Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church helps train, evangelize and plant churches in Uganda
UGANDA–In one week of going from hut to hut and village to village in Uganda, the 19-member mission team from Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Baker saw 370 professions of faith.
“During one home visit, we met a family who had a Muslim father and a young adult son who was a witch doctor,” said Geoff Prows, Pilgrim Rest pastor. “They allowed us to share the gospel, and the entire family made professions of faith with the young man who had been a witch doctor being baptized the following Sunday.”
Witch doctors, false religious leaders, prosperity gospel preachers and those of Muslim faith have misled the people of Uganda, creating confusion about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, the pastor explained.
The Pilgrim Rest mission team partnered with Breaking Ground Missions to shine light in these places darkened by a lack of knowledge of the truth.
Having (Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church) come to serve with us in Uganda was an incredible opportunity to accomplish the Great Commission together.
Serving as Pilgrim Rest student pastor for six years, Justin Douglas and his wife Charla sensed a call to international missions. In 2019, with their church’s support, they founded Breaking Ground Missions with a goal of pastor training, evangelizing and planting biblically based churches in Uganda.
“When our family knew we were called to the international mission field, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church recognized our calling and committed to pray and support us just as the early church did in Acts 13,” said Douglas. “Having them come to serve with us in Uganda was an incredible opportunity to accomplish the Great Commission together.”
Since 2019, Breaking Ground Missions has seen more than 25,000 individuals in their village profess Christ as Savior through hut-to-hut evangelism. An estimated 25% of those were converted from the Muslim religion. More than 45 church plants have been established in the villages of Uganda that previously did not have sound doctrine.
Village pastors who go through a Breaking Ground Missions training program pastor the churches. Once a village is determined to need a church, Breaking Ground Missions purchases the land, constructs a pole barn style worship center, puts up a sign post and provides a set of drums, benches, podium, Bibles and offering plate along with ongoing support for the pastor.
Prows added, “We built the very first church in a remote village in 2020. It was great to go back and see 48 churches have been built.” Prows plans to take another team in 2024 and lead training for 200 pastors.
The Douglas family seeks to partner with more churches in accomplishing the Great Commission in Uganda.