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UGANDA: Archbishop Ntagali launches EFAC in Uganda

UGANDA: Archbishop Ntagali launches EFAC in Uganda

By Johnson Ebong
https://www.churchnewspaper.com/
July 25, 2019

EFAC Uganda was launched at All Saints Cathedral Kampala on Thursday July 20, attended by over 50 people among whom were bishops, clergy, leaders of evangelical churches in Uganda, and the leaders of Africa Centre for Apologetics in East Africa, LIFE Ministry (Lay Involvement For Evangelism) and other Para-church organisations.

The origins of the event go back to Jerusalem.

Bishop Emeritus Dunstan Bukenya led a delegation of 230 people to a GAFCON meeting there where he visited the EFAC desk. EFAC invited him for a Training Conference in Nairobi. Soon after, he presented a proposal to the House of Bishops (of which he is a member, representing retired Bishops).

On 20 February 2019, the House of Bishops resolved to allow EFAC to be born in the Church of Uganda. The Bishops appointed the Rt Rev Henry Katumba Tamale, the Bishop of West Buganda, to lead this new body.

At the launch, the Primate, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali emphasised that the Church of Uganda has been 'blessed for many years by the ministry of EFAC' through its consistent focus on the biblical foundations of historic Anglicanism, which has paved the way for many in the Church of Uganda to understand the need for the birth of GAFCON.

"EFAC has had a long-time commitment to the evangelical faith and we're grateful for its support in deepening this understanding of our faith in Uganda," he said. "This helped us to understand what was happening when others in the Anglican Communion, including entire Dioceses and Provinces, adopted unbiblical doctrine that is contrary to our historic faith as Anglicans.

"It was also very grievous to us to see the four Instruments of Communion consistently fail to bring discipline and order in the Communion in the presence of such clearly false teaching."

He concluded: "We're grateful for the partnership between EFAC and GAFCON and we must stand together in the historic and biblical faith of Anglicanism, recognising that it is only the cross of Christ that binds us together.

Bishop Tamale, the EFAC chairman, spoke on the theme: 'The time is ripe for Lord's harvest' taken from Matthew 9:35-38 and John 4:34-38.

"The Great Commission commands us to go.'' Therefore the field is ripe at the market place, among the motorcycle taxi riders (bodabodas), those with relationship challenges and the like.

"Instead of judging people, we need to see them as the field ready for harvest", he emphasised.

He also cited the challenge of training suitable candidates for the ordained ministry since there were insufficient funds in the dioceses for their placements. To meet some of these challenges, a few teachers trained and ordained are sent to schools as chaplains, where the government pays their salaries.

Bishop Dunstan Bukenya noted: "EFAC has had a history in Uganda in the past through its Scholarships for Church leaders to study theology up to PhD level and many of them are now Bishops in this Church."

Referring to the recent EFAC theological engagement in June on the theme of 'Leadership in the Anglican Church in East Africa' he noted that the delegates revealed, among other theological, spiritual pastoral and moral problems, that 'we have a leadership crisis.'

"A fundamental and dangerous trend in preparation for the leaders in the region is that in one country some Churches are completely closed by the State and their leaders prohibited to serve because they are not properly educated."

Greetings were sent from Bishop Hale and Bishop Sinclair, then chairs of the EFAC Trustees and Executive: "May the Lord continue to raise up in the Church of the Martyrs in Uganda through your ministry churches and leaders who will believe, teach and live by scripture and the gospel."

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