pastor Musa, along with his wife, Mary, and infant son Nathanael, arrived in the United States for a visit. Pastor Musa and his family were able to visit the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry (CMM) in Waukesha, Wis. While there he was able to meet with various WELS leaders and also had the opportunity to make a presentation about Obadiah Lutheran Synod to the workers at the CMM.

While in the United States, Pastor Musa will preach at several congregations in the Midwest and at two of our Apache mission congregations. He will also visit Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis.

Obadiah Lutheran Synod was established in 2008. From a single congregation, it has grown to a church body of 28 congregations and a membership of more than 5,000 souls. Those congregations are served by seven pastors and six evangelists. It also carries out mission work among South Sudanese refugees in the Kiryandango refugee camp.

WELS first had contact with Obadiah Lutheran Synod in December 2017. Soon after that, WELS missionaries Rev. John Hartmann and Rev. John Holtz, along with Rev. Bright Pembeleka from the Lutheran Church of Central Africaā€“Malawi Synod, traveled to Uganda to meet with Pastor Musa. After several years of doctrinal discussions, it was determined that WELS and Obadiah Lutheran Synod were united in doctrine, resulting in the declaration of fellowship at the convention this summer.

We are grateful for the way in which God has enabled this new Lutheran church body to thrive and grow and for the fellowship that he has enabled us to celebrate. Please keep our brothers and sisters in Uganda in your prayers.

Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder

Learn more about Pastor Musa and Obadiah Lutheran Synod at forwardinchrist.net.

 

 

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