In July 2024’s Langham Live event hosted by Simon Foulds, Shadrach Lukwago from Uganda shared his remarkable journey of faith and his efforts to spread the Gospel in Uganda. This insightful conversation covered his personal testimony, his work with Kiwoko Hospital, and the establishment of the Kiwoko Bible Institute.
A Journey of Faith
Shadrach Lukwago hails from Luwero, central Uganda. He was raised in a Christian family, with his father serving as a pastor. Shadrach’s journey to faith began at the age of 15, following a traumatic bush war in Uganda. He found solace and purpose through the Scripture Union at his primary school, leading to his confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
From Nurse to Pastor
After completing his primary and secondary education, financial constraints prevented Shadrach from pursuing further studies. However, he received a bursary to train as a nurse at Kiwoko Hospital, a Christian institution. It was here that Shadrach’s passion for mission work flourished. He began preaching the Gospel alongside his medical duties, realizing the significant gap in discipleship within local churches.
Establishing Kiwoko Bible Institute
Recognising the need for theological education, Shadrach joined the Kampala Evangelical School of Theology in 2005. His studies inspired him to establish the Kiwoko Bible Institute in 2008, aimed at equipping local pastors with theological knowledge. This institute has trained over 500 leaders, many of whom serve in remote villages with little access to formal education.
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Expanding the Mission
Shadrach’s work did not stop with the Bible Institute. He adopted the material from Christianity Explored, translating it into six indigenous languages. This programme has reached over one million people, helping them understand the core messages of the Gospel of Mark. Shadrach also founded Goshen School, providing education and shelter to over 300 children, many of whom are orphans or come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Collaboration with Langham
Shadrach’s relationship with Langham began in 2007. Langham provided essential resources, including library grants, which significantly enhanced the educational materials available at Kiwoko Bible Institute. This partnership has deepened over the years, with Langham supporting Shadrach’s vision of multiplying well-trained pastors throughout Uganda.
Vision and Challenges
Shadrach’s vision is to see God’s word preached faithfully across Uganda. He aims to expand training programs to northern and eastern Uganda, where the need for theological education is pressing. However, challenges remain, including the prevalence of prosperity gospel teachings and the difficulty of changing entrenched beliefs. Shadrach emphasises the importance of prayer for more labourers and open hearts to receive the true Gospel.
Shadrach’s dedication to spreading the Gospel and educating pastors in Uganda is inspiring. His work through Kiwoko Bible Institute, Goshen School, and partnerships like Langham highlights the transformative power of faith and education. As Shadrach continues to train and equip leaders, his story serves as a testament to the impact one person’s dedication can have on a community and beyond.
What can we do?
For those moved by Shadrach’s story, there are several ways to support his mission:
- Prayer: Pray for the students and pastors, for faithfulness in handling God’s word, and for the expansion of the training programs. A list of prayer points can be found below.
- Donations: Consider supporting Langham or directly contributing to the Kiwoko Bible Institute and Goshen School.
- Spread the Word: Share Shadrach’s story to inspire others and garner further support for his mission.
Prayer Points
Shadrach asks us to use the following points for prayer:
- Pray for KBI Graduates – work in tough areas with little or no resources. Over 500 pastors have gone through our Bible institute, we continue to work alongside them as they do ministry in their churches. So many of them need our prayer support for God to help them to faithfully do ministry.
- God’s provision to construct a proper Library – currently our Library is in a container, which was meant to be a store for our literature for distribution. We would love to see God helping us see a proper Library built.
- God’s word to be preached faithfully – many preachers in our locality have a zeal for ministry but are not well grounded in the Word of God.
- God’s protection over our lives and family – we do a lot of travels around for ministry by cars and other times by motorbikes in areas where cars can’t reach. We see a lot of accidents on the roads caused many reasons.
- Forthcoming Bible school classes 26th Aug – 7th Sept 2024 – we do run the Bible institute programme on a modular basis. Our first module for this year was done in May and our next module will be done in August/September. We have a class of 40 students who will travel from different parts of the country.
- Training of church Leaders in Mbale (Eastern Uganda) on how to do inductive Bible studies using Christianity Explored material 15th – 24th September 2024
Our churches here have a lot of preaching taking place in their churches with little or no teaching. For the last 20 years, we introduced a bible study material – Christianity Explored.
We gather church leaders and we introduce CE to them and take them through the material, finally, we give them the material in their language to start running small group bible discussions in their churches.
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