Testimonial
In our conversation with Pastor Kunyu on the morning of August 27th 2010 at our house, I was greatly touched to hear from him an honest assessment of his personal and ministry benefits from the training of PT. I wished that I had recorded our conversation for all who stand with us in this work but the wish came too late in our discussion. So, I requested Pastor Kunyu to arrange a response to the following questions which I formulated for him along the conversation we had had. Pastor Kunyu is PT’s regional coordinator for Eastern Uganda.
Julius
Discussion Guide Questions
- When did you join the training of PT?
- How have you benefitted over the years in
- Your spiritual life?
- Your family life as a husband and father?
- Your local church ministry as a pastor?
- Your region as coordinator for pastoral enrichment among your fellow workers?
- Your current involvement in training other pastors?
- Describe the vision you have for pastor-training in your region
- What resources do you have at hand, to help accomplish training in your region (the people, relationships, instructors, materials, facilities etc)?
- What specific ways would you want to see PT helping in your endeavor, coming alongside your effort?
Response by Pastor Patrick Kunyu
I joined the training of PT in 2001. I had come to know about what PT was doing when I visited the Baptist Union Office, that Julius was training church leaders. I picked interest to find out and once I joined the training, I found out that his kind of training was different from other Bible trainings. It was practical and comprehensive, and thus more helpful.
My spiritual life has indeed changed since I joined the training. I have greatly improved in my own relationship with God, my family members – my wife and children. The foundations of Christian marriage and family life that PT advances for all who are called to shepherd God’s people have been most helpful. And the motivation to have 1 Tim 3 standards begin at home before any claim to effective church leadership, has been a transformational challenge. My wife is Melabu and we have eight children – two boys and six girls.
My ministry in the local church (Munamba Baptist) has also been transformed; I see members maturing up and attaining quality spiritual lives. PT training has especially changed the way I used preach and lead. A necessary emphasis on servant leadership has greatly adjusted my attitude to shepherding God’s flock. I had previously perceived these issues mainly from a human point of skill, without the needed divine agenda and involvement. It is now different and much better, with clear signs of church growth. Because of this, my credibility has also opened doors for me to be of greater and wider service among many in my region.
In my role as PT regional coordinator for pastoral enrichment in Eastern Uganda, I mobilize pastors and church leaders for training whenever Julius is coming, and then I personally take them further in training every two months once the main seminars are over. The trainees have benefitted greatly, as we get to take time in discussions and personalization of what is usually introduced during seminars. These pastor-trainees too, are changing in the areas of leading and preaching. Leading – because they overturn the worldly “loading it over” others, in preference to the Christ-centered servant leadership (Mark 10:42-45). And they have greatly improved in preaching because instead of depending on their opinions and views for morality or faith, they are teaching the Bible, so God is speaking through them. In my effort as an upcoming pastor-trainer at Munamba, I am training 18 ministers in our young Bible school, which PT has helped us establish over the seven years of regional mobilization. We meet with these trainees regularly in every two months.
My vision for the region of my ministry is to realize strong Bible School to train pastors; to establish facilities and increase the number of courses and students who want to prepare for ministry. I would like to see us move from crisis training of in-service pastors, to preparatory training of upcoming ministers. I know that many who are already pastors are without training, but I desire to see more people come to train as a result of the call, than see them struggle to discern whether they are called while already in ministry.
In regard to resources, we have land available for setting up training facilities. I have a good relationship with all people and depend on many in our network, to accomplish anything in the training effort. We have other instructors with whom I share the work of training. They include David Wamakesi who used to teach at Uganda Baptist Seminary. We have the bricks ready on site, but we would need an external helping hand to start construction. Then of course we still need desks, chalk boards, books for our library and training materials for our on-going training.
How would PT come alongside us – If PT could mobilize resources to help us build the classrooms and provide a curriculum, this would get us on better ground. Julius and PT have known our region, its needs and challenges, and so PT is best placed to develop a curriculum of our context that fits well with our people.
Also, if PT can sustain instructor-visits and make them more frequent enough to keep the trainees upbeat with freshness of knowledge, and visible example, this too, would really help us. The training success of PT has been mainly achieved through demonstration in life and ministry than naked theory or information. The PT trainers are worthy in life just as they are in ministry. They have not taught us anything without an honest attempt to perfect it in their own lives and work – husband/wife relations, parenting, leadership, preaching, financial integrity, sincere concern in shepherding people, church discipline – all these are not just heard but they are visible. For this reason, personal visits remain necessary for them to continue modeling the material they provide us as of high biblical priorities.
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