“Oh the thinks you can think” is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books to read to Adalyn because it teaches her (and me) to dream BIG and wildly. I think that’s the kind of faith our God wants from us: to not be controlled by the circumstances around us but to dream BIG dreams for His Kingdom. And that’s what we’ve been doing at the Mbale Mission. So, please allow me to share with you some of our goals, plans, and dreams for 2018.

1. Discipling leaders to be disciple-makers remains priority NUMBER ONE for Mbale Mission. To that end, we are involved in small groups focused on life-on-life discipleship, called Discipleship Cohorts. We will be following up with our first group, prayerfully “concluding” with our second group, and continuing to pour into the members of groups three and four. We will also begin two NEW women’s discipleship cohorts for women leaders from different villages. We will be hosting our third annual one-day marriage seminar for those we are discipling.
2. Continue to grow Discovery Bible Studies in our churches around Uganda. We will lead four more DBS leadership trainings and continue to follow-up with areas we have previously led these trainings to confirm that DBS groups are meeting, growing, and multiplying. We will also expand our translations to include all necessary languages, as well as create new scripture lists as bookmarks.
3. Visit some of our churches that are far from our epicenter in Mbale in order to encourage, teach, and equip leaders. We want them to know a very clear way forward as a mission, and we want to equip them with DBS so they can be equipping people for God’s Kingdom. We will also continue to visit the churches that are closer to us (in distance) so that we maintain unity, direction, and focus as a mission work.
4. Have a regional Marriage Conference that empowers Ugandan Christian couples to pour into other Ugandan Christian couples in how to glorify God in their marriages.
5. Continue to develop and pour into Ugandan leadership within the mission, including our current team members, as well as look to build/strengthen new relationships with possible future team members and leaders. Embark on partnerships with LIU to help mature leaders that may possibly lead the mission work in the future.
6. Begin NEW community development works in areas where we have discipled leaders in order to help church and community members provide sustainable resources for themselves. Begin new projects that can be sustained by the local community.
7. Complete TWO large building projects – the Soroti Discipleship Center and the Bubulo Extension Center – that will enable more in-depth ministry in places further from Mbale. These two centers will take a lot of resources, but once complete, will provide discipleship centers, theological teachings, and community strengthening opportunities for village communities.
8. Restructure the curriculum and strategy of Messiah Theological Institute (MTI) to align with the current direction of the mission. Empower a discipleship emphasis from within MTI.
9. Begin preparing for the decentralization of the different ministry locations across Uganda by working with the regional leadership boards in Mbarara, Jinja, and Kampala.