Church Planting
Okoa Refuge believes every church should have a qualified pastor. However, attending an accredited Bible College or Seminary is not an option for many rural pastors. Okoa believes that this should not stop them from being able to learn the Bible and grow in their leadership and faith. Unfortunately, lack of training is the very thing that has led so many pastors away from the Lord. That is one of the reasons the Okoa Refuge Bible School program was started – to produce pastors!
Since 2016, Okoa has planted over 750 churches. All pastors have graduated from a two year Okoa Refuge Bible School. They are trained and ready to lead others! At least 70 church plants have gone on to plant churches out of their congregations. It has truly become a movement of God in Uganda! Churches planted by Okoa are not governed by Okoa, however. Churches are planted under established church associations that Okoa has helped start. These indigenous associations provide Biblical oversight and accountability to the operations of the church.
WHAT IS DBS?
“DBS” stands for Discovery Bible Study. The DBS model is a participant-led discovery journey into learning and understanding what the Bible teaches. The DBS is the way into a community and truly guides people through the Gospel! Every planted church starts as a DBS that is led by a Bible School student. Once the group reaches at least 20 adult members, they can apply to receive a church structure.
Currently, Okoa has 1300 DBS groups meeting each week. That’s over 18,000 members!
Support Church PlantingWHAT ARE THE CHURCHES?
Once the graduate’s DBS group qualifies, Okoa comes alongside and supports the construction of a church! The church is not constructed by Okoa alone, however. Before Okoa will come in, the church members are required to provide the land for construction. Okoa provides the pole structure, the roofing material and the labor. The congregants must also agree to finish the walls of the building within one year of the completion of the structure. This way, the church has some ownership of their building!
CHURCH HEALTH
The Church Health Department was launched out of a growing need to ensure the health of the over 750 churches Okoa has built. The goal of the department is to visit and assess the health of each and every pastor once a year. The assessments encompass physical, spiritual, financial and emotional health of the pastor, his family and the congregation. Okoa has developed a comprehensive assessment form to guide the process. The information gathered from those assessments is what drives the continued education and counseling for the pastors. The Church Health Department hosts ongoing training for groups of pastors based on the information discovered in the assessments. The information also helps Okoa decide what to teach in our large, biannual conferences.
Our goal is not to take control of the churches. Rather we aim to walk alongside, support and encourage the pastors as they work tirelessly to advance the Gospel every single day.
Support Sustained Church Health