FERTILE SOIL:

Uganda: From Terror to Truth (Randall Murphree, November 25, 2002, Agape Press)

Political upheaval along with health crises and economic woes brought the nation to its knees. In this context, the truth of the Gospel has taken root. Christian leaders in Uganda say that despite lingering problems, the country is experiencing spiritual rebirth. Pastor Robert Kayanja recently told Charisma magazine that his 10,500-seat Miracle Center Cathedral in Kampala, the capital city, is filled for four Sunday services and one on Friday night.

The mega-church has planted more than 1,000 churches across the nation. It also helps feed, clothe and minister to Kampala's 20,000 street children. Kayanja estimates that half of Uganda's four million orphans were orphaned by parents who died of AIDS. [...]

The nation is fertile ground for the seeds of the Gospel. It is impossible to precisely quantify the church growth. While the Graham article suggests nearly half of the people are born again, Kayanja says 92% claim Christianity, and he estimates that 75% are truly born again. At either extreme, it is a dramatic turnaround.

John Ray pointed us towards this essay, Religious Freedom in China (China Hand, December 06, 2002), which combined with the one above suggests that just as conservatives are looking to bring faith to bear on some of the intractable social problems in the domestic sphere, so too we should be aware of the vital role that Christianity may yet play in salvaging the Third World. Posted by Orrin Judd at December 9, 2002 9:56 PM