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153 House Churches Network Teams To Aid Convicts in Africa
Added: (Fri Apr 20 2007)
153 House Churches Network Partner Pastor Joseph Senoga Richard reaches out to help convicts in Africa.
�Many people shun and turn their backs on convicts, [but] you have all not only shown mercy but concern,� wrote Uganda�s Pastor Joseph Senoga Richard in a letter of thanks to his fellow 153 House Churches Network partners in North America. His thanks were being offered for the partners� practical and prayerful support for Richard�s outreach to prisoners in Uganda.
Ben Hunt, a fellow pastor of the 153 House Churches Network in North America, says that Richard is a sincere minister with a heart for the lost. �Joseph is a selfless, humble man,� says Hunt, �and he has seen God bring him through many life-threatening trials to this day when he can reach out to others who are in grave trouble themselves.�
Hunt goes on to speak of his love and admiration for a man whom he has never met. �It�s probably hard for some to understand, I guess,� Hunt shares, �but I have come to have a deep love for Joseph through our communication with one another and our shared experiences in life and ministry. I have come to have a deep affection for him that is born of God�s Spirit.�
Pastor Richard has come to feel the same about Hunt and the many believers in the 153 House Churches Network around the world who stand with him in Africa. �How much pleasure it gives me to have my brethren in 153 House Churches Network as a partner in this ministry outreach to inmates here at Avenal,� says Richard. �They are a most valued resource in helping these men to grasp the meaning of Christian sharing, of love translated into action. As a minister and servant of God, I always feel a sense of the Lord uplifting me when I am so well under girded by such enthusiastic supporters.�
Pastor Richard not only ministers in Uganda, but also in neighboring countries. On a recent ministry trip to Nairobi, Kenya, Pastor Richard speaks of a tremendous outpouring during a service in which he preached.
�While I was preaching,� Pastor Richard relays, �the spirit of God overflowed and touched on the hearts of many people. Some started speaking in tongues, there was spiritual healing, mutual confession, and the manifestation of the Spirit�s presence was evidenced.�
�We believe God is bringing revival in His people, and His work has to be evidenced,� implores Richard. �Many have turned aside, backslidden, leaving God apart, but God is God who is bring man back to Him through repentance, receiving the forgiveness of their sin, thus reconciliation.�
Richard�s congregations, like many in the 153 House Churches Network communities around the world, are small and relational, but he doesn�t see this as a negative. �God has given us grace to stand, minister and serve him in this nation,� he says. �Many are joining the ministry because of what is happening by the power and spirit of God, and we believe God is going to make His work prosper in us.�
Hunt agrees. �You know, it�s not about ability. It�s about availability. In the Bible we see the story of the leper who came to Jesus and said, �I know that if You want to, You can heal me�, to which Jesus responded �I want to,� and then He healed him. So much of being used by God is about �wanting to.� My dear Brother Joseph is one of those who wants to. And that�s why God has and will bless His work in his hands.�
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For more information about the 153 House Churches Network, please visit their website at http://groups.msn.com/153HouseChurches.