God Rules in Uganda! ‘Uganda is a God fearing Nation’-President Museveni * Nigerian Pastor pioneers apostolic church in Uganda “God is increasing us in East Africa”-Pastor Joseph Balogun!

God Rules in Uganda! ‘Uganda is a God fearing Nation’–President Museveni

* Nigerian Pastor pioneers apostolic church in Uganda

• “God is increasing us in East Africa”–Pastor Joseph Balogun
• His Church Introduces Basic Education for Children of Uganda, Other African nationals
• Museveni Confesses: “I denounce witchcraft and satanic practices. I repent on behalf of Uganda. We confess our sins. We repent of the sins of shedding innocent blood, corruption, bribery, sexual immorality, drunkenness, rebellion, insubordination, tribalism and sectarianism”

BY PETER QUIVETH/RELIGION REPORTER, EAST AFRICA

PASTOR Joseph Oluyemi Balogun, pastor of Nigeria’s Apostolic Church Ministry in Uganda has revealed how the East African country is being fully dedicated to God. After 11 years in Uganda, with expansion of this prophetic worldwide ministry and great impact on the children of Ugandan and other African nationals; even President Yoweri Museveni repented his sins and the sins of Uganda as a nation in a move aimed at establishing Uganda as a God-fearing nation.

Museveni dedicates country to God

Naija Standard learnt the President made this historic move at Mandela National stadium Namboole recently during national prayers for dedicating Uganda to God.

Museveni said: “I denounce witchcraft and satanic practices. I repent on behalf of Uganda. We confess our sins. We repent of the sins of shedding innocent blood, corruption, bribery, sexual immorality, drunkenness, rebellion, insubordination, tribalism and sectarianism.” The president dedicated Uganda to God to be his nation anchored on his principles and values.

The President, indicating that the next 50 years belong to the young generation, advised the young people to be God-fearing referring to the Biblical verse in Proverbs 9:10 which says: “The fear of God is beginning of wisdom.”

For the young people who are still in school, he used Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says there is time for everything to advise them to concentrate on their books and abstain from sex. For those who have completed studies, he advised them to look for more skills, jobs, and start families established on God’s principles. He advised the youth to keep fit through physical exercises and sports activities and to help their parents.

The believers also prayed for Uganda’s media and communication, arts and entertainment, the judiciary, parliament, cabinet, the president, local governments, churches, and the education sector that they will all be revived on God’s principles and values of righteousness, love and justice.

Pastor Balogun impact on Uganda

The prophetic ministration of Pastor Balogun is becoming more famous because he is not just preaching the gospel but providing basic education to children. The church runs a Nursery and Day care center called Glorious Vision Nursery & Day care center. This school is meeting early childhood in Kampala and its environs. Read his incise interview below:

Tell us about your background briefly

I am Balogun Joseph Oluyemi. I am an indigene of Osun State in Nigeria and I live in Uganda. I have been living in Uganda for 9 to 10 years. As a matter of fact, I came to Uganda in October 2002 as a missionary Pastor. I came to pioneer the Apostolic Church of Nigeria in Uganda.
How would you describe you journey so far in Uganda?

I strongly believe unless the lord build the house, they laborers labor in vain(Psalm 127:1) Psalm 124:1- if not the lord on our side, what are we to be saying now so it is just God that has been of help because we are called of God. The challenges we overcome when we arrived in 2002, started in 1995. I was in the Apostolic Bible College when I received a word from God that he has set me aside to be a missionary to East Africa. Although ministers in our church are over ten thousand and millions of members, I was thinking within myself that I was nobody and thought then that my name was written with pencil. I kept on seeing God within me until when the testimony came to pass. I graduated in 1996, instead of spending the normal three years, I did just one year for my Diploma. The lord told me the assignment he has for me was bigger than Diploma in Theology. I first refused because I could not afford a sponsor for a degree programme. I came from a home where it was tough but through the help of uncle that I had completed my degree in Agricultural engineering at University of Ilorin.

God himself miraculously sponsored me because the church authority in Lagos as at that time allowed study leave with pay, so they paid us small allowance that enabled me to study for my degree in Theology in United Missionary Church of Africa College (UMCATC), Ilorin. I did my first degree in Ilorin so when I came back for the second time, the lord did miracle that surprised me because I found myself being sponsored by God and I completed 3 years like somebody who is working, almost first class. After finishing, God told me to get a travelling passport.

However, in the church, I needed to go and tell them what God has told me but they need to hear the same voice of course. I was very young, so I was posted back to our Bible College at Ayegbaju in Ilesa, my home place.   I was there with my wife, a very good woman; I will talk about her later. I was lecturing there when I was called from Lagos that I needed to attend an interview, God already told me this on time, I had my passport ready, and eventually I was told after the interview that I have been posted to Uganda. Before I left for Uganda, I have entered for my PGDE (Post Graduate Diploma in Education) at University of Ilorin. This took place between 2001 and 2002 before coming to Pioneer TAC Uganda. The month I was to submit my project, the letter came from Lagos that I should now go to East Africa. I forfeited that project to honor the invitation to East Africa to do the work of God. I arrived in East Africa by October 18th 2002.
Is there any particular reason you think you are posted to East Africa?
I believe God is the one at work because this was specified in the letter given to me. God spoke to us in the executive council to go and pioneer Apostolic church in Uganda. The Late father who inaugurated TAC Uganda was Pastor S.S Jemigbon, former TAC Nigeria Vice President and former Chairman TAC Lagos, Western Northern Areas (LAWNA), Nigeria. And that from Uganda we are going to move to other parts of East African countries. That is why you see on our sign post, East Africa for Christ even on our letter headed papers. In my opinion, I thought Kenya because Nigeria and Kenya had some things in common, the only thing I knew about Uganda was the issue of late Idi Amin and how he made his people to fear but God brought us here.
In the last 11 years of your ministerial work in Uganda, how will you describe God’s faithfulness?
There is no one like God because He has been very faithful to all His promises. There are many testimonies- we started in a primary school, we were to be helped by a Ugandan Pastor who was also sent by the Apostolic church in Nigeria but many things went wrong, the honest truth was that I was abandoned by him. God favored me; we bought five plots in this land. God made a covenant with us in this church in Genesis 47:27 that the people in Goshen will acquire property and go and multiply. He told me that anywhere I go as a sign of his covenant, he will give us lands. These lands were donations through my friend; God used him to buy this land for us. We have inherited that building on the land, we took the picture home (Nigeria), and it was so rewarding that God used the leaders of the Apostolic church to give us money to complete the building. I believe in putting the image of the church high. I am grateful to my leaders; they have done a lot of work in prayers and mentoring us to the level where we are now. We are still being blessed; we have another plot of land in Coco-Cola plant area where we have another branch now.
How many branches do you have in Uganda?
So far, we have three branches, in mission work where you need to raise up men who you are going to put on mission. I am taking my time to train the people that I want to send out. We just started one in Jinja. Four years ago, a sister came and also gave us a property worth 42 million Uganda Shillings; we have three bedrooms house which is already in use for God’s kingdom.
How will say about the religious belief of President Museveni?
Honestly, President Museveni has been used by God tremendously to allow the freedom of worship. During Idi Amin rule, people were not free to express their religious views but now people are free to worship whatever they chose to worship; but then the spirituality of Uganda, I belief they still need the help of foreign missionaries. You hardly can see any well-established Pentecostal church in Uganda without the involvement of Nigerian Pastors, so we have a lot of grounds to cover in the area of teaching, discipleship and sacrificing. You have to be willing to pay the price and Ugandans seem not to have that in their agenda.

How about your challenges in the ministry?
Sincerely, it took me five years for the local Pastors to accept me; many of them came during my 10th wedding anniversary, it was just God; they believed very much in the Nigerian home videos, that we do occultism like turning into cats; they are also not open to correction and criticism but things has really improved. For instance I am now the Vice-Chairman of Born-Again churches of this zone; we have districts and divisions. In our division, I am the vice-Chairman. In fact they wanted to make me the chairman but blood is thicker than water, when we had the elections, their own won with a very small margin. The image of God has not been put down in Uganda. Holiness and grace of God is being upheld. During those early years, I used my life to preach the gospel. The Bible declares that where the foundation is faulty, what will righteous do? What we have built in the image of Christ is working for us now.
Can you take us through your marital experience?

Marriage is a great gift of God. We got married in 1997, December 13th to be precise. My wife is a wonderful person. My wife, Abigail Abioye Balogun graduated with 2nd Class Honours Upper Division at Kampala International University, Uganda. She graduated in 2010 at KIU. She studied Mass Communication in KIU, after she obtained Diploma in the same Course at the University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria and Advanced Diploma in Public Administration at Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Osun State Nigeria. Up to 2003 when she came to join me in Uganda as a faithful servant to God and her husband, who also believed in the Program of God for her family. She resigned her appointment as level eight officer at Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, Nigeria in 2003. She has been very supportive to our Mission accomplishment in Uganda. We have three children, Daniel, Dorcas and our third child who was born in Uganda, Deborah. God transformed our lives here and they are doing well at school.

Do you believe in prosperity teachings?
It is the level of poverty, out of ten ministers of the gospel here, may be only two are genuine, others are just looking for what to eat; my experience is that many of such pastors are covering the church like the chicken mother covers her hens; they see the ministry as a place to get their daily bread, and it should not be so. I always tell people I am working under obedience and that I may be transferred at any time, they are shocked; they cannot belief it that I have labored so hard and I am willing to leave everything behind. My reward is not where I am, the bible says cast your bread upon waters and after many days it would come back to you. I am just doing my work to please my savior who called me like a father and son relationship. I know he can never leave me alone nor forsake me.

How do you think Nigeria’s image can be re-branded?
In my opinion, I want to talk to the Nigerian film makers; they need to edit their films in such a way that those films going out of the country must be refined. They tend to portray the culture of what is happening in certain areas like correcting adultery in their movies but in course of doing that, they are bringing damages to Christianity and missions all over the world. They conclude that we are all the same of what they see in the movies. There is no doubt that there are those collecting powers from the pit of hell, but they last for a season, mark my words. However, those whose powers are from God will go from glory to glory. Such will survive through faithfulness, endurance and obedience to God. All the development you have seen here today came within one year but we have labored for over 10 years now. If one can be faithful, it is better. Satan will use and dump you but if you are faithful with Jesus, he will continue with you. Patience pays but it pains, it is a Ugandan adage. I am trying to encourage the local Pastors to copy what we have come to do here. There is the pride. Can I bow down to my fellow Pastor? If they can do so, I belief the lord is able; if they can do so, our life is a model they need to copy. God told me that he brought me to Uganda to teach me about church administration and when the time came to do my Master; I obtained my master degree (NBA) in Human Resource management at Kampala International University, Uganda (KIU) in December 2010 so as to add to my administrative competences. The level of organization of your ministry will show your level of academic literacy. You must mean something to everyone at different level of ministry. I am down to earth when I minister to the lowest or the highest of society anywhere I go. Ministry needs education for every area of ministry. It will make you to command respect among the believers and you can have societal interaction that is needed in the ministry because you cannot be isolated like John the Baptist