Teaching to Reach the Ugandan Refugee Camps

Physical Hunger Can’t Dampen a Hunger for the Word

More than 1.4 million men, women, and children have made their homes in Ugandan refugee camps. They come from places like South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Burundi, forced to flee from their homes by political or tribal violence and/or famine Although their new life in the camps grants them some form of stability, it’s certainly not easy. Crossway ministry partner Don Schrenk describes the scene in the camps:

You’re assigned to a small plot and given a tent by the UN. As you settle in, you pack mud and add sticks around the walls of your tent because the hot sun will make it fall apart within six months. You also get a little bit of sharecropping territory and it’s pretty rocky terrain. Food rations come every third Thursday of the month—but they’re cutting back right now because of the war in Ukraine. And the churches are all mud-based with a thatch roof, or tin roof if someone donated money for it. And the seats are made out of mud or logs. Needless to say, life here is lived in survival mode. The average length of stay is more than 18 years.

Even though daily life presents significant challenges for survival, Don has been struck by the desire he sees among these believers for knowledge of the Lord and his Word. But the very few personal possessions these people bring with them rarely include a Bible and even less often theological books. This lack has caused misunderstandings and inaccurate interpretations of Scripture.

Since the founding of Teaching the Vine in 2019, Don and his team have sought to meet this need for theologically sound resources and biblical training. And by God’s grace, more than 4,000 men, women, and children have received instruction or are currently enrolled in various programs to learn the good news for themselves and how to share it with others. Through the support of donors to the Crossway Global Ministry Fund, Teaching the Vine has given book sets to these believers as part of their theological training. Crossway recently talked with Peter and Simon, two refugee recipients of the training and resources who are now partnering with Teaching the Vine to train others in need.

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What is a common misunderstanding you hear about the gospel?

Peter: Beliefs in our refugee camps are generally syncretic in nature. Before people give their lives to Christ, they have some kind of a mixed religion. For example, when I was a child, I considered myself a Catholic, but I would go to the shrine with one of my relatives.

So whether the person is a Muslim, a Catholic, or an Anglican, they consider these being applicable in name only. In their understanding, they can worship God on a Sunday but during the week, consult witch doctors. It’s only when a person encounters Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior that they reject this syncretic nature and become monotheistic. At Teaching the Vine, this is a key idea we consistently engage in and encourage our people to understand—that Jesus alone is God.
What is your strategy to maximize reaching such a large number of refugees?

Simon: Because the resources are limited, Teaching the Vine organizes a discipleship class where we call leaders together to equip them for ministry work. We do this by going through books one at a time. We teach based on the topics written about in the books—things like the role of the church in the context of Scripture. . . . Our strategy is to provide each leader with a copy of the book we’re reading, and because of the limited resources, we gather them in a group because this is the way we distribute the books and hold them accountable for reading and helping each other properly understand what’s being taught in the book.

A few years ago, I was one of those pastors receiving training. And the Crossway book set I received was really helpful to me—it has given me enough knowledge on how to create a lesson in a short time to teach the topic at hand. And because of my reading and understanding of theological topics, the congregation is now benefiting from the resources I received. Although, in the scope of all the people in the refugee camps, not many have received the resources. I know that this book set has helped a lot in my life, as well as in my ministry work as I shepherd others.

Peter: Once we have equipped the bishop [who leads a group of pastors], we know that all the churches under him are going to benefit because they will seek him at one point or other for wisdom in caring for their congregations. By having these resources given to the bishops, we know those churches are covered in having sound, theological leadership.

In our ministry at the Bible training schools for the pastors, one of the key Scriptures we lean on is 2 Timothy 2:2: “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” So our hope is that the materials we receive would equip those we have been trained so they can then reach those we have not yet been able to reach.

What are one or two Crossway resources that have been especially helpful for you personally?

Simon: The most important book I’ve gone through is God’s Design for the Church. Through reading this book with my brothers in Christ, we have learned a lot about the role of the church and it has equipped us with a lot of knowledge concerning what a healthy church looks like andthe connection between the church and African culture.

The other book that has helped me is Biblical Theology. That book helps us as pastors here a lot because it shows the difference between the other cultural theologies and the biblical theology that we are learning in God’s Word.

Peter: Through my reading of God’s Design for the Church, I have had clarity on what the church is and who is the founder of the church. Most of the time here, we see pastors leaning into the Word and bringing the church along with them. If they are not there supporting the church, the church will not move forward in their understanding of Scripture. I have given the book to most of the leaders in my church to read so that now they understand that ultimately, God is the head of the church, not me. I can be away for a whole month from the church, and I’m not worried about what I’ll come back to. Through the book, I have helped them know who the founder of the church is. And for myself personally as the pastor, I’m not worried about the church in that way because I know I’m not the founder—I know who the founder is, and in a healthy and biblical way, I’m relying on God to care for my church.

What kinds of needs still exist for theologically sound resources?

Peter: I recently went to a local conference, and one of the facilitators, who knows I’m connected with Teaching the Vine and these theological resources, came to me during the conference to say they only brought ten book sets to give to the pastors. He wanted to give a set to each pastor but didn’t anticipate that there would be more than 100 pastors attending. So he said to me, “I only have ten sets, and I don’t know who to give them to because none of these pastors have many, if any at all, theological resources.” We were able to help supply some of the sets through Teaching the Vine, but unfortunately, the number of requests was overwhelming—we couldn’t fulfill all the needs. We’re now getting ready to receive about 80 more sets from Crossway. We’re so grateful for this! But there’s still a great need and many pastors without resources.

Through the Global Ministry Fund, Peter and Simon continue to be supported with theologically sound resources for their ministry work. The Spirit is actively at work in stretching these resources to make an impact beyond the direct recipients! Yet, as Peter shared, there continues to be a need that we all have the opportunity to meet.

Would you consider making a gift to support brothers and sisters in Christ in areas like the refugee camps of Uganda?

Pray that these books and Bibles being distributed to pastors and church leaders throughout the refugee camps will make an eternal impact on the churches at large so that more will come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

Pray for the book sets that have just arrived in the camps for distribution. Pray for the Lord to lead the Teaching the Vine team as they give the resources to those in great need.