Don’t suffocate evangelism

Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) finally released the 2024 census results on the religious question. The Pentecostals/Evangelicals/Born Again Churches (PEBACs) were declared the fastest growing Christian religious population in Uganda with an increment of 3.6 percent from 11.1 percent in 2014 to 14.7 percent.

While the Pentecostal/Evangelicals/Born Again Community is thankful to God for this numerical increase, it also highly casts doubt on this small margin of increase. Ten years ago, in 2014 the Pentecostal/Evangelical/Born Again Churches were estimated at 25,000 churches in Uganda and the 2014 census estimated us at 11.1 percent.

In 2023 during the general elections for a new General Overseer the Pentecostal/Evangelical/Born Again Churches were estimated at 50,000 in Uganda. Over the past 10 years the Pentecostal/Evangelical/Born-Again Churches in Uganda have had massive revivals that have seen millions of people come to the Lord, putting our modest, humble and conservative statistic at an estimate of 22-25 percent of Uganda’s population.

This progressive increase has definitely rubbed some people the wrong way , as heard and seen in the remarks by Bishop Paul Moses Naimanhye of Busoga, while officiating prayers for candidates due to sit for their final examination at a school in Busoga. He said referring to Pentecostals “if you want to preach in schools go and build your own schools”. These sectarian remarks will suffocate and kill evangelism in Busoga and many other parts of the country.

As if the remarks were not enough, Bishop Naimanhye went a head through his Acting Diocesan Secretary, Rev Canon Aggrey Kasadha, to write a letter dated 30th September 2024 to all school heads, that stated “carrying out religious mission activities in CoU founded schools/institutions by individuals, churches or para-church organisations that are not Church of Uganda is not permitted.”

Bishop Naimanhye needs to be reminded that missions and evangelism, especially in Busoga and other schools elsewhere cannot be done by a single denomination. Bishop Naimanhye, needs to internalise 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour.”

On the 2024 Census questionnaire the Balokole officially requested Ubos to be coded or categorised as Born Again (Balokole). The invisible hand swung into action to allow the Balokole be called what they truly are Born Again.

The fight went deeper that Ubos’ hand was twisted to drop Born Again (Balokole). After negotiations with Ubos we agreed to have Pentecostal/Evangelical (Balokole), the invisible hand said “over our dead bodies” again. Then we agreed with Ubos to have Pentecostal/Evangelical (Born Again) as it was in 2014. The invisible hand said “you are joking, you cannot have that category accorded to you.”

Until the last minute the Balokole in Uganda were not sure how to guide their people to respond to the census questionnaire. Meanwhile, at some point Ubos went tight lipped on how we shall be categorised during the census exercise, the least we expected the questionnaire to read was Pentecostal/Evangelical (Born Again).

When releasing the final 2024 census results, we noticed that under the graph showing the religious population in Uganda, the Balokole were only indicated as Pentecostal/Evangelical 14.7 percent, the word ‘Born Again’ was edited out.

With all the human errors that the Ubos executive director acknowledged publicly, with all the arm twisting and influence and altering of our categorisation, who can believe the 14.7 percent? Just like the Mufti of UMSC has questioned the Muslim percentage and decided to conduct their own census, we the Balokole will do the same. 

We declare December 31, 2024 the Pentecostal/Evangelical/Born Again/Balokole cross over census night.

Mr Richard Magongo, National Public Relations Officer of the National Fellowship of Born-Again Pentecostal Churches of Uganda