Kirk was born in Cote d’Ivoire to medical missionaries and sensed a call to serve God in missions as a child, while Laura found her call after high school. We first came to Uganda in 1997 and spent 12 years in fruitful church planting and leadership development in a rural town. Our four sons were born and grew in those early years. We saw ministry grow as well through very difficult situations and saw young leaders equipped to shepherd the church with skill and earnest faith.
In 2010, we entered urban ministry and began to see the growing crisis in both church and culture. Statistics indicate that approximately 85% of Ugandans identify as Christian, but the reality is that most of these are quite nominal at best. Many have mixed traditional religion with Christianity, adopting heresies as they try to emulate what they see as successful. The result is a nation transfixed with the Prosperity “gospel”, which has seeped into nearly every church in one form or another. It can be estimated that perhaps only 5-7% of adults truly have a saving faith.
Uganda is a nation of youth. More than 54% of Ugandans are under the age of 20. Teenage pregnancy is at 25%. Promiscuity, alcoholism, and gambling are devastating the population, and corruption is part of the worldview, even in the church. While there are some truly outstanding examples of godly faith and living for these young people to follow, they are sadly few and far between. And so, we ask the question: “How can we best make a difference for Christ?”
Our Father has led us to build His kingdom and address these needs through two primary efforts- in training and discipling educators (Laura) and nurturing and training disciple-leaders for His church (Kirk).
Because Uganda is such a young nation, with more than half of its population being of school age, teachers have a significant influence on the culture. Unfortunately, the educational system and traditional, shame-based teaching methods contribute to and perpetuate the worldview of corruption that permeates Uganda’s culture. Laura has begun a grace-based teacher training and mentoring program designed to help teachers improve their general teaching skills and learn how to bring the grace of Christ into their classrooms, creating bridges for the Gospel and building a healthy alternative worldview of grace. This has also given Laura opportunities to coach and mentor individual teachers and parents as well as provide consultations for schools and educational ministries, sharing how the love and grace of Jesus can be experienced and applied in every area of life.
In addition, Laura uses her skills and training in educational assessments to help teachers and families of students with learning struggles meet their children’s educational needs with grace and strength. This has given her unique opportunities to impact the lives and families of local and missionary children, sharing the love of Christ with a wide range of people. She also serves on the WorldVenture Child Safety Team as the Africa representative.
Church leaders, pastors, and elders in particular, are central to a true disciple-making movement, yet years of interaction with these leaders helped us realize how many are lonely, hard-pressed, and stalled. Many urban pastors have received theological training, but far too often that training has been knowledge focused and the extensive work in shaping hearts for God and people is lacking.
Scripture makes clear that it is from the heart that our words and actions flow. Thanks to years of building relationships, Kirk is in a unique position of mentoring more and more pastors, helping them work through heart issues as well as professional challenges. This is proving to be tremendously fruitful and one of the best ways of leveraging leadership development on
a broader scale.
Kirk is also involved in a small but growing missions movement within faithful Ugandan churches. How exciting to see the Ugandan church begin to see its own role in sending workers into the global mission field! He has also used his passion for volleyball to coach on both the high school and National Volleyball League level. This has created opportunities for both evangelism and discipleship that goes beyond the church. Please pray for us in Uganda! Pray that church leaders can be equipped to remain faithful to the Truth and lead God’s people well. Pray that children will learn the Truth and grow up to resist the pull of easy heresy and be strong and effective for Christ.
Pray that others will be raised to join us as we seek to be used by God for lasting change in Uganda!
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