"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes ..." Romans 1:16.
Since the gospel (the evangel) is so powerfully used by God, it is vital that evangel-ists faithfully communicate the evangel. [What is the gospel? Click here]
The S.U.(T) "Uhakika" Program strategically targets national Christians in East Africa, including those living close to lesser-reached people groups. The clear strategy is to help them to get the gospel clear, for the sake of
(1) their own salvation, and
(2) the salvation of other East Africans.
An Australian, John Rowse, was recruited by SU(T) in 1997, after some years of Bible teaching in Tanzania and Zambia. He was asked to survey a wide range of Tanzanian Christians to see how they understood the gospel, to prepare Scripture Union Bible study materials to assist where necessary, and then to conduct seminars to assist pastors, teachers and local Christians in the use of this material.
John and his wife Kay, and their third child, Timothy (who has Down syndrome), live in Mbeya in the south near the Zambian border. [Click here for a map]
A graceless 'gospel'
The surveying is still going on. But so far it is uncovering a catastrophe. It seems that after over a century of missionary effort, most Tanzanian Christians have little idea of salvation by grace. Even most 'evangelicals', including pastors, insist that a believer who dies with some unconfessed sin is lost! [Click here to see what some pastors say]
The medicine...
is God's Word. That is where "Certainty" is found ( or "Uhakika" - pronounced "Ooh-ha-key-car"). John has produced, in Swahili, a workbook on Sonship, and Salvation by Grace - a book loaded with questions, to encourage people to teach themselves from the Scriptures. They learn the message AND how to get it across to others.
Confusion = Opportunity
These days there is so much confusion in churches, with different groups claiming to be the truly 'saved' ones, that many church leaders are desperate for their people to have some solid Biblical food. The 'Uhakika' seminars have been welcomed across many denominations. They have been conducted in Bible schools and theological colleges, in local churches and with groups of pastors and evangelists. The fields "are ripe for harvest". And many people are teachable.
Sheer Relief!
Often it seems people are labouring under a great burden: since they think their hope of salvation rests on their holy living, they desperately try to convince themselves that they never knowingly sin. They focus on others' sins - perhaps to make their own look insignificant by contrast - and become very legalistic, broadcasting their piety. Some, it seems, lose all hope: as they see one sin piling up on top of another, they abandon themselves to sin. Against all this, the sheer relief when the 'grace' penny drops is a delight to behold. [Click here for an example of this]
The vision...
is to have pastors and evangelists doing the 'Uhakika' work themselves, each in his own patch - and to have the book used in TEE programs (Theological Education by Extension). The approach is called "Oral TEE", since people learn how to teach the Word interactively, using questions, stories, role plays - to reach even those who cannot read.
To make contact...
[Click here for our contact details]
