International Cooporating Ministries CHANGING LIVES TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES Building a great future for ordinary communities faced with impossibilities

Before After WOMEN EMPOWERMENT PROJECT

Transformed Hearts Transform Nations CHURCHES CONSTRUCTED IN THE REPUBLIC OF

00 ST. PAUL CHURCH OF UGANDA TONCWINY VILLAGE - PUPWONYA ATIAK S/CTY, We stood with the local community in this area to mitigate the challenges of praying under the tree without a decent church structure. People hear the gospel and give their lives to Christ but most people do not have a place to worship or share the Word of God. As a ministry, we partner with ICM to ensure that decent churches are built within a walkable distance in each village and the new believers are nurtured in the Word of God. In the year 2016, Favor with the support of ICM and the local community, constructed St. Paul's Church of Uganda in Toncwiny Village, Pupwonya. Before Today, the church is speaking life and hope into the lives of the congregation members on Sundays. During the week, women and girls are being empow- ered by different non-governmental organizations and government agencies who are using the building as their training place. A cotton development organization uses the church compound as their market point for buying cotton from the local communities during harvest season. Mini Bible studies have been established and the community of Atiak is being rebuilt holistically.

After

01 BUSANO CHRISTIAN CENTRE CHURCH BUNGWANYI VILLAGE, BUSANO SUB-COUNTY Busano Christian Center Church is perched high in the craggy hills that form part of Mount Elgon in Bugishu Sub-region. Before the church was built and dedicated on Mar 19th 2017, the temporary structure used to be a drinking joint for ‘Malwa’, a locally brewed alcohol, and also as a shrine for male circumcision commonly known as ‘Embalu’.

In the year 2003, a few family members led by Pastor Margaret Mutonyi started fellowshipping in this small structure. Later they were joined by other neighbors and they grew in number that soon became a community church in 2004. Before This growing group never stopped working as they prayed. They had faith that the Lord would provide for them a much larger and better church building. Today, the congregation has grown to more than 180 members who come and worship the living God every week in the building. The MBC (Mini Bible Course) has trained many believers to teach and preach the Word of God. Members also conduct group meetings for income generation projects, while youth also come together for livelihood training.

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02 PEACE MAKERS CHURCH LALOGI, CORNER AGULA VILLAGE ODEK SUB COUNTY, The large number of believers in this congregation used to pray in this small grass thatched structure which was highly susceptible to destruction by strong wind, rain and wild fire. The leaders of this church went out from door to door to evangelize and they passionately shared the good news of Jesus Christ – the death and his resurrection. Many people in this spiritually dark village gave their lives to Christ and they joined the church. The church grew in number and it became impossible for them to accommodate themselves in the small grass thatched structure.

Before With the support of Favour of God Ministries and International Cooperating Ministries, the church were able to build a permanent structure. The church dedication was marked by water baptism where people witnessed a greater revival and move of the Holy Spirit. Today, the building has become a classroom for the pupils during weekdays, a center for community meetings on Saturdays, church for gatherings on Sunday, and a meeting point for women's groups on Sunday evening. MBC (Mini Bible Study) course has empowered the community in reading and meditating on the Word of God, and then putting it into action.

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03 KINGDOM CITY CHURCH PABBO SUB COUNTY, AMURU DISTRICT Over the years, the community of PABBO KCCI has been struggling to establish a convenient and modern church structure to help in sharing God’s Word, building moral ethics, and act as an epic center for socio- religious and economic transformation. First, as a small Christian entity, they conducted themselves and their activities in dilapidated building threatening to collapse, but they were constrained by financial resources and the general hardships in the community.

Before

Today, with the help of Favour of God Ministries, the above challenges and obstacles have been mitigated and on Jan 24th, 2018, the day came for putting smiles on the faces of the community as they celebrated the milestone achieved, of a permanent place of worship. We witnessed many mighty works of God in the lives of this community, ranging from the witchdoctor giving her life to Christ, and then this being the first church in the sub-county that has been able to conduct holy matrimonial weddings, organizing annual youth conferences lining up with the MBC (Mini Bible College) teaching and the church becoming the center of this all.

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04 JIMO CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CENTER JIMO VILLAGE, AMURU DISTRICT The building has created a great impact in the lives of the community members around the village. Today, Justice for Peace, an NGO, working to restore peace in families and eliminating domestic violence is using the building as a training center. Government community development officers use the same building for training youth and other women's groups in income generating activities.

Before

The local leaders use the same building for holding community meetings whenever needs arise. Youth, women and children choirs conduct their training in the same building. The village had no school before but now, the building is being used as classroom for children within the community, Monday through Friday. Cell fellowships and MBC (Mini Bible College) studies are changing lives, and being held within the church. One of the witchdoctors within the community gave her life to Christ during a cell group fellowship, and now she is praying in this church and has even given her home compound as a space for weekly a cell fellowship and home Bible study.

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05 GOSPEL CHURCH – LAKANG LAKANG VILLAGE, AMURU DISTRICT The testimonies are overwhelming by the community who was conducting prayer in this makeshift structure. Born again Christian families in this village used to have church in a small grass thatched house and it was the only church stretching as far as , also covering about 50 km radius from Otwee Inland Center to Lakang and about 100 km south of District. The village is highly hampered by the muddy and dusty road with pot holes, posing difficulties in accessing the place.

Before The history that surround the community makes it more demanding for a permanent church building and this village still had fresh scars of conflict, relating to the highest contested land issues ever documented in Acholi Sub- region, Lakang and Apar in particular. The church is now serving a great purpose of promoting socio- religious growth and empowerment, which is a reason the ministry ventured into such an environment galvanized by land wrangles, political hostility, and under development. The church is bringing detached communities together and promoting unity in sharing of God’s love, wisdom, kindness and mercy, as well as promoting peace and co-existence in environments where Christianity hadn't prevailed in most core After aspects of life. The church has established the first Christian school within the village using the church structure as the classroom. Because of the building, the leaders of Gospel Ministries, came and drilled a borehole in the church compound, bringing to an end the unclean water problems. 06 PATALIRA ASSEMBLY CHURCH PATALIRA PARISH, PATIKO SUB-COUNTY ASWA COUNTY, For many past years, the community of Patalira has been struggling to establish a convenient and modern structure as a church to help in disseminating God’s Word, building moral ethics and actions and acting as an epic –center for socio religious and economic transformation. They started as a small Christian entity conducting themselves and their activities under a tree. Then they later met in a video hall, and afterwards in a dilapidated structure which they erected by themselves using locally available materials.

Before

This temporary structure has now been renovated and turned into a classroom for kindergarten. It is an initiative that the church has started to mitigate the challenges of education that they are facing within the community. It is visibly clear that the nearest school is over 7 km and children in the community cannot endure such a long distance of walking for the benefits of education. This has greatly contributed towards the delinquency in the community as put forward by the local leaders while addressing their concerns to the media team during the church dedication. Today, the community is enjoying the convenience of the modern structure that has been put in place, which is now promoting socio- religious growth and development, bringing the commu- nity closer to God, as well as promoting peace, love and co – existence.

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07 AWERE ASSEMBLY CHURCH ODEK SUB COUNTY, OMORO DISTRICT We thank God for this life changing structure because we are all familiar with the dark history that surrounded Odek Sub-county which was the birth place of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) leader, Joseph Kony. What stands here today is a clear testimony, because it is the only permanent church building in this village that has been built from ‘scratch’ through faith in Jesus Christ! The church has also, since grown into a full kindergarten and primary school, which meet within the building.

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08 ACET SHIELD OF FAITH CHURCH ACET SUB COUNTY, OMORO DISTRICT Pastor Walter Okema attended his certificate level education in Christian training from Favour of God Ministries in the ministry's early years. He returned to his home village with the candle of faith burning in his heart and started a fellowship with a handful of believers in a Secondary School classroom. The congregation grew in numbers and the school administrators were kind enough to allow the school to accommodate them until they were able to shift onto their own land. The church members later raised a temporary semi-permanent building on their land next to school compound. They kept believing God and working towards building a larger and well-built church structure. This finally turned out to come true with the support of Favour of God Ministries and ICM (International Cooperating Ministries).

Before

Today, ACET SHIELD OF FAITH is being seen as a model church where government leaders, school children, youth, women and men conduct their various activities from during the week. The church has benefitted from a village-wide women empowerment project which is gratefully transforming the lives of the local members.

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09 LAGUDE CHURCH LAGUDE VILLAGE, LALOGI SUB-COUNTY, OMORO DISTRICT. Pastor Richard Oryem, the pastor of Lagude Deliverance Church, narrated that they had a crusade that attracted many people from within and outside the village in 2012. After the crusade, the believer's fellowship started under a tree in one of the member’s compounds. Afterwards, one of the members had a dream immediately after the crusade, that there came some builders ready to execute construction of a church building at Lagude Village. So the dream was narrated to the congregation of the church the following Sunday. This dream made all the church members to hold serious prayer about this, which eventually strengthened their faith. Today, what started with a dream is taking shape by transforming the community holistically. Women are being empowered economically and men are coming alongside them to build and raise up Godly families. The school project which is also starting up is because of the church building and the community will soon enjoy the only Christian school in the village. Local villagers are giving their lives to Christ and God is doing new things in their families!

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10 LUKIRA CHURCH OF UGANDA KITGUM LUKIRA VILLAGE, AMIDA SUB COUNTY, As the dust settles, the impact of the LRA war in Northern Uganda can be clearly seen in most districts of the north. Located south east of Kitgum town, Lukira Village is one of the many villages that suffered from the hands of LRA rebel groups. Many of the inhabitants, who had gone to Mucwini, a nearby village for safety, suffered the most deadly LRA massacre in 2003. The village has also suffered from low levels of education, early marriages, high levels of poverty and the whole community is highly dominated by traditional practices. There were no permanent buildings around for a Christian believing church and the congregation for Church of Uganda has for a long time been praying in a school classroom block. They have made several attempts to construct a church building, but never did they yield fruit. Today, the church that Favour has constructed is acting as a strong tool for breaking preventative Before barriers towards holistic development. It’s a van- guard of hope for the heart broken people in the community. The women are being empowered to generate income for their families, and joy has been restored once again.

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11 KALONGO CHURCH OF UGANDA AGAGO, KALONGO TOWN COUNCIL, ‘We tried to look for help from all angles but to no avail. After banging our heads for a long time and almost giving up, God finally opened the door for the church construction through Favour of God Ministries’. This is what Rev Faustino said as he expressed his joy for the new church building. In a highly Catholic dominated community, establishing a Bible believing born-again church often becomes a challenge. There is evidence that most 'Christian' teaching has been increasingly divergent to Biblical doctrines and this explained why Church of Uganda longed to plant a church in Kalongo. Unlike other churches, Kalongo church faced unique challenges as they tried to keep the faith Before and the candle light burning. The church is built at the foot of Mount Kalongo which used to be an altar for community sacrifices to the evil spirits. Elders used to offer sacrifices on this mountain in order to appease their deity for rain, harvest and health. The earlier members and those who laid the foundation for Kalongo Church of Uganda faced this as one of the greatest challenges which they had to overcome. Some of them even lost their lives in the service of the living God and the attempt to see that the candle of faith kept on burning. We were therefore tasked with the responsibility of breaking the spiritual stronghold in the area and as a ministry, we responded by building church building right in the same area.

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12 OMEL PENTECOSTAL MINISTRIES OF UGANDA OMEL KIDILIM VILLAGE, PAICHO SUB COUNTY, GULU DISTRICT We have dedicated a number of churches over the years but OMEL MINISTRIES OF UGANDA, proved to be unique in thier testimony. The history of this place also made it desirable for a church to be built. The whole village of about 9,000 homesteads had been living for centuries without a church building, and so most people were not going anywhere for believer’s fellowship. Mwaka Mathew, who is has been born in this region, has been going to different surrounding districts preaching and planting churches. One day, however, he thought of how his own family, his wife and children were living without going to a church. He cried out his heart and mobilized believers in his village and shared the vision. They began preaching door to door for two days before conducting a three day outdoor evangelistic crusade. The crusade and door to door evangelism formed the spiritual foundation upon which the church was built. Starting under a tree, the believers grew in number, with a continual flow of new members, before erecting a temporary structure covered with tarpoline. It was at this point that the Favour of God Ministries provided support to the community for the church building construction. The dedication of this beautiful place of worship is a clear testimony that God is able! The partnership which we have now created with the local leaders, the com- munity members and sister ministries like 'Child Care', must be jealously guarded. Favour is now strengthening the rural women of this village through a women empowerment project for self-sustainability for their families and their church.

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13 CHURCH LUKUNG LUKUNG SUB COUNTY, The district has gone through difficult times with poor road network for instance, affecting church construction projects. Some places like Lukung in Lamwo, are highly affected by rain fall during the rainy season, which make it very difficult for construction projects, and yet some of these places in Lamwo District have a very significant role in harboring South Sudanese refugees. The congregation of LPC used to pray in this temporary structure which also collapsed one Saturday evening when members had just finished fellowshipping. It was at this point that Favour of God Ministries came in to answer the call.

Before

This church dedicated in Lamwo is the first of its kind in the district and has set a precedence for other churches in the region to benefit from this project. The church is providing shelter for refugees from Sudan who pitch their camps in the compound, as they wait for registration before being transported to their respective zones in Palabek resettlement camps. The church also has a model nursery and primary school for the whole region.

After After

14 MAMA ELIZABETH CHURCH AND TRAINING CENTRE OLONY VILLAGE, LACOR PARISH, AMURU DISTRICT We are all aware of the rapid level of Islamization and Catholic beliefs which are taking shape over the entire continent of Africa. In a Catholic dominated community like Lacor Parish, in Gulu and Amuru Districts, there is evidence that 95% of the community population are Catholics, with little or no belief in the Bible, and not following Jesus Christ as their Savior. Rev Patrick Lumumba is a Pastor w i t h Church of Uganda and has a strong personal faith in Jesus Christ w i t h a vision to transform the rural community of Lwalakwa Village, in Amuru D i s t r i c t to becoming a model God fearing village. In this journey, Rev Lumumba established a school in the urban centre of Lacor where children are taught and brought up in the right doctrine of our lord Jesus Christ! These pupils hold prayer and fellowship every Friday and they learn to lead prayer meetings and sing songs of praises to God. As partners and crusaders of the Gospel, we support- ed the vision of Rev Lumu- mba by building a church Before with the help of the local community and ICM, in order to change the status quo and break the spirit of Catholicism which has kept the local people in ‘darkness’ for ages. The church is now a center for community transformation. Vocational school, youth training and a health facility are all developing in the same church location. As a ministry, we have learned to live in love. ‘Whoever lives in love, lives in God...... ’Peace and reconciliation are our mission.

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15 OPIT CALVARY CHAPEL CHURCH OPIT, OPIT TOWN COUNCIL, OMORO DISTRICT Over the past few years, the congregation and the majority of believers from Opit Calvary Church had been conducting fellowships, preaching and prayer in a s m a l l grass thatched house, which served as a tiny little church space. Most of the r u r a l churches in Uganda and have seen a n d experienced enormous challenges that come w i t h praying in such a small, temporary structure. Limited space w i t h poor ventilation and harsh weather conditions for instance, tend to discourage new believers from joining these small overcrowded places of prayer. However, today, Favour of God Ministries with the support of ICM and the local community of Opit have constructed a Before permanent church structure where the congregation of Opit Calvary Church can meet together for their services. This is a milestone achievement for a village congregation to go from a grass thatched house to a modern structure. What a testimony it has been though, for a large dedicated community of Christians to determine to promote Christian values and morals to a larger number of people and with a greater impact in the whole region! The community experienced with great joy the support provided by the ministry and perhaps, this has been one of the most unique After church dedications done since it was accompanied by a mass wedding of the couples from within the church. It has been a turning point for the church and the entire community considering their history. The newly married couples have set a precedence for other members to follow with yet another wedding in the church to be conducted in June. The church has also become a center for transforming the lives of the pupils in OMEGA NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL, OPIT. The school was started by the church leaders and is now raising up a generation of youth who fear the Lord. The church’ school has grown into a fully-fledged nursery and primary school as well, which seeks to fulfill the spiritual and academic needs of the community. 16 LATIRA FAITH MISSION CHURCH PADER, LATIRA VILLAGE, ANGOLE PARISH, AWERE SUB COUNTY, This society has been going through difficult times, with nodding disease affecting their children, household poverty threatening to tear apart the villagers, and then having no permanent building meeting place in the whole of Latira Village, Angole Parish, Pader District. These factors have created huge gaps in the physical and spiritual development of the community and as a ministry, we responded by building a permanent structure for Faith Mission Church of Uganda in Latira Village, Pader District because we believe there is no better way to transform the community than by the Word and the love of God. Starting from the small grass thatched house, the congregation never gave up their faith. They kept on praying for a good structure that one day they may have relief from the burden of constantly replacing grass for the building roof. Indeed God was with them and the church building came at the time when they needed it most. Today, its impact to the congregation and the whole village is immense! Describing the importance of this church to the community, Bishop Donato Okumu said, ‘We thrive Before when we stay connected to the church because we're like a branch that grows from its connection to the tree’.He vividly preached about family blessings and increase, and united hard work. Honorable Luwilla, a MP of the District, who was there for the church dedication, testified how much easier it is to lead those who are born again than unbelievers who don't know the obedience that comes from following God's Word. She committed herself to following up on the repair of the road construction After and clean water for the community. These villagers have lived in isolation and have been sharing the same water hole with animals. She pledged to continue supporting the community through the church, as she testified that believers are the foundation of the nation.We commend friends and partners for the landmark achievement so far because faith and service is the best way to live. However, there is still much that needs to be done in this village. Pain is clearly visible in the eyes of the community whose children are suffering from the nodding disease. As of now, there is no known cause and no known cure. 17 LALOGI NEW LIFE CHURCH.

The buzzling town of Lalogi is one of the most populated trading centre in Omoro district. The community members recently returned from internally displaced people’s camp (IDP) and they are gathering their lives together to start a new life. Just like other districts in the northern part of Uganda, Omoro was highly affected by Lord Resistance Army war which completely destroyed this village. Most of the members resorted to drinking alcohol and social evils became rampant in the village. The church started with few members under the tree before erecting a temporary structure where people can conduct fellowship and worship God together.

Before

When Omoro Sub County was granted district status by the government of Uganda in 2016, this small trading center also gained town board status. Business started booming which attracted people from different places. The church gradually grew in number and they started mobilizing local materials for church building because the old structure was not able to accommodate the ever increasing number of congregations. However, they faced financial challenges after delivering just 4 trips of bricks and it was at this point that the church leaders contacted our ministry for support to build for them a church. With the support of ICM and the church congregation, we were able to create a lasting impact in this town for the glory of God.

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18 LOYO BOO ASSEMBLY CHURCH.

The church started at the time when group of Christian from Unyama Sub County conducted door to door evangelism and open air crusade in Loyo Boo village. The village was ready for harvest but there was no place for Christian meeting and the team realized this as the greatest and urgent needs which needs to be address. In 2008, Mzee Mao one of the elder in the village offered his home as a meeting place for fellowship and members started gathering to share the word of God. The numbers kept of increasing and they built a temporary grass thatched house for Sunday service which was used for about 5 years.

Before

This group of believers faced a lot of resistance from the local community because most of them believed in tradition and they tried to fight the establishment of church in their land. However, today, the community is being transform because Government also built a health center next to the church compound which is a sign of spiritual and physical healing. During the church dedication, there was great revival and intense move of the Holy Spirit where 15 community members gave their lives to Christ.

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19 CHURCHES CONSTRUCTED IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN

20 DOKABUR CHRISTIAN CENTER CHURCH

Dokabur Pentecostal church is located out on an island in the River Nile This made it challenging to take all building materials by boat to the island, and explained the high cost and challenges involved during the church construction process. Starting from a very humble beginning, the people of Dokabur island explained about the challenges of holding services in the overcrowded mud structure. The location alone explained the uniqueness and the importance this place of worship was to render to the rest of the community.

Before

Today, the community floods in with great joy to this completed and dedicated structure, which represents the transformation already taking place within their hearts. This stands as factory for making and training disciples and has become the hub of true heart change for the whole community. They are a living testimony of the mighty power of the living God. The church is spreading the Gospel and promoting spiritual empowerment to the whole island.

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21 IMAN FAITH CHURCH, JONDURU

Iman Faith center is one of the churches in Logo Deaconry which was opened in 2007 by Evangelist Wani and Marina Sama. Since they started they have worked hard in preaching the Gospel to the residents of their community until 2009 when their numbers grew into a full and large congregation. Located on the outskirts of the south western part of Juba city, the church boarders Kator-Payam and Munuki-Payam in the west and south respectively. The greatest challenge faced here, was a decent structure for fellowship. Today, however, with support from Favour Africa, the community along with the ministry, has built a church which has been a launch-pad for transforming the land. This is a nation that has gone through years of war and difficult times which has threatened to tear apart the whole society. ‘When I look at this building, I am fully reminded that only God’s hand has brought us this far, ' Rev Joseph Wani Philimon recalls with a smile on his face.

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22 GOSPEL HARVEST CHURCH, LOKWILILI

What started as a fellowship under a tree with a handful of members, has today turned out to be a center for revival in South Sudan. Gospel Harvest Church is an indigenous church founded by John Light Akuleng along with the local South Sudanese Christian communities in Juba in 2012.

Before

Pastor Bosco Kenyi Joseph stands at the former church structure, and recalled the days when they would prematurely close the service because of heavy rain. The history of Gospel Harvest Church, therefore, reminds us that God works through great faith, and self-less service.

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23 NEW WORLD VISION CHURCH, REFERENDUM

Pastor Martin Apollo boldly spoke about his vision of winning over 5,000 souls by the end of this year. He narrated how God called him to the ministry and how he humbly obeyed the voice of God and began pastoring a growing number of believers, as he won them to the Lord. The community of Londoki had been praying under a tree for more than a year but they began to pray. Pastor Martin sold his own home and land, to gain the funds for buying land for a church building. Still he had no way to provide for the structure itself. As they believed God in prayer, Favour of God Ministries was led to partner with them and construct the permanent place of fellowship that they were so persistently praying for. The testimony became a clear message to these believers and to South Sudan that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ worldwide, was still praying for them and hadn't forsaken them during their years of war and hardship.

Before

We are grateful to God who enabled us to dedicate New World Vision Church in Hai Referendum, South Sudan, at this very important time in the history of this nation. We believe God is rebuilding the foundations of this nation and we thank everyone including ICM for contributing towards her transformation as we celebrate with the local community the power of an ever-lasting God.

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24 ABARA EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH

It’s important that the church members and leaders are equipped with the knowledge and skills to form a strong Christian foundation. Over the years, the church has provided an avenue where teaching and training for transformation is being carried out. More than 20 church leaders from different churches and denominations attended the two month Portable Bible School discipleship class which took place in this church building. This has also made it evident that the living church of the Lord Jesus Christ has been and continues to be the heart of community transformation in each and every village.

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25 JEBEL LADO CHURCH.

Church leaders from this church are playing major roles in protecting people, mobilizing support and in encouraging local community to contribute generously towards this corporate church project. The gathering of believers also stood in obedience to the Word, in the role of winning souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. More than 40 people gave their lives to Christ during the building of this structure and the dedication service, and we are walking with them to follow up in water baptism and ongoing discipleship.

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