She probably put it quite bluntly, but someone mentioned the other day at a conference I attended that the only effect the 83% Christian population has on the Ugandan population is being an “angel on Sunday and a devil on Monday”.

Photo by Robin Kutesa on Unsplash

I recalled that a few years ago, the Ugandan President too seemed just about convinced about a rising crop of convictional Christians amidst a corrupt culture; he did act on his conviction though and placed many across roles in KCCA, URA, etc. I admit I haven’t exhausted tracking their performance. But you can argue, a lot of our social transformation as a country hasn’t reflected this decision years later.

So there’s no triumphalist talk from me here; a whole lot of our majority Christian-identifying churchgoers, probably led by yours truly, need to have our “saltiness” felt in the Ugandan society. Yet that doesn’t mean everybody has sold out to Baal. There (so to speak) might be some 7000, or maybe less, but “some” nonetheless. It seems.

Aware that revival first consists of continuously gospel-transformed people, healthy church structures, and sound biblical doctrine, I am hereby careful, yet glad, to report at the same time, that a growing movement of gospel-centred churches and efforts have been observed by many, including myself, in this landlocked East African country.

Observed in ways that would make many think that maybe we are not spiritually landlocked too; maybe our roots, like the psalmist, are beginning to tap into the vast ocean of God’s grace. Maybe.

But I risk blowing a patriotic trumpet too much; I will present the facts and let you make the judgement. Or at least, prayerfully, wish it were all true, that a revival is indeed brewing in the Pearl of Africa.

I recently heard from a Ugandan who left for the UK a few years ago, saying she was looking forward to returning in 2025, her reason was partly spiritual; she says she felt like she lacked community the last time round she left the country. All she wanted then and now, she implied, was the church that preached the Bible expositionally, and she looked around in vain then.

I was eager to report to her what I will do for you, here. After all, after my brief assurance, she anticipated returning to join a healthy church.

What I told her I will tell you; that there are smaller healthier churches today in Uganda, than we had in 2014. We may have been known for a church per kilometre, but now you are likely to find a smaller one, yet healthy one. (Not yet where we want to be, of course, but getting there)

Ntinda Bukoto, Najeera, City Centre

For example, in no particular order, Lugogo Baptist Church, probably one of the few oldest in the Kampala, now runs inductive Bible studies across Naguru, Kira, Kisaasi and Gayaza areas. If you are caught in Kampala road traffic on a Wednesday evening, you can surely get caught up in any of those nearby communities they host. Including popping by,at one at their middle-of-town worship auditorium.

Ebenezer Chapel, a church plant from the rich Anglican heritage that Uganda is globally known for, is reaching a highly urbanised corporate group along areas of Najeera, Ntinda, Kiwatule. They preach expositionally (and just covered the book of Micah) by the time of this writing. They also host a Friday meeting themed Legit Night, planned around the constant intersection between biblical truth and contemporary issues. Their neighbour in the Bukoto vicinity, Petra Reformed, is following suit.

Regarding potential spiritual resurgences in long-standing churches, All Saints Cathedral, St. Luke Ntinda, Watoto Church, and St. Francis Chapel Makerere have all reported recent waves of young, biblically stirred individuals who are energised by rightly dividing the word of truth and standing for sound doctrine, even when they may stand alone.

Veracity Fount, is one of the sprawling Bukoto based fellowships that has since gathered and exposed Christians across many Kampala churches to inductive Bible studies, church history, Apologetics (see Phaneroo report) and a sound media ministry , along with a rich library space for exceptional Christian literature. They now just launched The Fount Church, the same side of Bukoto.

More sound City fellowships abound than the “loud” ones you often hear, confirming that indeed the Kingdom of God is like a seed in the ground that grows without predictable observation.

Entebbe Road and Wakiso

Entebbe Road boasts of Christ Our Refuge Church, they just settled into their permanent home, preaching faithfully week in and week out. New City Community Church and Zana Community have gone a long way in giving student communities a place to live out what they are learning in theology school.

Even surrounding districts, like Wakiso, that host a largely Kampala workforce, now can point to a healthy church in Ssenge Baptist . Rooted in the scriptures, and serious about local mission. The church is led by a group of faithful godly men, equipped to play the long game of faithful ministry.

Student Reach
More University Student communities have also benefited from St Francis at Makerere, Kakumba Chapel in Kyambogo, University Community Church in Gulu, Mbarara Living Community Church at MUST, among others.

Sound City Fellowships
Text-driven and contextually, historically faithful gospel-centred and inductive Bible studies are often the foundation of many healthy fellowships. For example, I know of a women’s Community Bible study that is studying the book of Numbers and other Old Testament books hosted at Calvary Chapel Kampala.

Bible study fellowship (BSF) is currently running a city-wide study on Revelation, gathering more Kampalans weekly than any healthy fellowship I know. Another regular group meets at Piato restaurant on Thursday evenings to handle multiple Bible Books and Epistles, like Titus.

Gaba Road, Nsambya, Kabalagala
Multiple offshoot fellowships from All Saints Cathedral continue to gather around God’s word in Namuwongo areas, and beyond. I’ve sat in to testify.

Cross Fellowship Church Kampala, where I am humbled to serve, is experiencing God’s graces too as we continue through whole books of the Bible, reaching and teaching University students from Kampala International University etc, as well as hosting weekly Bible studies for the Gaba, Buziga, Kansanga road community.

Cross Fellowship too, along with other collaborating churches mentioned here, are also represented in a Faith and Work outreach conversation that happens at Endiro Cofffee, Nakasero on multiple select Friday evenings.

(Speaking of collaboration, I am also aware of an effort to catalyse many of these, “revival signs” by a group of Kampala Pastors – Together For The City Kampala (T4CK)- meeting monthly to prayerfully wish God could do more to engage the unreached, reached and mis-reached, in their city locations.

Our neighbours, in the same Gaba/Kansanga road mission field—Sojourn Church— affiliated to Acts 29, are currently preaching through the Psalms, big on church planting, sound doctrine and upholding the New Testament church model, their youth outreach is gaining momentum last time I heard!

Other locations
Reconciliation Baptist Church holds the torch high in the church reformation legacy out of Nalukolongo, their faithfulness to historical understanding of the church is indomitable, and admirable at the same time, so is Faith Baptist in Namugongo areas. RBC also has also planted Living Word Baptist Church, in Migadde areas, Bombo Road.

Nansana Bible Church, located in one of Kampala’s most populous areas, Nansana, upholds historical Christian convictions centred around proper Bible handling, robust biblical counselling, and gospel-centricity. Loving congregation too, probably best representing our second youngest national population that side of the country.

International churches like (Kampala International) in Lubowa, Heritage, Lubowa and Bugolobi, are also serving the expat and missionary communities with commendable faithfulness and biblical endeavour.

Gayaza Road, a new frontier for settling Kampala dwellers, features House Church Kitetikka, and a Lugogo Baptist Church plant in Matugga. Both word-saturated, and Christ centred. Kamwokya, famous for its suburban community hosts an Anglican church plant too, known as St John’s. Inviting authentic Sunday worship and inspiring small groups there.

Calvary Chapel Kampala has been a long-standing gospel ally, among the oldest too, verse by verse exposing of God’s word to souls in the city. Now their reach is represented in Mpigi, Busega and Mukono respectively. Robust marrieds and youth ministry characterise them too.

One life Church Bugolobi, beats with the heart of the city centre, hosted at Design Hub, a prime location for Kampala’s creative industry, it’s membership, mission focus, youth and children ministries are built on biblical conviction, New Testament leadership and a heart for a multi-cultural congregation.

ParaChurch Impact
Multiple para-church organisations have devoted themselves to serving the Ugandan church too, to mention but a few.

Living Word Uganda runs an apprenticeship program and an annual conference on Bible handling that exposes young church leaders to basic Bible handling skills. They often circulate theologically trained interns that have turned out a resource for many young church plants, including Ssenge, Cross Fellowship, among others.

Global Link Africa mobilizes and sends professionals to serve among the unreached populations especially in Karamoja and other hard to reach areas.

I don’t mean these are the only places God is working, but these are the few places where you will hear the Bible not only cited or referenced in passing, but preached and approached to mean what it was originally intended to mean, for God’s people then and now—a key ingredient of any Revival, everywhere, whenever.

Similarly, congregants in these churches are not perfect Christians (repentance if you already patted your back) yet we can agree that those rightly feeding on God’s word faithfully taught, are often heading a perfected direction, even when they are not yet perfected on earth.

These above are some of the few places where you will find more practices of the New Testament Church centralised around the good news, more than good feelings, motivational hype, religious buzzwords, selfisms, and other peripheral pet subjects like “deliverance, prosperity, spirit identification, self promotion, socializing”,—to mention but a few.

Most Leadership in these spiritual communities is also “plural” (group led) rather than a “one man show” — sigh! right?

Emerging Hope?
For long in this country, we have had more churches per kilometre than soundness per soul. But knowing how God does his things, looks like a cloud of hope is in sight!

Back in the day, like my UK friend, when I looked around for a church that preached God’s word faithfully, there were few but one, today, you can point to more than five in the city centre alone, that’s good news for a country with a motto like ours, for God and my country!

In fact, someone I admire recently said, that if you find out where God is going to carry out a revival, go there a month before.

Exactly. I cannot be “there” because I will never know “where”, but I am privileged to pray that when that revival comes, you and I shall be found “where” God is working. Amen?

(This is only a starting list; I do not intend to exhaust a list of gospel partners and healthy churches. I would be happy to hear yours; please get in touch.)