Author: Leland Sawyer

Boys Becoming Men Through Disciplemaking

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Recently I read that “The church doesn’t just exist to make disciples. We also exist to bring those disciples to maturity” (Deeper Walk by Marcus Warner). This concept has been a driving force for us as a mission for more than a decade, and has been at the heart of our family’s ministry since we began. We were never called by Jesus to merely make converts, but rather to disciple people into maturity…mature disciples was Jesus’ goal, and it continues to be our goal as His Church.

Earlier this year, me and Peter (a coworker at the Mbale Mission) decided that something MORE was needed to help the young men at the city church grow into deeper maturity in their faith. So we prayed for the young men and decided to invite them into a weekly disciplemaking group. From that first meeting, we have been open with them about the serious commitment that spiritual growth requires of each of us, and that begins with making the time and opportunity a priority: meeting at 8am on Sunday morning for late-teen and twenty-something guys is NOT easy to do in any culture. But that’s the standard we set before them!

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Relationship, NOT a Class

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Jesus was a disciplemaker! Sure, He was a teacher, healer, miracle worker, resurrecter, rebel-rouser, and troublemaker, too. But first and foremost, when you comb through the pages which describe Jesus’ life, He was a disciplemaker. He was a RELATIONAL disciplemaker.

Jesus spent the majority of His time in ministry, for three years, creating, strengthening, and intentionally utilizing relationships in order to make disciples who will, eventually, make disciples. He would preach and teach in synagogues and hillsides, but in-between formal teaching times he would go to weddings, have meals, travel by foot, take boat rides, and many other things of everyday life. It is in these times that we see Jesus make use of His greatest tool to make disciplemakers – intentional relationships. He took full advantage of these times to share truths about God’s Kingdom, God’s nature, the Holy Spirit, His coming crucifixion and resurrection, Kingdom priorities, and so much more.

As people and leaders who follow Jesus, we look at His way of doing ministry. I heard once, “If you want to see the teachings of Jesus with the results of Jesus, then you better use the methods of Jesus.” So as disciplemakers in our homes, communities, and Uganda, we strive to focus our energy on intentional disciplemaking relationships.

What’s the difference between teaching a class and relational disciplemaking?

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It’s Time to Grow Up!

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That was the theme at the Leaders’ Conference 2025. We gathered with 150 church leaders from 68 churches from across Eastern Uganda to focus on what God has in store and in mind for us as leaders. And we chose to focus on Ephesians 4…and boy, did it hit home!

Ephesians 4 is such a powerful chapter where Paul is talking with this group of leaders and a church that he has a close, personal relationship (as we see in Acts 20). These are people whom he has poured out his heart, mind, and life. He begins the book of Ephesians giving God glory and thanks for all the growth and faith of the Ephesian church: “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” (Ephesians 1:15-16) Paul is encouraged by their faith, but he still wants to urge them – to push them – into something deeper and more mature. He begins from chapter 1 praying that they “may know him better” (1:17) and that God will strengthen them to “have power to grasp” the immeasurable love of God (3:18) in order that they “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (3:19). Paul is praying some POWERFUL prayers for his friends in Ephesus.

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Highs & Lows of Mission Work

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I remember when I used to play high school football in Texas. Every Saturday I was a different person because every Friday held its own highs and lows. Many times, my family didn’t want to spend time with me the Saturday after a Friday night loss because I was a different person. It’s silly now, but they were right: my identity was wrapped up in what happened in the Friday night lights, so the high or low greatly impacted my Saturday (and often Sundays).

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Focused in 2025

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This year is flying by already…but not without some big plans and some big goals for the Mission here in Mbale. In December, we reflected on what God had been doing through and in the Mbale Mission in 2024 (Read HERE if you missed it). We are excited about what is ahead in our 10th year working with church leaders in Uganda. Instead of breaking down the nitty-gritty, I want to share with you the BIG things that are going on here:

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Looking Back at What God Has Done in 2024

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Garth Brooks is one of my favorite all-time musical artists. Sure, some can say that he ruined country music, but it can also be said that he SAVED country music. And one of my favorite songs is “The Dance.”

“Looking back on the memory of the dance we shared beneath the stars above. For a moment all the world was right. But how could I have known that you’d ever say goodbye…”

No one is saying goodbye but I love the way he looks back on an experience with such love and passion, knowing that the joy of that dance was worth the pain and heartache. And in some ways, that’s how I feel about looking back at 2024.

The year was too busy…not in a healthy way or a way to celebrate, but in a way that could have really beaten us down. And that’s something we have to address in 2025. But at the same time, 2024 was FULL of amazing God moments, both in family and in ministry. Here’s to “looking back…”

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Tent Making in Uganda

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Have you ever thought about the idea of a financially sustainable mission work? I sure have. That’s the dream, right? A mission work that has the capacity to sustain itself financially and continue furthering the Gospel of Jesus without the need for ongoing foreign funds…But is it possible?

That’s the question we are wrestling with as a mission team. Not only do we believe it is possible, but we actually believe it is within reach. One of our major priorities is to be able to sustain the mission work in Mbale, Uganda by using what has already been given to create further ongoing funds for the ministry, plus initial support from partners. And the main priority in this endeavor is to build an apartment building that will provide needed middle class housing in the growing city of Mbale in a convenient location, while giving the mission ongoing funding from right here in Mbale. It may not be 100% sustainable from within (yet), but to be able to provide income that will go directly into the ministry is certainly possible!

The idea of ministry (or mission work) being supported by others is the norm in the modern world, and has been for generations. Truth be told, it has been common since the FIRST missionary was sent: Jesus. When the Father sent Jesus to Earth “to seek and save the lost”, he was supported by several disciples, mostly women. We see this very clearly in Luke 8:1-3 where it says, “They provided financial support for Jesus and his disciples.” Though Jesus did not collect money when He spoke, He also wasn’t 100% self-supporting…he had help from His followers.

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Discipleship and Leadership: Lessons from Jesus – The Good Shepherd

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Recently, at our National Conference of church leaders from across Uganda, we asked an important question for leaders: “If Jesus is THE Good Shepherd, what does it look like for His people to shepherd others the way He does?” As we try to emulate our Savior, what are the implications for how we lead? If we are to truly be disciplemakers in the Way of Jesus, then this pursuit is essential.

Looking in-depth at John 10:1-18 we can glean much guidance when Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. What qualities and defining characteristics does He point out that we can be sure that we also follow Him in?

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Life-On-Life Disciplemaking

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We are regularly asked what curriculum we use for making disciples. Many people are eager to know (and try) a curriculum that we use here, with a set of lessons and a timeframe. But that question is always a tricky-one for us to answer because we try NOT to use a curriculum; instead, we try to build relationships. When we look at the example of Jesus, we see Him calling men and women to follow Him. Then He is intentional in those relationships; working in the relationships to grow them spiritually and into His image. This is central for us: If we want to make disciples of Jesus for Jesus, then we also want to make disciples like Jesus; in the same ways he did.

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2024: What Lies Ahead…

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Welcome to the NEW YEAR: new opportunities, new challenges, new faces, and new movements of the Lord! We are excited to start our 8TH YEAR in Uganda serving the ministry here, and we are looking ahead to the ministry the Lord has laid out ahead of us:

DISCIPLEMAKING GROUPS – As always, our #1 priority is making disciples that make disciples for Jesus. And we try to line up all of the ministry, resources, and time we have to accomplish that purpose. In the upcoming year, we know we need to update the Disciplemaking Workbook we use in order to make it simpler to access within village settings. This will enable and better equip men and women who we are discipling to use it more adequately in their disciplemaking efforts, further encouraging the multiplication of disciplemakers. This is one effort to continue to equip and empower Ugandan church leaders to form more discipleship groups, helping to grow leadership and spiritual maturity. We have already scheduled 10 churches for training on Discovery Bible Study and 15 additional churches to follow-up for encouragement and further teaching on how to use the Bible study method. This is also how we hope to distribute Bibles and DBS books in different languages. Currently, Leland meets monthly with a group of 6 men and Gina meets with 10 women. In addition to this, the Mission has helped another leader begin a disciplemaking group at LivingStone International University of 14 students. And at our monthly theological school, we have begun four new groups, and we will be discipling them throughout the upcoming year. So in all, the Mission is leading/coordinating seven disciplemaking groups ourselves, and we hope to add one more new group in 2024. We also know that many of the men and women we have discipled over the past decade are discipling men and women in their own communities and churches, which is EXACTLY the point: Disciplemakers making disciplemakers that continue to multiply disciplemakers for Jesus Christ! Amen!

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