Mission Uganda

Partnering with Pastor Kaleb and Village Church

Meet Kaleb Barnabas Kagabo

At 10 years old, Kaleb Kagabo was an orphan in Uganda… Kaleb’s parents separated when he was small, so he spent his first formative years living with his father in a small village. Around his 10th birthday, tragedy struck. Kaleb’s father died. His mother took him in after his father’s passing, but it was not a welcoming environment for Kaleb.His mother had four sons from a previous marriage, and all four hated Kaleb. It was not a happy time for him.

In the midst of this loss and transition for Kaleb, tragedy struck once again. His mother died unexpectedly. The area was remote, and there were no organizations or orphanages that could help Kaleb. So at the age of 10 years old, he was left alone - in the bush - to fend for himself. Thinking about this time, he says, “I lived like an animal, ate like an animal, slept like an animal…” The people in the nearby villages were afraid to take him in. They were fearful that he might die in their care because of his poor health, and thus cause problems with the local police. “I was rejected and isolated - everyone hated me, and I hated everyone,” Kaleb remembers. “My body is filled with the wounds and scars from this time.” Kaleb managed somehow to survive this way in the bush until he was 17 years old...

Continue Reading Kaleb's Story...

And then, in one “chance” meeting, Father God set Kaleb’s life on a new path. In 1997 an evangelist pastor named Edward met Kaleb on the road and said two things to him: “Jesus loves you,” and “When are you coming to church?” In all of Kaleb’s 17 years, he had never had anyone tell him that he was loved. He was amazed that someone did. And so Kaleb told Edward that he would be at church that next Sunday.

Sunday came, and Kaleb was at the church, just as promised. The people there were afraid of him and suspicious, thinking that he might be there to steal their Bibles, but their hostility didn’t budge Kaleb. At the end of the service, Edward asked, “Is there anyone who wants to give his life to Christ?” Kaleb put up his hand and said, “I told you I was coming, and I DO!” And so, on June 29, 1997, Kaleb accepted Christ, the course of his life forever changed.

In the two years that followed, Edward and his family took Kaleb into their home, where Edward taught and trained him in God’s word. After this initial phase, Pastor Edward sent Kaleb to be discipled by another pastor in the area. Kaleb began preaching and sharing Christ. He took on roles in youth work. He worked with church planting. And in the midst of all this, God was restoring Kaleb. His wounds - both physical and spiritual - were healed!

In 2007 the Lord spoke to Kaleb and told him to start a ministry in the capital city of Kampala. But Kaleb delayed. Seven years later, in 2014, the Lord called again. Once again, Kaleb delayed. He says, “the more I delayed, the more I suffered…” In 2021, the Lord spoke to Kaleb again, and this time he acted. Kaleb moved to the city and began going door to door in neighborhoods, sharing Christ to any who would listen. From this beginning, Village Church was formed.

In 1997 Kaleb gave his life to Christ. Kaleb says, "After giving my life to Christ in 1997, a God given desire to preach the Good News of the Kingdom and bringing the lost to Christ consumed me. After reading in Matthew 24:14 - "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" - I began moving with a motto: "Emptying Hell to make Heaven full."

After resisting the Lord for almost 14 years, Kaleb finally followed the Lord's leading to plant a church in Kampala. Village Church began in December 2021 through Kaleb's preaching the Gospel and door to door evangelism. In February of 2022, Village Church had their first baptism of 26 people - a day of great joy and celebration. Now, there are about 120 members at Village Church.

A few months ago, Kaleb was online and “accidentally” found another Village Church, this one located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Since it had the same name as his church, he impulsively reached out to them. Our own Matthew Thornton, the president of the TSF board, is a member of The Village Church in Knoxville. When he heard about Kaleb, he saw a possible opportunity for Truth Seekers to partner with Kaleb and his church. He connected us with Kaleb to see how we could help him with his goals - to disciple and train leaders to spread the love of Christ in Uganda.

Click the Image below to download a pdf of Pastor Kaleb's story in his own words:

An Interview with Pastor Kaleb

Village Church is located in a "slum area" of Kampala. Many of its members do not have jobs and it is hard to find them in the area. Last month, Kaleb sent me a video of some of the single mothers in the church who had just received certifications in hair dressing which will allow them to provide for themselves. There are many other efforts the Pastor Kaleb and Village Church hopes and plans toward:

Continuing to share the Gospel and expand their outreach.
Starting a Primary School for the children in the area.
Starting a Bible School to train new followers of Christ.
Developing SACCO funds - Savings and Credit Cooperative - to assist the financial needs of the people.

As I have talked with Pastor Kaleb, it has become more clear to me that Father God has connected us so that we can partner with Village Church and hopefully assist in their efforts in Uganda.

How Can We Help?

Pray for PROTECTION

As Village Church preaches the Gospel and men and women come to Christ, there is the real threat that the Enemy will oppose their work. As Pastor Kaleb says, "It is very dangerous to snatch people from the mouth of the Enemy but leave them untaught - it will be easy for them to go back to their old lives..."

Pray for PROVISION

As we said, Village Church is in a slum area of Kampala and their resources are very limited. We are joining in prayer with Pastor Kaleb and his people that the Lord would provide for their needs.

Along with prayer, I believe we can help with some of that provision. As I have thought about Village Church, I think about how abundant our experience has been here in the US. Even when our giving is low, the Lord always provides what we need. I also believe that we are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.

Developing MilktoMeat in Uganda. As I have talked with Pastor Kaleb, it is clear that the area of connection for us is mainly in their hopes of developing a discipling, Bible School. In one of our first emails, I sent Kaleb our first MilktoMeat workbooks. He wrote back,

"I am so, so, so much blessed listening to your audios about Milk to Meat. I could not sleep... I wish I knew all this years ago... We have been having a big challenge as Christianity spreads here in Uganda - many are baptized but then not knowing much about Christ... This has caused us to be in Christianity as a movement we don't even understand.... If we can translate these teachings they are going to help not only Village Church members but we will make sure it helps the entire community of Christians in Uganda."

As I have talked with Kaleb, he has never asked for anything other than permission to use our materials with his people. But maybe we can do more. We want to raise some funds to assist Village Church in their efforts to preach the Gospel and develop a Bible School.

At the end of 2022 we were able to raise $2500 that allowed us to buy a computer, printer, and better internet access for Village Church. All of that was made possible by all of you who generously donated to this partnership. These tools will allow us to partner with Pastor Kaleb more easily, training him so that he can train others. In the days ahead, we will still raise funds to cover material costs so that we can translate MilktoMeat and other studies to Luganda (their native language).

If you would like to partner with us in this, you can make a donation on our giving page, just click the link below. When you make a donation, you will have the option of choosing "Mission Uganda: Village Church" under the "Preferred Campaign" drop down.

We will be posting updates as this new partnership develops. Please sign up for our Email Prayers and Updates to keep up to date with the latest news and developments.

In the meantime, please join us in praying for Pastor Kaleb and Village Church. We are excited to see how the Lord will work in this new partnership to spread the truth and love of Christ in Uganda.

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