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Geoff Holder

eVitabu on smartphone

eVitabu Update

By Uncategorized

In recent weeks, we launched a large update to our African pastor resource hub and training library app, eVitabu. Our volunteer app developer, Jonathan Haddock, explains some of the biggest changes.

It feels like ages ago now, but back in March I spent a week with Geoff (APF Projects Coordinator) at his home in rural Herefordshire focusing on making some improvements to eVitabu. Thank you Geoff and the Holder family for their hospitality and making me feel welcome!

My priority for the week was to (finally!) finish building the registration process into the app. Previously it was necessary for our partners to fill in a form on a webpage before they could use eVitabu, which was “clunky” but was the quickest we could do prior to the 2018 launch. Unfortunately this step didn’t always work on African devices, which can be configured in some very unusual (to us) ways.

eVitabu on smartphone

Building in the registration process would make using eVitabu for the first time a much smoother process, and is something APF partners have been asking for for some time. Some readers of Impetus may recall I started building this back in 2020!

After much tweaking, and fixing a problem where sometimes the eVitabu user’s profile photo was rotated 90° during registration, work on this feature was complete. I needed to put it through some security testing prior to launch, but I’m pleased to say that integrated registration was available ahead of Dave’s trip to Rwanda and Uganda in May. Feedback was very positive.

I also took time to perform some maintenance on both the app and the website which we use to manage eVitabu. While not the most glamorous chore, this is an important part of the process to make sure eVitabu continues to work well.

My next task is to improve eVitabu’s reporting – hopefully that won’t take me almost three years!

For Prayer…

By Prayer

Please pray with us for our partners in Africa.

““Please pray for the introduction of eVitabu to 12 regional overseers and 12 digital natives [young leaders] in November and use of the app throughout our 450 churches in Uganda and 15 churches in eastern DRC.””

Revd Kephous NdinywaNational Overseer, Assemblies of God Uganda

““Please pray for the 43 children we care for most of whom have suffered abandonment, abuse and trauma due to parental neglect, disability or witchcraft.””

Grace KazibaFaith Babies Home and Iganga Baptist Church, Uganda

““Give thanks that I have completed a PhD in Theology. Please pray for the cohort of 20 theology students I teach and mentor through WhatsApp and Zoom due to continuing church closures in Rwanda.””

Emmanuel GateraWord of Life Ministries, Rwanda

““I am running a women’s farming cooperative in the mountains north of Musanze involving around 35 women growing beans, carrots and other crops for sale. Please pray for the women involved and their families.”

Chantil ImanaturikumweÉglise Evangélique de la Bonne Volonté au Rwanda

“Please pray for Jude who is an invaluable friend and helper to APF in Uganda. Pray for his ministry as national director of Teachers Without Borders, leadership of community projects and for his political aspirations.”

Walubo JudeTeachers Without Borders, Uganda

“Jonan is a businessman, rugby coach, pastor and entrepreneur. He is launching VineApp to resource his church members with Christian media. Pray for Jonan as he launches the app and for the new partnership with APF. ”

Manzi JonanKampala, Uganda

“Give thanks for this wonderful group of women (listed below) who recently participated in the Africa Training Partners Digital Theology workshop in Kampala. Pray for them as they share their learning with the women, children and church networks they serve.”

Harriet Sokiri (South Sudan), Rose Mugabi and Allyce Jossy (Uganda), Kesiah Luoga (Tanzania) and Hellen Rutto (Kenya)

Helping Uganda’s pastors through a hidden crisis

By Training, Uganda

Peter Mugabi is a former General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Uganda. He knows far better than most the pressures dedicated pastors in Africa face as they try and balance huge ministry demands with simply making ends meet. Peter now runs Cephas Leadership Foundation, an organisation that supports grassroots Christian leaders with leadership coaching, spiritual direction and mentoring. He writes:

There is a gap in psycho-social help for pastors in Uganda who are serving in a very difficult social environment. Stress, depression and mental health challenges are becoming more common among pastors and young Christian leaders. God has called Cephas Leadership Foundation to answer this need by providing a wide range of services that support those who are called to lead the church in Uganda. These include leadership coaching, mentoring, workshops for married couples, skills and business development programmes, leadership hubs and schools ministry training.

Last year, we worked with 158 pastors equipping them in discipleship, biblical counselling and training in good governance across four districts. In addition, we helped 54 young leaders through training on ministry competencies and best practice. Young leader trainings were held in schools, camps, and conference sites located in Mukono, Jinja and Kampala districts.

We met with over a hundred couples, and provided mentoring and support. Church ministry takes a heavy burden on relationships so we work to help them rekindle relationships and balance the pressures of ministry and family life besides breaking down traditional gender stereotypes.

“I have found these prayer breakfasts helpful because of peer learning. In these discussions there is openness and I find many solutions to my issues as I hear from the trainers and from my peers.”
Naphtali Makosya

“As a young couple we struggled with communication. This communication problem was also present in our leadership in church. But after our counselling sessions with Cephas, we have mastered the art of listening well and not only is our marriage thriving but our leadership in general is better. We are grateful for Cephas.”
Jacob and Lillian Eyeru

“The Lord has inspired me and given me guidance in my career and ministry path through Cephas. May God bless this ministry and allow it to touch many more young people like me who are growing without parents.”
Bridget, Kampala (pictured above)

“Our students really needed to hear what you had to say about dysfunctional relationships in homes between parents and students, students and their step siblings.”
Teacher at Kyambogo College School

“I lacked knowledge on team formation. I didn’t know which parameters a good leader used in selecting, orienting, and preparing new team members. I had made many mistakes and entered conflict before… After training, I have been equipped in team member selection, I have applied this knowledge, and now I have a very solid team that is making a difference.”
Pastor Thomas Kigeyi

I’d like to thank African Pastors Fellowship and all of our faithful partners for your support that has enabled us to make a difference among pastors and emerging leaders in Uganda.

So many lives have been touched and many more have been impacted beyond the conference halls and office meetings. This all would not be possible without your generous support.

The battle for healthy leaders today continues and we must stay the course. Every pastor and emerging leader needs and deserves training, coaching and help. Thank you, again, for your generosity.

“Thank God for Google Maps”

By eVitabu, Training, Uganda

At time of writing, APF CEO, Revd Dave Stedman, is in Uganda where he’s been working with the Church of Uganda, Somali Christian Fellowship and other long-term APF training partners. He reflects on the exponential growth in digital technology in Africa and the opportunities and challenges it presents for ministry.

Delegates arriving for the APF African training partners conference at Papaya Guest House announced happily on arrival, “Thank God for Google Maps!” The couple had travelled from Mukono to get there, a distance of less than 20km all within the Kampala metropolitan area, yet they found the venue with digital assistance.

I immediately reflected that in nearly twenty years travelling the length and breadth of East Africa – on tarmac highways, maram roads, dusty tracks and dodging potholes – I’ve never seen my driver or fellow passengers refer to a roadmap for directions. We just head in the general direction of our destination and make friends along the way.

I’ve been lost in urban centres and sugar cane plantations, I’ve broken down ‘deep in the village’ and deep in the Rift Valley. Finding the way or mechanical assistance was always a social event, accompanied by smiles and a lot of indiscriminate arm waving. “Just branch at the big tree and continue!” We always reached our destination, sometimes several hours late, but we got there.

It struck me as significant that even in Africa some are now seeking a digital solution in preference to asking their neighbour. At another conference the wife of a senior official passed the time taking ‘selfies’ during a rather dull Zoom presentation. ‘Michael’, a Somali convert to Christianity living as a refugee in Kampala, has launched a YouTube channel targeting Somali youth with the gospel. In Rwanda, churches and Bible schools that remain closed due to government regulations have found creative ways to continue using digital platforms to teach and for fellowship.

It is estimated that by 2025 there will be at least 685 million mobile phone subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa. That means, statistically at least, there will be a mobile subscription for every adult.1 Urban youth in Nairobi spend more time ‘on screen’ every day than any comparable group globally (7 hours, 40 minutes).2

The mobile phone banking service Mpesa has transformed how business is conducted throughout Kenya. In 2019, 87% of Kenya’s GDP was transacted using Mpesa and similar mobile banking platforms.

Africa is changing and the change is rapid. The changes also have huge implications for mission and ministry. What does it mean to be an African pastor in the smartphone era? How is APF responding?

Digital Tools

When we launched eVitabu in 2018, little did we know that a pandemic was coming that would accelerate the use of digital solutions globally to enable communication, training and church online. eVitabu continues to position APF ahead of the curve by offering a digital tool to resource African pastors across the continent. eVitabu currently reaches an estimated 1.5 million believers with contextualised materials that enrich faith, resource ministry and contribute to healthy Christian communities.
Increasingly APF receives requests for phones, tablets and laptops to be used as ministry tools and we invite you to consider donating your used devices to help us respond to such requests.

Digital Training

Having a device is one thing; using it effectively is another matter. For example, at our conference for Church of Uganda clergy in June, two major training needs were identified. First, there were leaders who wanted to learn how to unleash the full capacity of the phone in their pocket. They wanted training on using office apps, advice on protecting themselves and others online and help developing a digital strategy for their church or community organisation.

Another group needed much more basic support such as learning how to navigate a touch screen or discovering that a smartphone can be used for much more than just Facebook, text messaging or mobile money. As APF seek to identify and release African Training Partners in every African country we work in, the ability to teach such skills is an increasingly important pre-requisite.

Digital Theology

We are all being shaped by the rapid advance of digital technology, and it has become an important topic for theological reflection globally. Theological reflection around the use of technology is arguably even more vital in Africa, however, where society has leaped from an oral tradition into the digital age so fast. How does technology impact our understanding of who we are in Christ? What does this mean for our sense of belonging to the Body of Christ? How can we share the love of Christ with our neighbours both physically and digitally?

As a simple example, look at the cartoon (above) and reflect on whether what you see is good or bad (or both). I find this cartoon provides a wonderful discussion starter in APF’s ‘The Smart Pastor’ digital theology workshop which has been very warmly received in Bible colleges, universities and amongst networks of Christian leaders in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda recently.

Thank God for Google Maps? Maybe. What is certain, however, is Africa is changing as the internet becomes ‘embedded, embodied and everyday’4 across the continent. APF is uniquely well-placed to seize the moment and continue its pioneering ministry to enable effective ministry in the digital age.

A heart for the unreached

By Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, UK

Lerato Lesoetha has a heart for Africa’s unreached people groups. Born in Lesotho, one of Africa’s smallest countries, she’s heading to Chad, one of Africa’s largest. She shared with APF something of her journey, which has also included time in Mozambique, Uganda , South Sudan and even the UK where she has been studying.

I was born and raised in Lesotho which is a very small mountainous country surrounded by South Africa. My passion for unreached people groups started about 13 years ago while I was watching a documentary on TV. The documentary highlighted just how so many people living in Muslim countries had never heard the gospel before and since then I have felt a strong call to be amongst African Muslims.

In 2019, I joined an African Inland Mission short-term team working in northern Mozambique. We served a rural Muslim community by teaching literacy, introducing children to Bible stories and training in sustainable farming. I thought this short trip would quench my hunger and I would go back to pursuing my career in international development. In fact, during this trip I saw that indeed “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few” (Luke 10:2). My heart was convicted that I should spend my life labouring in the Lord’s harvest.

In 2021, I joined a year-long mission team based in Uganda but working primarily with South Sudanese people. What stood out for me from this experience was the fact that there remain so many unreached people groups and many more who still don’t have the Bible translated into their mother tongue.

In September, I will be joining an outreach team based in Oum Hadjar in Chad for a two-year placement. Chad is a large landlocked country in North Africa. It stretches from savannah in the south, through the arid Sahel region and deep into the Sahara Desert to the north. Oum Hadjar is a small town on the bank of the Batha River within the central Sahel belt. The area is sparsely populated. The population of the entire Oum Hadjar Sub-Prefecture is only about 14,500.

The main goals of our team will be to live relationally with the community. We will be learning Chadian Arabic and seeking to reach some unreached Chadian Arabs who live across the area. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we will disciple and encourage the formation of house churches. Our team will also be engaged in English teaching and sustainable agricultural training. This is so important in this area as people’s livelihoods are badly threatened by desertification. Throughout our time we will be working closely with the Evangelical Church of Chad.

At present I am in Canterbury where I am finishing an MSc in Conservation and Rural Development at the University of Kent. As soon as I have submitted my dissertation, I will go home to Lesotho to be with my family for a few weeks before I leave for Chad in September. I am sure my studies will be very valuable as I serve the rural communities living around Oum Hadjar.

July 2023 newsletter

By Impetus

July 2023 Impetus.

Welcome to the latest edition of Impetus.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all our fantastic supporters who updated their giving by standing order to our new Virgin Money charity account from our old CAF Bank account.

We are especially grateful to those of you who increased your donations. We are enormously grateful for all your support which really does make a huge difference and enables effective ministry though our brilliant partners in Africa.

When we were first contacted by CAF Bank back in early February and were told that due to the increasing volume and size of APF’s transfers to Africa they could no longer monitor our account and would close it, we were very concerned that this might mean a significant loss of income and damage our work including eVitabu.

Due to your efforts managing the administrative headache of completing new standing order forms, contacting your bank, or navigating around your internet banking app, our concerns were unfounded. Thank you so much for doing this.

We are also aware that some of you set up a new standing order without stopping your old standing order, understandably expecting CAF Bank to return the original one to you as APF’s account closed. In fact, CAF Bank only closed our account in mid-June, weeks later than we were told. This means that several donors may have made duplicate donations. For this we apologise and welcome your contact if you have been affected by CAF Bank’s delay.

Finally, in case of any doubt, our new bank details are:

Account name: African Pastors Fellowship
Sort Code: 82-11-07
Account Number: 30479282

Our old CAF Bank account (40-52-40 / 00016972) is now closed.

Again with all our thanks,


Revd Dave Stedman
CEO

For Prayer…

By Prayer

This month, we’re inviting you to join us in prayer for some upcoming trips including visits to partners in Rwanda and Uganda later this Spring. Please also pray that we will have enough funding to accept invitations to South Sudan, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe later this year.

Rwanda

Please pray for Dave who will be travelling to Rwanda in May. Pray for those he will be meeting in Rwanda including:

  • Victor Imanaturikumwe and leaders in the Église Évangélique de la Bonne Volante au Rwanda who will be trained to use eVitabu.
  • Bishop Assiel and clergy in Kigeme Diocese where parish priests have received solar power systems for home lighting and for mobile phone charging businesses.
  • Charles Munyamahoro from the Free Methodist denomination who is supporting untrained pastors achieve starter level qualifications at Wisdom Bible School.
  • Emmanuel Gatera from Word of Life Ministries. Dave and Emmanuel will be training pastors from this network of churches to use eVitabu.

Uganda

After Rwanda, Dave will move onto Uganda. Please pray for three major APF conferences with Ugandan partners including:

  • Church of Uganda Provincial Secretariat where Dave will be following up on the eVitabu launch last year and working with selected clergy who will be trained to implement the national roll-out of eVitabu across the Church of Uganda.
  • International Association of Evangelical Chaplains exploring ministry in conflict zones and in majority Muslim nations.
  • Pastors Discipleship Network for Digital Theology workshops.

Elsewhere in Africa

Please also pray for funding so we can accept invitations for Dave or Geoff to deliver eVitabu induction workshops with:

  • New Nation Church in South Sudan.
  • Masasi Diocese in southwest Tanzania.
  • And possibly the Diocese of Southern Malawi and SIM Zimbabwe.

We are trying to make fewer but more focussed international visits, so please pray for “journey mercies”, as they say in Africa, and for the resources needed to fund these exciting and strategic opportunities.

Thank you!

Nigeria to London via Ukraine

By eVitabu, Nigeria, UK

Wherever you find yourself living, my guess is that the route you took to get to where you are today may not be quite as dramatic as the path taken by Father Soloman Ebi Ekiyor. His passion for mission took him from Nigeria to Ukraine, before the Russian invasion forced another major upheaval. He now lives in London where he is studying Digital Theology.

I started my ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Western Izon in Delta State, Nigeria as a parish priest. With a young man’s heart and strength, I always loved to use my gifts to develop relationships with young people, praying for them and sharing the good news of the Kingdom. I had various ministry and administrative responsibilities in the diocese, and in time, I became an Archdeacon and Residentiary Canon of St Matthew’s Cathedral in the riverside city of Patini.

Western Izon Diocese is a missionary diocese spanning Delta State and Bayelsa State in southern Nigeria. It includes the Niger Delta region, a vast and low-lying wetland filled by lakes, swamps and creeks. Countless distributary rivers and streams meander towards the sea where freshwater marshland gives way to brackish mangrove swamps along the Gulf of Guinea coastline.

The people of Bayelsa State are some of the poorest in Nigeria. Many who live in the delta region are cut off from the mainland by rivers and wetlands. They lack access to clean water, electricity, health facilities, transport links, schools and other basic amenities. With rising sea levels caused by climate change, flooding is becoming a huge challenge, adding to other problems such as contaminated soil and water from oil pipeline leaks and toxic fumes from the illegal burning of crude oil (locally called ‘kpo-fire’).

My heart has always been for cross-cultural mission and in 2017 I moved, with my wife, Elas, and our children, Jemima, Jedidiah and Jesaiah, to Ukraine where I was appointed to pastor Nigerian students and the wider English speaking international student community. I served as the head of the Fellowship of Christian Students International in Chernivtsi and Ternopil in western Ukraine and I was also involved in ecumenical ministry, building bridges with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Baptists and Evangelical churches.

My heart has always been for cross-cultural mission and in 2017 I moved, with my wife, Elas, and our children, Jemima, Jedidiah and Jesaiah, to Ukraine where I was appointed to pastor Nigerian students and the wider English speaking international student community. I served as the head of the Fellowship of Christian Students International in Chernivtsi and Ternopil in western Ukraine and I was also involved in ecumenical ministry, building bridges with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Baptists and Evangelical churches.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine profoundly disrupted our lives and the wonderful ministry I served. In the days that followed, I was very busy helping Nigerian students who were struggling to leave the country and were being turned away en bloc at the Polish border. I soon found myself acting as the link between the students and the Nigerian embassy officials in Warsaw.

After that we tried to leave Ukraine ourselves. We first headed for Slovakia, but the border crossing was completely clogged with cars. We then tried the border with Hungary. This crossing was less congested and eventually after much prayer we made it through. After about six weeks in Budapest, we secured visas to relocate to the UK and for the last year, I have continued in missional ministry with the Diocese of Southwark in London.

Also in London, I am now studying for a master’s degree at Spurgeon’s College. It was there that I was introduced to APF and the eVitabu app which is such a great resource for the Church in Africa. I love APF’s approach to mission. Training missionaries and sending them to foreign nations is worth it but it is far more sustainable to raise up, train and equip indigenous people for the work of ministry in their own communities. I believe I am in a good position to understand and appreciate this as a missionary in Europe who was born and raised in poor and marginalised rural communities in Africa.

I look forward to APF extending their work in Nigeria, especially in the Diocese of Western Izon. Let us continue challenging ourselves to step outside the box and seek the Lord’s guidance on how to passionately and faithfully live out His call for mission.

Sharing the Gospel in Somalia

By eVitabu, Somalia, Uganda

Christian Leaders Fellowship in Mogadishu is a team of dedicated Christian leaders from the small number of Christian groups who live and work in the Somali capital’s protected ‘Green Zone’. APF have been supporting their dangerous but vital work for a few years now, most recently through their ‘Charity Program’, which seeks to engage with Somali nationals. Daniel Masiga, a Ugandan lay pastor who works in logistics for African Union peacekeeping forces in Somalia, describes what the Charity Program does and how this wonderful demonstration of love is opening doors.

We started the Christian Leaders Fellowship (CLF) in Mogadishu in June 2019 when Christian leaders of different nationalities serving in the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping efforts came together to strengthen each other and to share much-needed love and hope in Somalia.

Having witnessed the desperate suffering of the Somali people firsthand, we were compelled to mobilise resources and reach out to share the gospel. With the support of the APF, we set up the CLF Charity Program to better engage with Somali nationals in Green Zone hospitals and residing in the surrounding communities.

Through the Charity Program we are now providing support to local Somalis by distributing medicine, clothing, food, and other essentials. Through these donations, we have built strong relationships and trust in the neighbouring communities and have been able to share the love of God in a tangible way.

As Somali nationals tell us of their ordeals ranging from hunger and starvation to lack of shelter, trauma, bereavement, unemployment, sickness and insufficient medication, not to mention violence and insecurity, it is increasingly clear that greater support is needed. Most of them hope to be relocated if possible due to the extremes of their circumstances.

The Charity Program has already created many opportunities for us to engage with Somalis in meaningful conversations. These conversations often lead to prayer with those in need and, when possible, we share Jesus’ good news of life and hope.

APF has been a key partner in the hospital outreach ministry through their financial support and our prayer is that this continues and grows. There really is much more to be done. We look forward to having a place of safety where members can come together to worship, pray, and share the gospel with the Somali people and help them grow in faith.

Going forward, we are looking to better equip our team through training and with online education resources like APF’s eVitabu app. We are taking resources from eVitabu and translating them into booklets that share the good news. We also hope to offer more regular support to local families we have identified are in dire need.

We are constantly engaging with Somali nationals and, with the love and support of friends of Somalia and partners such as APF, we are confident that a lot shall be accomplished to the glory of God and the betterment of the lives of God’s people in Somalia.

A key part of the training was about accessing the eVitabu app. This was, for us all, the headline part of the experience. We learnt how to download and install eVitabu on our smartphones and how to search for resources in the app. eVitabu will quench my thirst for Christian education material because it has a wealth of information from many different contributors. I am really looking forward to exploring the app further and finding resources for my community, church and family.

We also discussed digital culture and theology. The training on digital theology in Africa was very timely. We were all forced to embrace digital ministry during the Covid-19 pandemic out of panic as a response to the crisis. We were reactive and not prepared. This training helped us build on those experiences by having time for theological reflection around the opportunities and dangers of technology in church ministry.

People for Jesus bringing hope to Maasailand

By Kenya, Training

Between 2019 and 2021 Pastor Tom Opiyo, founder of People for Jesus Ministry (PFJM) in Kenya, received an APF scholarship to study for a bachelor’s degree in theology at the Pan Africa Christian University in Nairobi. He graduated in July of last year and recently sent a very full and encouraging annual report.

PFJM is a registered Kenyan non-governmental organisation. It is based in Narok County in the south of the country and works in Maasailand in practical and pastoral ways. Tom’s report ran to nearly twenty pages so here is a brief except and a few of the highlights:

Adult Literacy Programme

PFJM churches are being encouraged to address the education gap experienced by many Maasai women and girls that drop out of school due to early marriages. The classes combine basic literacy with income generation skills and advice to enable adults to earn as they learn. Although the overwhelming majority of pupils are female, around 15% of the cohort is male.

Support for Flood Victims

During 2022 there were severe floods in the Kandaria area. Many local residents were housed in the compound of Kandaria Secondary School, a PFJM foundation establishment. Even after the floods subsided some people remained due to food and economic insecurity with more than 350 people displaced from their homes that were lost to the flood.

Outreach to the Nations

During March 2023 PFJM teams were visiting Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Iganga in Uganda for short term missions. The outreach involves evangelistic crusades and intercessory prayer gatherings, as well as support to local projects and churches. Closer to home two churches have been planted at Loita, near the Tanzania border and Nyang’ande in Kisumu County in the far south west.

Care for Vulnerable People Groups

In Nyang’ande, People for Jesus Ministry is giving a helping hand to more than 80 children living with disability through socialisation activities and around 40 senior citizens at the Bigoma Community Centre. The community is not connected to the national grid and lacks power, lighting and access to clean water. Tom hopes that once the power supply is installed a well can be drilled if resources allow.

In addition to these ministry needs Pastor Tom requests prayer for his family, especially his wife Eunice who shares much of the ministry burden in church and managing the many women’s projects, and their children: Joy (studying Public Health at university), Joshua, Deborah and Peter who are still at various stages in their school careers.

The PFJM motto for 2023 is Isaiah 40:31. Let us pray with them as they reach out to the hungry, thirsty, helpless and oppressed that, waiting on the Lord, Tom, Eunice and all the team will “mount up with wings like eagles … run and not grow weary … walk and not grow faint.”