DELIVERANCE CHURCH UGANDA

Written by Administrator Friday, 15 April 2011 22:42

BY NICHOLAS WAFULA
“ As It Was in the Past, So Shall It Be Even Now”
Background
Nicholas Wafula was born in 1945 in a small village called Mukangu in Eastern Uganda. “Wafula”, means “rain” having been born during a heavy downpour, behind their small grass thatched hut that was shared by both the people and their livestock. He grew up in a dedicated religious home, having a devout father who taught his children the bible and the principles of prayer.

In 1956, Nicholas started pre-primary at Mawanga Sub-Grade School where his father worked. Here instead of paper and crayons, toddlers wrote in the dust, using sticks and fingers.  By 1963, he had made it to Nabumali High School for Senior Secondary. In 1965, he got saved while attending a Scripture Union Conference in Kenya.  By 1967 he was Head boy, begining his career as a leader.

Nicholas’ childhood ambition was to be a doctor. He was health prefect in junior school, in charge of the first aid box. In HSC, he studied physics, biology and mathematics.  One day, the Scripture Union organised a trip to Mulago Medical School for those aspiring to do medicine. Then in medical school that they were taken to a room having numerous dead bodies that were being used as study samples for students. The room frightened and disgusted him. That is when he walked out on any medical ambitions.

In 1967 Joe Kayo, an itinerant preacher from Kenya visited Nabumali High. A meeting was organized at Moses Ocwo’s, a teacher’s, house. The first meeting was attended by Nicholas Wafula, Moses Ocwo, Joe Kayo, Stephen Mungo’ma, Gladys Alowo-(now Mrs Wani Kyambogo University) and Hannah Nabusinde (RIP). “Brother Joe sold us an idea to start an organisation for young people who knew the Lord. There were very few Christian organizations then - Scripture Union, which was basically Anglican and The Young Christian Society which was for Roman Catholics. We felt a need for something neutral. We therefore called it ‘Young Christian Ambassadors Fellowship’. This was based on 2Corinthians 5:20 which says, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...”  Our motto was ‘Back to the Bible’.   

In 1969, the group most out of secondary school, now moved to Kampala. “Boy were we zealous in the Lord,” marvels Nicholas. We preached on the streets and in market places. We began revival meetings every Saturday evening simultaneously around the country, in Mbale, Kumi, Jinja, Kampala and all over. Then on Sunday morning, we would go back to our respective churches for worship.”

The mainstream churches started looking suspiciously at the young zealots. They thought them mad for making a lot of noise and called them crazy for praying in tongues. The Scripture Union started drawing cartoons in their Newsletter satirizing their activities. Taking the bull by the horns, they decided to start their own Sunday morning services. Membership of the fellowship grew fast with people like Dr. Kefa Sempangi, a lecturer at Makerere University then and his wife Penninah joining.

In 1971, the name changed from ‘Young Christian Ambassadors Fellowship’ to ‘Deliverance Church’. The name ‘Deliverance’ was inspired by the scripture from Luke 4:18 which says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…” ( KJV).

In 1971 Nicholas joined Kyambogo National Teachers’ College for a diploma in education. Nicholas and Elizabeth were married in April 1973. In December 1973 he was posted to Gayaza High School.

The shake up
At this time that “prophet” Obiri Yeboah from Ghana came to Uganda and held a massive crusade in Kampala. Many Christians flocked to his crusade and were awed by his hair raising “miracles”. Most of the Deliverance Church members, especially the leaders did not attend this crusade, not feeling comfortable with the spirit behind this man. Many people including Rev. Sempangi were taken up by this man.

One of the sisters noted that in all Yeboah’s prayers, there was no mention of the name of Jesus. He prayed “in the name of god”. Dr Sempangi saw no problem with it. The name of Jesus or lack of it was not the point. According to him there was the power of “god” and that was enough.  Deep inside him, Nicholas thought that was wrong. That was the last time he attended that meeting and the last they were to work with Dr. Sempangi who went off with Obiri.

The Underground Church
Stephen Mung’oma led Deliverance Church at its inception. In 1975, President Idi Amin announced the first ban on certain organisations and churches. Deliverance Church survived this ban. In December 1976, Deliverance church began. By 1977, the church was doing many things including holding house group meetings and publishing a church newsletter. One of the newsletters had a lead story quoting the bible that, “For we wrestle .. against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against principalities and powers in the High places … (KJV).” That sparked off a physical war from Amin’s Government who considered this meant fighting the highest authority, who was president Amin himself. Amin’s boys started hunting for Stephen Mungoma’s head. On the evening of March 31st 1977, Stephen crossed the border and fled into Kenya.

Nicholas took over the leadership of the church.  In July 1977, Amin announced another serious ban on more organisations and churches, including Deliverance Church. Nicholas, at his mother in law’s burial listened to the announcement.  “When I heard Deliverance Church mentioned, I heard the Holy Spirit speak clearly to me,  ‘The temple meetings are over, but the house meetings will go on’.  I left that the burial knowing what to do.”

Massive roadblocks were put up by Amin’s men, hunting down the leaders of the groups under fire. Nicholas moved under disguise with an escort. They went all over the country to Fort Portal, Mbale, Gulu, Jinja, Entebbe etcetera, strengthening the church in this most trying time.

There were four main house groups in Kampala. Each was given a code name to protect its identity. One, meeting at Mr. Wanyama’s house in the flats behind Christ the King Church was called ‘Centre’. The second one, in a workshop run by Dan Naya and Laban Jumba was called ‘The Valley’. The other, in Kamwokya at Mrs. Mary Okot’s house was called ‘The Nile’. The fourth, meeting at Senior Assistant Secretary Ben Oluka’s house on Tank Hill, in Muyenga, was called ‘The Hill’. Ben Oluka, an elder in Deliverance Church, was in charge of religious affairs in the government and therefore responsible for enforcing the church bans. The church office also became a business office with people walking in just like any other office for their meetings and prayer. No one suspected anything of that nature was going on.

Does Nicholas have any other life apart from pastoral and leadership work? “O yes,” he chimes, “I enjoy watching football, although I don’t support any particular team. Of course when Uganda is playing Nigeria, you know where my allegiance falls. I also like listening to music though I am not a singer.”

Pastor Nicholas Wafula is confident that God who will cause the next generation to carry on the mantle. Just as Jesus did, spending time with his disciples and having them continue where he left off, others will carry on.

“I want to be remembered as a man of the people,” says Nicholas.”Some people call me uncle, others call me Nick, others dad, soon I will be granddad…and it is all different. I don’t want to force my way into people’s lives. I want to be remembered as a man who was to people what they wanted him to be to them.”