The recurring message from the African church is that Christianity is flourishing, especially in the middle and southern parts of the vast continent where Islam has had less impact. Missionaries say they see a hunger for a message like Christianity can give with its stories, parables, message to common people and words of hope.
Mesa is being visited this week by an African pastor who is part of that phenomenon. The Rev. Jackson Senyonga, founder and senior pastor of Christian Life Church in Kampala, Uganda, which has 40,000 registered members and 22,000 in attendance weekly, will speak during the Praying for Power Conference 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at Central Christian Church of the East Valley, 933 N. Lindsay Road. Cost is $45, or $20 for youth (ages 11-18).
Senyongas story is remarkable. At birth, he was not expected to live. In fact, his parents were getting ready totoss his body onto a garbage dump to die when his grandmother rescued him, his biography said. His mother abandoned him at 3 months of age. His aunt, who was daily involved in witchcraft, raised him through the (dictator) Idi Amin years. Senyongas father was murdered during the Amin reign of terror. Later, he reconciled with his mother.
Eventually, he found opportunities in ministry. In 1995, he started a church with seven people, and two weeks later, he had 2,000 attending. Seven months later, there were 7,000. His bio says that if his church of 40,000 were in the
U.S., it would be one of the top five congregations. Senyonga is also credited with planting about 600 churches in four African countries. In 2003, he rallied some 25,000 pastors to get three million people to pray in a 12-hour period.
Now the 40-year-old pastor counsels the highest leaders in Uganda where he also leads a coalition of 600 churches in the capital city of
Kampala. In heavy demand as a speaker, he has come to the U.S. to address conferences and spoken with
U.S. politicians and such American spiritual leaders as Bill Bright, Pat Robertson and Jack Hayford. His admirers say, in promotional material, His style of ministry springs from a spirit of humility and come across through motivational preaching, incredible faith and a sense of humor . He repeatedly says, Everyone can win in life and can achieve the impossible through Christ. For more details, see CentralChristianEV.com.
