Africa Renewal University?

On September 3 we had a two hour meeting with the National Council for Higher Education to present our case to become a University. The meeting went very well and we were told that they would present our application for a Letter of Interim Authority to become a university on September 19.

At 4 PM today they called... you can be assured that my heart was pounding!

Unfortunately it wasn't the news we were expecting. The council recently appointed many new members and they were unable to get around to the 25 applications on their agenda... including ours!

Now we will have to wait until their next meeting in December as we continue to pray for a positive response.

It was good news that they called right away. We are sure that they are aware that we are eager and ready to begin. They have heard our presentation and they know where we are heading.

Continue to pray with us that we will be granted our Letter of Interim Authority in December!

A Call for Leaders of Integrity

Our society is in dire need of leaders with integrity and an agenda for transformation. This has been my conviction for some time now, but the trip to eastern Uganda confirmed it in a way I least expected. The trip had two goals. First, to meet the onsite internship supervisors, in order to review the progress of five of our students who have been posted for a ten-week internship in Tororo, Mbale and Kumi. Second, was to meet the staff/congregations of these organizations/churches and talk to them about training opportunities at Africa Renewal Christian College (ARCC).  In each of the locations I visited, the on-site supervisors expressed gratitude to ARCC for training students to exercise exemplary leadership qualities. Those doing pastoral internship were lauded for their commitment to tasks, innovation of new programs and reviving the congregations. Likewise those in child development organizations (Compassion International and Food for the Hungry) were exemplary in their commitment to the children’s cause and inspiring fellow staff. It was very gratifying to listen to these positive testimonies about our students. But the innovation and passion with which our students approached their work was in stark contrast to the declining level of leadership in the region. This was a concern leaders voiced in all these locations.

My visit came at a time when communities in the districts of Kumi, Mbale and Tororo were grappling with two major concerns. First, there was the Bududa landslide that had displaced people and killed others as it has always done. Unfortunately, the victims of these landslides never got all the resources collected for their assistance. One of the leaders noted that through corruption, some resources are diverted by those who are least affected yet have influence. It is this lack of trust in their leaders that causes some villagers to stick around in dangerous locations despite the call to vacate.

The second concern was the worsening state of the main road that links Tororo, Mbale, Kumi and Soroti. With frequent accidents being reported and long delays due to the bad state of the road, there was already talk of demonstrations being organized to voice people’s dissatisfaction with the slow and untroubled response of their leaders to the issue.

As I reflected on what I saw and heard it became clearer to me that indeed we need leaders of integrity, leaders who are moved by the suffering of those they lead, leaders with a passion for the transformation of their communities. Training such leaders is what ARCC exists to do. And the good example of our internship students is testimony to the viability of this project. But the need is greater in comparison to our current capacity. Hopefully ARCC will soon rather than later have the capacity to match its output to the dire need out there.

Samuel Onyait

B.Th, PGD, MA. (Dev’t)

Martin's Testinony

Martin Ogwang grew up in Apac District in Northern Uganda and has seen first hand the devastating effects of war and child abductions in his land throughout his lifetime. As an adult he has committed himself to rebuilding and restoring Uganda through caring for children and equipping leaders. Currently he serves as the Director of Programs for Africa Renewal Ministries with a specific focus on developing next generation leaders.

I (Jeff) first met Martin in 2009 as we were working together with the VIVA Network to host trainings for child development workers throughout Uganda. I was struck instantly by his personal commitment to modeling for others the importance of caring for children. He would spend his Christmas holidays hosting parties and camps for orphans and vulnerable children and often he would spend his weekends visiting various child care centers to spend time with the children.

We were fortunate to have Martin accept to teach at ARCC in September 2010 as we started our Diploma in Child Development. It was obvious to students and his fellow staff that Martin was not simply teaching theory but instead that he was sharing his life passion of caring for children as he sought to equip them to be the next generation of leaders for Uganda.

Recently I discovered that there were a group of 3 students from his home church, Amorigoga Assemblies of God that Martin had specifically paid for to attend ARCC. Encouraged by his commitment I asked Martin to share why he was supporting these students.

When Martin first gave his life to Christ in 1985 the nearest church to him home was an 18KM walk through the swamp and forest. Full of zeal for the Lord and passion to reach his community Martin helped to plant Amorigoga Assemblies of God by cutting down trees and helping to construct a grass thatched structure. Over the years that church has become a pillar in the community and has seen over 20 churches planted out from it.  That church is also the place where his grandmother, father, mother and brothers all worship and came to know Christ so it is very dear to his heart.

The pastors that serve in this church and the other church plants have great zeal for evangelism which has led to great growth but unfortunately due to lack of training there is no discipleship taking place in these churches. Martin's desire is to see over 50 leaders trained in this region so that these churches can experience growth like never before as leaders are trained and discipleship begins to take place. 

Martin is doing his part to ensure that at least 3 of them receive the training they need and you can help!

At ARCC we are committed to continually reaching the regions of Apac and beyond through the ARCC Scholarship Fund. If you would like to help see more leaders trained click here to support the Scholarship Fund.