Mission

There are moments in life when you realise that God is always ahead of us – already moving, already breathing life into places and people long before we arrive.

Last week, Max and I had the privilege of being part of a small team visiting the embryonic beginnings of the Vineyard Church movement in Uganda. It felt less like arriving at something established and more like standing beside a spring just beginning to emerge from the ground. In Banda, on the outskirts of Kampala, we walked through the slums, met families carrying both deep hardship and remarkable dignity, and worshipped with a church community whose joy and hunger for God seemed to rise above every visible challenge. There was something profoundly moving about seeing faith flourish in places where resources are few, but hope is alive.

As a team, we spent time teaching workshops, encouraging leaders, praying together, and listening to stories of courage, sacrifice and vision. Again and again, I was reminded that the Kingdom of God rarely begins with grandeur. More often, it starts quietly – in borrowed rooms, under tin roofs, in small gatherings of people who simply say “yes” to Jesus. The Vineyard church in Banda carries that kind of spirit: Humble, authentic and full of expectancy. And then in Jinja, visiting the new church plant there, you could sense the excitement of new ground being broken. Conversations about discipleship, worship, community and mission were not theoretical; they carried the weight and wonder of people building something from the ground up with prayerful dependence on God.

What stayed with us most deeply was not simply the need we encountered, but the presence of God we encountered within it. In Uganda, we saw laughter in difficult places, worship rising from fragile buildings, generosity among those with little, and leaders carrying enormous vision with remarkable grace. It was a reminder that the Church is at its most beautiful when it is dependent on Jesus, filled with the Spirit, and willing to love people right where they are. We returned grateful, challenged and deeply encouraged — carrying fresh perspective, renewed faith, and a sense that perhaps God often does His finest work in what appear to be small beginnings.