Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Church Planting in Uganda: An effective system for the States

http://www.tesm.edu/sh/2005-5/uganda

[Seed and Harvest] November-December 2005--Ben and I learned several things in Uganda regarding church and diocesan planting. The first was the importance and power of the laity. The growth of the church in North Ankole does not revolve around a few gifted clergy; it is driven by passionate, mission driven lay people. Secondly, the diocese is designed to support the mission of the local parish as opposed to the parish supporting the mission of the diocese. It has been my experience in the US that the parish functions to not only keep its own programs functioning, but the diocesan programs as well. What we saw in the Diocese of North Ankole was a bishop and diocesan staff whose primary purpose was to uphold the mission of the local parish. What was so beautiful was that because of the diocese’s support, the parishes were then in return freely able to support the ministry of the diocese and see to it that it would not only grow, but multiply.

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