Days 1-3, 25 September 2014

So much has happened since we left Indiana on Monday. We have been in non-stop motion. I'll try to hit the highlights, but I may not get things in order. Check back each day for the latest news on our Uganda Mission 2013. And stay tuned later in the week for some photos.

• We left Argos, Indiana at noon on Monday. Dave Shivers drove the three of us to O'Hare Airport in Chicago. It was a great day for a ride and Dave was especially congenial. It was great to have someone who was willing to lead out in prayer for us as we left.
• We checked in at the airport for our 6pm flight to Brussels, Belgium on United Airlines. I am not sure the size of the plane, but there were nine people in each row in the economy class and I was in the back row, row 45. The flight was good and we arrived in Brussels without incident at 930am. We then had to navigate through an unfamiliar airport that was not marked very well, at least for my liking.
• By the time we found our way to our connecting gate, the flight was ready to board. This time we all sat in the back row. The flight left at 1130 and arrived in Kigali, Rwanda at 9pm. We took on more passengers there and then flew to Entebbe, Uganda. By the time we got off the plane in Uganda it was 11pm. This is where our first difficulty came up. (In fairness, it is our only difficulty so far.) Our luggage did not make it to Uganda. Thankfully the clerk was able to locate it right away. Our bags, including toiletries, clothes, snacks and even the Bibles that we collected for the pastors, will not arrive until Friday morning. We do believe that our luggage is having a nice vacation in Europe, however.
• Our hosts, John Kiviiri and Joseph Kanyike were waiting for us outside the airport. They have arranged transportation for the week and got us to our hotel. By the time we got to our rooms it was 2am. This trip took us over 30 hours.
• This morning we started our seminar for the local pastors. There were nearly 50 in attendance. We were hoping for 20, were promised 30 and now there is some thought that there will be more tomorrow. God is good. 
• Brad was able to do some research on the possibility of getting internet connections for the pastors. Like most things in Africa, it seems as though it is going to be complicated and expensive. Please be praying that we will use wisdom and determine the best way to share the 3-5 Plan and the support and training that it hopes to provide.
• Teaching/ Preaching is hard with a translator. Although Brad and Chad agreed that I should preach that way at home. Apparently they think I need a translator all the time.
• The music and worship times have been great! We did not understand any of the words, but it was apparent that these people love God. There was singing, shouting, clapping and dancing.

Here is the tentative schedule for the rest of our stay.

Thursday- Seminar at Namboole UMC

Friday- Seminar at Namboole UMC

Saturday- Visit to Ngogula and training for pastors there

Sunday- Worship at Namboole UMC, Some touring

Monday- Meeting with Pastors in Jinja

Tuesday- Visit and fact-finding at Wesley Nursery School

               Departure from Uganda at 11pm

Prayer Focus Times for Uganda Mission Trip, by Brad Beatty

Prayer Focus Times for Uganda Mission Trip
Monday, Sept. 23 – Tuesday, Sept. 24
12 noon Mon.–6pm Tues. – Travel
Wednesday, Sept. 25
2am-12 noon
Preparation for teaching, meeting new friends, and visiting needs of the church
Thursday, Sept. 26 – Saturday, Sept. 28
2am-10:30am – Worship and Teaching
Sunday, September 29 – Tuesday, October 1
2am-10:30am – some teaching, evangelizing, and visiting surrounding villages
Tuesday, October 1 – Wednesday, October 2
5pm Tues.- 4pm Wed. – Travel
We want to thank you all for your prayers and support for this trip! Our prayer is
that the Lord will work in amazing ways and that He will bless our time spent in
Uganda, and everyone’s time spent in prayer throughout this awesome adventure!
God bless you!
Pastor Dewey Miller
Pastor Chad Yoder
Brad Beatty

What We Will be Doing, by Chad Yoder

I have always wanted to travel the world. Since my first week in ministry, I have wanted to tell everyone in the world about my God who reached out to me and changed my life. I am getting that opportunity this year on a global scale. In just 11 short days, I will board a plane in Chicago and, after a whole complete day of travelling, land in Entebbe, Uganda. I have had many inquiries about this trip so I will lay out the basics as I understand them so that you can all join with me in prayer for the pastors in Uganda.

As a basic starting point, we leave on September 23rd at 6pm from Chicago. (When I say ”we”, I mean Pastor Dewey Miller, Brad Beatty, and myself.) After a lengthy flight, we will land in Brussels, Belgium sometime during the day on the 24th. After a 3 hour layover, we will board another flight directly to Entebbe, Uganda, just north of Lake Victoria. Then, it is just a short cab ride to our hotel in Kampala, the Sportsview Hotel right next to the national soccer stadium. Wednesday will then be a recovery day. We will be getting ready for the rest of our week, as we prepare to teach.

Our mission is simple: we want to train pastors. We could travel anywhere and preach the Gospel, but we want God to take a permanent place in the hearts of Ugandans. We want continued discipleship taking place, a continuing renewal of Bible study, prayer, and accountability. The best way we can do that is to train new ministers on the ground in Uganda. So that is our whole purpose in Uganda.

We have called this idea The 3-5 Plan. 3 days, 5 topics of teachings. Pastor Dewey will be teaching the men on leadership, Bible study, and prayer. Brad will teach worship, as he is the worship leader at Dewey’s church. I will be training the men in discipleship and preaching. The seminar will span across 3 days. This time around, that means Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. There will be a time of prayer and devotion each morning, followed by 2 hours of class time before lunch. We have 20 men (the most we felt we could really handle with only 3 of us going) split into two smaller groups of 10. So in the morning, the groups will go to different classes. Then in the afternoon, they will switch and attend the other session, followed by group worship in the late afternoon. We have done this not only to help with getting everyone’s questions answered during sessions, but also to promote small accountability groups for the men to call upon later. We want to promote the building of relationships among the pastors who attend. Ministers here need support and so do our men in Uganda.

Our original plan was to have 20 men trained during the seminar in Mukono, just outside the capital city of Kampala. However, we received an email with wonderful news: not only had they filled the 20 slots in Mukono, but they had an additional 20-30 men who desired training as well! Since we just learned of this about 2 weeks ago, we have added a one-day teaching session on Monday the 30th in Jinja, a couple hour drive from Kampala, to accommodate the added demand. In total, we will be training 40-50 new ministers from all across Uganda during 4 days of teaching. God is so good!

Our plan doesn’t stop there, though. The men who attend the seminar are expected to, in turn, have 5 disciples of their own by the time we return again next year. In essence, we are training 20 men, but we expect them to pass on the knowledge we give them to 100 more young men. There will be a continued correspondence when we get back to the States as well, including Youtube videos they can get together watch each month for additional training on specific topics. They will have regular email and Facebook contact with us, as well as continued updates on their own disciples.

There will essentially be a sort of licensing system. This first group of men will be second year leadership students when we return next year and their disciples will be first year students. The hope is that over many years, this multiplication will yield significant results not only for the salvation of Uganda’s people, but also for deeper discipleship and a greater percentage of disciples instead of just converts.

Our goal is to reach Uganda the best way we know how. I love the idea of training new leaders and sending them out. They can accomplish much more over their lifetime than I can in just the few days we will be there.

I hope that answers some questions and explains the 3-5 Plan in a way you can understand. We are extremely excited for this opportunity and are praying for God’s favor to be with us as we travel. I simply ask that if you have read this, please add us to your prayer list and even say a quick prayer for us now. Don’t just pray for us, though. Pray for these men who will be attending to learn more about God and being a disciple. Pray for God’s favor in their lives. Pray for God to open doors not only for us, but for these men to share the Gospel in their communities. We are praying for AWESOME things to come from this trip and we hope you will too! Thank you so much for your support and prayers!

P.S. – I will post regular updates, if possible, from our hotel each night. If not, I will post a lengthy summary of our trip when I return. Stay tuned for good news from Africa!

The 3-5 Plan

The 3-5 Plan

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3.5

The 3-5 Plan is a program designed to support Christians and churches in Uganda. The church in Uganda- particularly the United Methodist Church- has the opportunity to expand and grow in monumental ways, but there are many issues holding it back. One of those issues- perhaps the most important one- is a lack of trained and qualified pastors and leaders in local congregations. To that end this program will seek to disciple Christian believers in the basic tenets of the Christian faith, from a United Methodist perspective. There will be a special emphasis on training pastors and church leaders. In this way we will see that the local church will be built up to the glory of God.

The 3-5 Plan consists of three levels of training and involvement that will cover a time of approximately three years.

Level I. Intensive Discipleship

In the first year of the 3-5 Plan there will be an 'intensive' training component. The Intensive component of the 3-5 Plan will consist of a 'retreat setting' in which the leader and participants of the program will spend three days together at one location covering the basics of church leadership and discipleship. There will be an emphasis on face to face interaction between and among the leader and participants, relationship building and establishing accountability. Topics included in the Level I Intensive will include:

·        Basics of Bible Study.

◦      Old Testament.

◦      New Testament.

◦      How to study the Bible.

◦      How to lead others in Bible study.

·        Prayer Ministry.

◦      How to pray for the sick.

◦      Praying for the lost.

◦      Leading in prayer ministry.

◦      Public prayers and praying.

·        Preaching.

◦      Sermon preparation.

◦      Sermon planning.

◦      Lectionary.

◦      Sermon series'.

·        Discipleship.

◦      Church planting.

◦      Spiritual formation.

◦      Spiritual disciplines.

◦      Tools for spiritual growth.

·         Worship.

◦      Theology of worship.

◦      Worship practices.         

◦      Baptism and Communion.

◦      Leading worship.

◦      The importance of music.

·        Evangelism.

◦      Faith-Sharing.

◦      Missions.

◦      Outreach.

◦      Giving a testimony.

◦      Relationship building.

The second component of Level I could be called “Discipleship.” This aspect of Level I is focused on follow-up after the intensive. A sincere effort will be made to continue accountability and relationships in a 'long-distance' setting. The objective is to motivate all participants to maintain consistency in training, study and application.

There will be some follow-up materials provided for Ugandan participants of the 3-5 Plan. There are many resources that will be included, but among them will be resources on Bible Study methods and suggestions, Bible reading and small group resources and booklets and tracts that can be used on an individual basis as well as in a group setting.  Most importantly, at least to begin with, will be this book and the resources included in the Appendix.

Additionally, there will be monthly video teachings via a dedicated YouTube channel. These will be coordinated with the printed materials.  Topics of these teachings will vary according to needs in the Ugandan church and the expertise of those creating the videos, but may include:

◦      Youth ministry

◦      Developing a financial base for your congregation

◦      Ministry to the hurting and oppressed

◦      Issues in contextual ministry

◦      Suffering in ministry

◦      United Methodist Doctrine, History and Practice

Ugandan pastors and church leaders involved in the 3-5 Plan will also receive weekly emails, or have access to regular internet, facebook or blog posts. These weekly posts will be coordinated with the YouTube teachings and other printed materials. The specifics of these teachings will be based on the needs of the church, the strengths and weaknesses of the Ugandan leaders and current issues in church leadership. Each weekly contact will be original and unique, but will focus on a monthly theme.

All of these materials will serve to increase accountability and evaluation. Local participants in this program will be expected to participate fully at each of these levels. Although we anticipate that there will be difficulties in some ares with internet access and communication in general, there is a hope (and an expectation) that each of these components will serve to move each pastor to a more full and focused ministry.

The final component of the first level is prayer. The 3-5 Plan group will serve as a prayer and accountability group. Each member will covenant together to pray for one another and support all members in the Christian faith and the journey to effective and faithful discipleship. This aspect of the 3-5 Plan will continue throughout the three year program, and hopefully beyond it. The intensive will be bathed in prayer before it begins and prayer will be a hallmark of the retreat. Each piece of the follow-up procedure will be thoroughly prayed over. Video teachings and email correspondences will include times of prayer. There will always be opportunities for prayer at every turn.

There will also be a part of the entire program that allows for and encourages prayer requests and needs from Ugandan participants to US leaders and their congregations and supporters. This program will only succeed as leaders and participants pray together and for one another. We must not take this for granted. Perhaps the most important element of prayer is that the participants will be praying for one another. Meetings among participants throughout the three year program are focused on encouragement, accountability, sharing of needs and resources and prayer.

In Level I participants will be recognized for for completion of the intensive. There will be a concluding evaluation that will focus on participation and involvement in all aspects of the program. During the discipleship phase there will be check-in requirements for online assignments and regular written work that will be graded.

Leaders who complete Level I will receive a certificate.

Level II. Replication

In the second year of the 3-5 Plan each of the original five leader/ participants in Level I will find five more leaders to mentor and disciple. This means that Level I is duplicated five times over. Each leader is responsible for finding, discipling and training five others. In fact, each leader can (and is encouraged) to begin more than one group of five. The 3-5 Plan can quickly move from addition to multiplication in its impact. All of this activity should happen right away. Within one month of the original intensive there should be five Level I groups in addition to the original group that is now considered to be Level II.

Each leader is expected to recruit and disciple others. This expectation will be a part of an annual evaluation of every 3-5 Plan participant. There are no shortcuts and very few exceptions. Christians are called to make disciples and the 3-5 Plan makes this an imperative.

It could be that this aspect of the plan will manifest itself in the planting of new churches or 'faith teams.' Each 3-5 leader is expected to recruit, train and 'pastor' at least one new group.

Leaders who complete the faith team requirement will receive a recognition certificate.

Level II leadership can manifest itself in local churches, schools, workplaces, community or small group settings. Although the “intensive” three day retreat experience is not necessarily repeated at this level, there is plenty of room, opportunity and material for these groups to cover.  The focus is for each leader to begin the work of fulfilling the Great Commission right away. Each believer in Christ is responsible to share the message of the gospel with others. Leaders in the 3-5 Plan will do this by building up other believers and by recruiting new Christians within the church and alongside the church. It will be no surprise then, if new churches are started wherever 3-5 Plan participants live and work.

As a part of this replication, each student will translate one lesson (or resource) into his/her native language for use by all future leaders. Care will be taken to ensure that material is translated accurately and in a balanced way. The process of translation will have multiple benefits:

·        Access to the material will be easier for all people regardless of their ability to read and understand English.

·        Those who are involved in the translation of material will necessarily be more familiar with it and therefore have greater benefit in terms of personal discipleship.

·        Creating resources in Luganda will have a long term effect as the material will be available and used in perpetuity by those who long to grow in faith.

·        This newly translated lesson is then taught to the five leaders that follow the original participant as part of Level II.

·        Participants in Level II groups can join in and participate in the follow-up activities of Level I. There is no limit on reading on-line materials, participating in video lessons or other supplementary activities. Level II participants have access to all the resources of Level I participants. And since the material will be archived, and because new material will be consistently added, the library of available resources will quickly become significant. All of these materials will eventually be translated for use in Uganda.

·        This replication should take place among both church leaders and church members. The 3-5 Plan works to train leaders for ministry as well as leading all Christians in discipleship activities. Therefore, a leader of pastors/leaders could easily lead a group of pastors at the same time that he leads a group of his local congregational members. This will build up the church on two fronts.

Leaders who complete Level II will receive a certificate.

Level III. Instruction

The goal of all this activity is for pastors to gain the experience, knowledge and competence to plan and lead their own groups, churches and studies. In Levels I and II leaders are given the tools and experience to begin to lead of their own volition and planning. In Level III a pastor begins to take the initiative in the work of ministry with the safety net of supervision from Level I and II leaders. This will be accomplished in the third year of the 3-5 Plan.

Each leader will select one topic of local significance in his/her community. S/he will develop  a lesson plan and write resources appropriate to their setting. These resources will be used in leadership forum and training settings, as well as local church and ministry settings.

Some topics might include:

◦      Evangelism in a Muslim community

◦      Christianity and local religions

◦      Leading worship in the local setting

◦      Issues in local church ministry

◦      History of the church in Uganda

◦      Methodism in Uganda

The ultimate goal of the 3-5 Plan is that local pastors and church leaders will be able to take full responsibility for every aspect of the local church ministry. To that end, Levels I and II will seek to prepare participants to assume the reins of responsibility in Level III. Accountability, training, support and encouragement will continue, but ultimately in Level III Ugandan leaders will take charge.

Leaders who complete Level III will receive a diploma.

Those leaders who complete all requirements and courses at every level will receive a “ministerial certification.”

Picture Updates

Over the next few days we will be adding Uganda photos to the entries in this blog. Be sure to check back for a visual account of our trip and ministry in Uganda.

We Made It Home!!

We made it home. It seemed to take forever, but the United Methodist Uganda Bible Academy teaching team arrived in Indianapolis during the very early hours on Tuesday morning. Here is a rundown of our activities between our last blog entry and our return home:

• We put our luggage in our van for the trip to the airport. After a discussion it was decided that there would not be enough room in the van, so the luggage was moved to the roof.


• We left the Colline Hotel in Mukono at about 1pm on Saturday.


• We made a pit stop at the site of the new (not finished) Namboole United Methodist Church. We visited with Rev John Kiviiri for a few minutes before continuing on.


• Bob C and Dewey wanted to attend the Futbol (soccer) game at the national stadium. The game was a part of the Africa's Cup of Nations tournament featuring Uganda vs. Niger. We had a view of the stadium from the Namboole location. Bob and Dewey were outvoted and we moved on.


• Moses, our driver, decided that it looked like rain. So we stopped the van in downtown Kampala and took the luggage off the roof and put it back in the van.


• Bob C, Byron and Dewey walked from that spot to exchange some money from US dollars into Ugandan Shillings.


• The rest of the group went to the Episcopal office with the van. There they put the luggage back on top of the van and covered it with a tarp.


• After reuniting, we filled the van with fuel and moved onto Entebbe, site of the national airport.


• Upon arrival in Entebbe, we took the luggage down at the Golf View Inn. That lasted for only a few minutes as most of us would be sleeping in another location. Therefore, we had to put most of the luggage back on top of the van.


• Although we were only going to be in the Golf View Inn (there was a golf course across the street) for a few hours, it was quite a bit more primitive than anything that we would stay in at home.


• We ate dinner at a nearby resort and then said goodbye to our hosts, Moses, David and James, and returned to the Golf View.


• At 200am we left the Golf View from Entebbe airport for our 430am flight. The airport at Entebbe is very interesting. Security was a challenge. Dewey and Jim were stopped for a time because someone was carrying a Swiss Army Knife. Our group was cleared of the crime and the knife was located and confiscated.


• The flight from Entebbe to Cairo, Egypt took about five hours.

• In Egypt, we had 25 hours before our connecting flight to the US. Egypt Air provided meals and a room for each of us at Le Passage Heliopolis hotel. It was by far the nicest place that we slept. We were a little uncomfortable because Egypt Air kept our passports during this time. However, when we arrived at the airport at 700am the next day, our work was easy. We had boarding passes and seat assignments already.


• Then there was 12 hours on the 777 from Cairo to New York City. And that's where all our troubles really began. Carol and Bob L both had luggage that did not arrive from Cairo. Egypt Air will not return luggage beyond New York City. This was very frustrating. Bob L then lost his toothpaste and shaving cream to the TSA at the security checkpoint. Dewey's bag was overweight and he had to pay a fee to get it on the plane.


• Our flight was originally scheduled for 640pm from NYC to Indianapolis (that's what it said on the tickets and itinerary anyway). When we arrived at the gate departure time was listed at 700pm, then 735, then 800, then 830. When we finally got on the plane, we had to sit on the runway for a long time. It was almost 1000pm when we finally got in the air.


• When we arrived in Indianapolis we were all greeted by family, friends and our leader and motivator, John Elliott. We are all extremely glad to be home.

Our last day in Uganda

Today is our last day in Uganda. But it has been an eventful fortnight. Last night, Friday, there was a big closing celebration for the Academy. Bishop Wandabula attended to congratulate and encourage the participants. Each student-pastor was presented with a certificate of completion. It was truly humbling to realize how excited these men and women were to receive a simple piece of paper. The same certificate would be almost a nuisance for us at home. However, for these people it may be the only time in their lives that their accomplishments and efforts have been or will be recognized.

Jim spent some time with Noah, a young man that is special to him. He arranged for Patrick Isabiyre, one of our student- pastors, to mentor Noah. Noah's desire, and Jim's dream, is to become a United Methodist Pastor. It looks like he is well on the way.

At the close of the celebration each teacher-pastor received a gift of appreciation from Bishop Wandabula. The men received wooden plaques with scenes and sayings from Uganda. Carol was the recipient of a woven rug or mat. We were all overwhelmed that we received anything at all.

This morning we are all finishing our packing and preparing to return home. Although we have all had a wonderful time, we are really ready to get home. Today we are in a 'killing-time' mode. We got a late check out from our hotel at 100pm. But our flight from Entebbe to Cairo is not until 435am tomorrow. We are going to see some sights and spend some time in a hotel near the airport.

We will arrive in Cairo via Egypt Air tomorrow morning around 1000am. Then we have almost 24 hours in Cairo. Thankfully Egypt Air is providing us with rooms so that we will not have to spend the whole time in the airport. We hope to see some more sights in Cairo, but mostly we are planning to take it easy.

Finally, we will get to Kennedy Airport in New York on Monday evening and will arrive (if all connections go well) in Indianapolis on Monday night at 937pm.