14:27

The Tororo brethren, in Eastern Uganda, can now enjoy worship services in their own church building. Built with thanks to financial assistance from the Churches in the UK and Ireland, the building is a welcome sight in the rural Tororo village of Poyameri. The building, constructed of white-painted brick and roofed with blue corrugated metal sheets, can seat over one hundred people. The structure is divided into a meeting hall, reception and a small office, and sits on a parcel of land which is large enough to allow various other activities such as socials or sporting activities. Ownership of the building enables the Ugandan church to renew its national registration.

Ugandan Church Building

The WCG East Africa Area Pastor, Mr. Kimani Ndungu, officially opened the church building on Saturday, September 27, 2008. It was a colourful ceremony attended by several representatives of the Uganda government, various leaders from other church denominations and the local people. Also in attendance were several church leaders from Kenya; Stephen Ochana (Teso & Bungoma churches), John Amadala (Western Kenya Region Overseer), Anne and Kagema Muriuki (Shalom Church, Nairobi) and Mary Wainaina (Shalom Church, Nairobi).

Ugandan Congregation

Mr. William Othieno, pastor of the Tororo congregation, gave a brief history of the church, starting from the humble beginning of two baptised members in 1966. As a matter of interest, Mr. Othieno and Mr. Eldad Opiyo, a deacon in the Tororo church, were the first two members of the church in the East African region.

Podium of the new Church building

“This building is not just for the Worldwide Church of God members,” said Mr. Othieno, “it is for all the people in this area. It is for use by the surrounding community, provided it is not used for activities which do not glorify God or are contrary to the government of Uganda. ”

“This is a wonderful moment for the church in Uganda, as we celebrate the first church building ever built for the Worldwide Church of God in this country,” Mr. Ndungu said in his brief speech before cutting the ribbon across the door of the meeting hall. Representing WCG Church administration, Mr. Ndungu thanked the brethren of the UK and Ireland churches for their love for their brethren in Tororo. “This building is a visible sign of the international ties between members of the Worldwide Church of God locally and overseas.”

Ugandan Congregation

After cutting the ribbon at the entrance, church members sang and danced their way into the meeting hall. Mr. Ochana then led the worshippers in a rousing praise and worship session featuring a lively mix of songs in the English and Kiswahili languages. The Tororo church worship team enthralled the congregation with a medley of songs accompanied by local drums and stringed instruments made from wood, strings and dried cowhide.

Mr. Amadala, in the sermonette, talked about recognising God’s direct involvement in the church in Tororo. Later, in the first sermon preached in the new hall, Mr. Ndungu talked about the functions of the church as the body of Christ. The activities of the day closed with a feast of chicken, beef, rice and a local dish prepared with a mixture of maize meal, millet and cassava. It was a memorable day for all who attended, and a springboard for growth for the local Tororo church.

I needed help.   My relationship with Christ had stalled.  

This was not the first time it had stalled and the pattern was always the same; my life would get busy and I would compromise my time with God.  I lacked the discipline that enabled my relationship with him to grow.   “God loves me,” I reasoned, “he understands.”  Yet deep down I knew I was missing the point.  I wasn’t giving my heart to him.

 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Where could I begin?  During this time I was given a book called “Choose the life” by Bill Hull.  His book embraces the concept of discipleship and the discipline that is required to be truly transformed by Christ.   The disciplines are not easy, they need to be worked into our lives so that they become habit but getting to this point requires hard work.   As disciples of Christ we should help support other disciples follow the doctrines of Christ so that they can truly give their heart to God.    We should be accountable to one another (James 5:16), esteem, comfort (1Thess 5:13-14), and agree in prayer with one another (Matt 18:19-20).   

For a long time I had been a Christian in isolation because getting to church on a regular basis was difficult (I lived too far away). I realised I was probably not alone in this situation and that there had to be a way around it.  Surely in this modern era fellowship did not require a church hall?  Moved to do something about this, I met with my old friend and fellow Christian, Cherilee.   On meeting we prayed together that Christian friends who lived apart from the church congregation might still be able to grow in faith through fellowship and friendship.   I explained to Cherilee all the places where my faith was beginning to fall down.  Together we planned baby steps to help bring me back to God.   On parting we decided to email each other every week and share our spiritual journeys.   Both of us had decided to set aside time just for God every day, a simple step that I had never managed to stay committed to before.

That regular contact with Cherilee was a turning point in my life.  Being able to share the scriptures that inspired me motivated me to read further.   From time to time our emails sought reassurance, shared confessions and asked for prayer.  Sensitive issues were raised that were crucial to the building of our faith.   To ensure God was with us in these times we would pray before every correspondence that he guide our hearts to speak his word only.  Throughout Cherilee was an example of Christian love; because of the trust I had in her to respond as Christ would I was able to confront my doubts with her and not feel judged.  Through doing this I was able to grow. After a year my faith had reached a new level entirely and both Cherilee and I wanted to share what we had learnt. Although we still keep in touch we have begun to form new accountability friendships in the hope that it will help other people grow as we did.  

The idea of accountability friendships is not new. This is just how it worked for me.  If you haven’t done so already, why not start an accountability friendship of your own?

“Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Galations 6:2).

Accountability does not replace the benefit of fellowship in a full church congregation, but it can help individuals grow spiritually, especially in circumstances where regular attendance is difficult.

Simone Royle is a Science teacher in Coventry and attends the Birmingham congregation.