Missions Mobilization
Global missions is changing. No longer do missionaries primarily come from North America and Europe. Now, disciples of Jesus are moving "from everywhere to everywhere" to make more disciples.
Over the past ten years, the top missionary-sending countries have included Brazil, South Korea, and India. In 2012, Mongolia became the top missionary-sending country per capita, only 2 decades after the gospel started moving in the population in a significant way. Praise the Lord!
In Africa, countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia have had a growing missionary movement, and have now sent hundreds to other nations. We are part of a growing number of organizations that believe Uganda is next!
Did you know?
Missiologists estimate that by 2060, 42% of the world's evangelical Christian population will reside in sub-Saharan Africa.
Yet there are still roughly 1,000 tribes in Africa that are considered unreached, many of which are in North Africa.
Level 1 Stage of Mobilization
Casting Vision & Creating Awareness
We are currently in what missiologists term Level 1 Stage of Mobilization, which involves casting vision and creating awareness.
There are many misconceptions about missions. Perhaps the biggest misconception is that we're already done! Many believers here in Uganda have never been exposed to an environment where the name of Jesus is not known. Most of Uganda is full of gospel witness, whether it is the name of businesses posted on shops or taxis, bumper stickers, over radio, or through the activity of local churches. Many simply do not know that roughly 3 billion people in the world live in a tribe or people group where they will live and die and never hear the gospel.
Exposure Trips
Many believers are shocked to learn that even here in Uganda, however, there are places where gospel witness is minimal. This is why Emmanuel International Uganda has teamed up with Frontier Mission Team to facilitate short-term mission exposure trips for teams to go to Kaabong District and see what cross-cultural ministry looks like in much lesser-reached people groups (namely the Dodoth people and the Ik people).
Missions Courses
We also use a course called MissionMode to help church groups learn about God's passion for all nations, the task remaining, and how each and every believer can become involved, even from home. With the help of Global Link Afrika, we also periodically offer the Kairos Course, which is a media-based version of the much more in-depth Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course.
Missions-Focused Prayer
The third area of focus in this Level 1 stage of mobilization is prayer. We sincerely believe that every battle is fought spiritually before seeing breakthrough in the physical realm. And so, we have dedicated ourselves to praying daily and gathering weekly to pray for African missionaries that we know, for unreached nations and peoples, and for Pader churches to rise up and take the mantle God has given them.
Field Preparation
At the moment, Emmanuel International Uganda does not have the capacity to equip individuals desiring to be trained for missions. So we are currently acting as a bridge between potential missionaries and existing training opportunities, such as the School of Missions and Prayer in Tororo, and the Missionary Internship Program with The Frontier Mission Team in Kaabong. We are prayerfully considering how we may grow our capacity to increase training opportunities for potential missionaries in Uganda in future.
This September 2021 field snapshot highlights what God has been doing in missions mobilization through the exposure trips and missions courses.