Servant leadership, is a high value of House to House, and a value deeply ingrained in the teachings of Jesus. He emphasizes embodying a servant's role rather than seeking authority for a position of power. Servant leadership was modeled by Jesus himself through his acts of humility and selflessness towards others.

In the Bible, the act of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples is described in the Gospel of John 13:1-17. This moment is a powerful demonstration of humility and service, as Jesus, despite being their teacher and Lord, took on the role of a servant by washing the feet of his disciples.

“so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

— John 13:4-5

The disciples feet were not lightly dusty, no; they were quite filthy from walking in sandals through dirty and littered roads (my feet often get this way walking on dusty roads in Uganda in my flip flops). Jesus saw a need for clean feet to sit more comfortably at a meal, and rose to meet it with his disciples. Through serving his followers in this practical way, Jesus exemplifies a message of love, humility and serving one another with compassion.

3 Things Jesus did as a Servant Leader

1. Humility: Jesus exemplified humility by washing his disciples' feet, a task typically reserved for servants.

2. Compassion: He showed compassion towards the sick, the marginalized, and the needy, demonstrating empathy and care for others.

3. Sacrifice: Jesus willingly sacrificed his life for the salvation of all, embodying the ultimate act of selflessness and servant leadership.

As followers of Jesus we are urged to follow his example by prioritizing the needs of others over opportunities for power and recognition. We can try every day, in little ways and big, to embody the values of humility, compassion and sacrifice in our own life. Genuine leadership is bigger than titles and praise; it is grounded in the unwavering dedication to serve and elevate those around us. Let us mirror our leadership style after the ultimate servant leader, Jesus, who illustrated that true leadership is rooted in a heart of service.

Even if you have plans to be elsewhere, even if it feels like you need to be moving forward. You are where you are for a reason. You are friends with who you're friends with... for a reason! God is giving you an opportunity to share about his love with everyone you have a relationship with. Don't waste it! We hope you enjoy our discussion between House to House staff, Monica and Colleen, on sharing God's love with the people around you!

Raed grew up as a Muslim and then decided to dedicate his life to follow Jesus. Raed lived in Arua where our House to House team member, Korwen, met him. They developed a discipling relationship over the last few years and this past year Korwen trained Raed to use an app developed to help guide Bible Sharing groups through scriptures.

Raed has since used the app as a guide to found a bible sharing group at his nursing school. He as also taken the opportunity to reach out to the youth, in his home town, sharing Gods love with them during his school breaks.

Raed has grown in his love of Jesus, developed as a servant-leader and grown in confidence to share his faith with those around him.

The House to House team focused this past year on growing together as a team, praying for each other, as well as sharing ideas and resources. Our leadership gathered monthly to discuss the progress of our bible sharing networks and to encourage one another in leadership and direction. Out of these discussions our team has created a Healthy Groups Guidance Manual. This document outlines all of the characteristics of a healthy group, the structures needed to be in place and potential solutions to common issues in growing bible sharing groups. We are excited to see the benefits of having this Ugandan developed resource in place as our leadership is training and coaching new leadership for other generations of bible sharing groups.

You have God given Gifts. God made you unique for a reason! He has given you a mix of gifts that no one else in the world has. He is inviting you to share your gifts with other around you. So, what does it mean to share your gifts with others? How can you use the gifts and talents God has given you to create community. Here's the perspectives of some of our team on sharing their gifts with others.

At House to House, we have long ago given up counting “salvations” in our ministry as our definition of success. Don’t get me wrong, we love it when people decide to make a step toward following Christ, but we know that growing with God never stops! Accepting Jesus as your Savior is just the beginning of the never ending discovery with God.

We have decided instead to define success as people who are in community with one another seeking God together, and inevitably growing in their faith. Sometimes, the people who attend our bible sharing groups have not made a commitment to follow Jesus. Sometimes they come with resentment from former religious experiences. Sometimes they come with simple curiosity knowing nothing about following Jesus. Sometimes they have been “saved” for years, but they don’t know how to live out their faith in a community.  But in any case they are welcome just as they are.

We are constantly working out our salvation throughout our lives. Cultivating it and maturing in our faith through our experiences with God and with our community as it says in Philippians 2:12. 

So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].- Philippians 2:12 AMP

If we were to make the mistake of making the goal of our ministry "salvations”, then we would miss all the opportunities for discipleship, growth and change that must follow after (and before) that commitment to Christ. If salvation were the goal, what would happen if someone attended a bible sharing group for months or years and did not commit themselves to Christ? Would we have failed in our mission? If salvation is the goal, then yes, we would have failed. But success at House to House is not counted in salvations, it’s counted in relational commitment to the community and to God. So, if we see the commitment of someone to engage with a community of believers, we define that as success because that person is growing in their community of faith. Maybe that person goes from hating Christians, to hating them less, to even liking some of them. Maybe one day that person will make a commitment to follow Jesus, but that decision is between them and Jesus and not for any of us to define. 

We are all on this journey of faith. Sometimes our faith journey is filled with deep growth and other times our faith can feel stagnant. But in any way, we are working out our salvation in our relationship with Jesus. We cannot rest our faith on a single moment of commitment to God. Much like the intimate relationships in our life, our salvation takes work, conversation (with God in prayer in this case), time and vulnerability. Let us surrender any pride or guardedness over to God and seek Him together and trust that we will grow in our faith. 

House to House has empowered Ugandans to move forward in their walk of faith. We have trained, discipled, mentored and coached many Ugandans who are leading their communities into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. We have challenged the cultural assumptions that Bible training is for the elite and instead made the Bible accessible to all through our simple model of small group teaching and empowerment. Our commitment to seeing house churches and leaders developed through those small groups have impacted hundreds of Ugandans who would not have had this kind of access to the gospel. 

Over the last several years we have made a commitment to simplicity, adaptability and reproducibility in any setting that Uganda laid before us. So that the gospel could move forward throughout Ugandan communities without barriers such as resources, literacy and time constraints. 

The year 2020 was incredibly challenging globally with the spread of coronavirus. When Uganda went into lockdown we were concerned that our work would come to a halt due to the restrictions. However, we found that the lockdown was the perfect condition to put our methods to the test. We have spent many years training and discipling people so that they could take the gospel to their families and neighbors. We have been empowering people to seek God and grow in relationship with Him, with only their Bible and the Holy Spirit as their guide. The time Uganda spent in lockdown was a wonderful opportunity for people to seek the Lord in a time of difficulty and we are so thankful that we had given them the tools to be able to do that. We are overjoyed to share with you that the training and discipleship of House to House is effective even during a difficult year. 

We are also thankful for the presence of our newest branch in Arua. They were able to establish roots and begin to build relationships with people who are hungry for the gospel and desire to see their communities come to know God’s love. 

In Gulu, several new house churches began in 2020. In addition, new leaders were trained through those house church meetings and were able to begin their own house church groups throughout Gulu district. We saw fruit from discipleship methods instilled by House to House expand into remote regions of Northern Uganda through visits from some of our local leaders.   We even witnessed effective discipleship happening remotely through visits on the phone.  

Our work has continued thrive in times of growth and in times of challenges, and that is not done solely through our own efforts on the ground in Uganda.   It is the product of hundreds of people like you who support us, donate to us, and pray for us as we continue to seek the kingdom of God to come in all of Uganda.  We are so grateful for your support!

We are so excited to have the Kronberg family as a part of House to House. We had hoped to one day expand into more areas in Uganda and when they approached us about joining our team, we knew that God had answered our prayers.

Korwen and Julie have two children; they moved to Uganda in December of 2019. They desire to see God’s plans and purposes fulfilled on the earth, emphasizing discipleship and church planting. Both Korwen and Julie have backgrounds in missions, Korwen spending four years living in Pakistan with his family in 1999 and Julie spending time teaching in Kenya after receiving her bachelor’s degree in 2010. Korwen and Julie have been trained in discipleship and church planting methods since 2013. They specifically feel called to reaching Muslims and refugees in Uganda with the love of Jesus Christ. 

Arua is located in the West Nile Region of Northern Uganda and, because of its location, has several different people groups including Congolese, South Sudanese, and local Ugandans. Of Arua’s population of 62,000 people, around 60% practice Islam. Korwen and Julie desire to catalyze reproducible disciple making and church planting movements through training and equipping laborers of Muslim Background Believers as well as South Sudanese refugees. They are currently investing in learning local language as well as building relationships with locals. They are searching for believers who desire to empower others with the knowledge of the Bible and life changing impact of knowing God.

To Our Global Team, 

We are humbled, honored, grateful. 

Just because there’s only 3 of us living and serving as foreigners in Uganda doesn’t mean we are a team of 3. We are surrounded by a team of people all over the globe who pray for House to House, contend in the spiritual realm for the people of Uganda and send their financial support so that we can do what God has planned. Our team is much bigger than what you can see, our team is the hundreds of people who’s hearts are for Uganda and send us to execute God’s vision for the people of this beautiful land. 

We have seen God stir of the hearts of national believers to join our team as well. They are so passionate about seeing their own people know God’s love for them. They are filled with knowledge, insight and great wisdom about their own people. We are honored to call them our friends and co-laborers in the harvest. 

As 2019 closes with a bang of new disciples, new house churches and more believers than ever we are humbled, honored, grateful for all of those who surround us working on the ground in Uganda to further God’s kingdom. Your inheritance is in Uganda. 

Much love, 

The House to House Team

Find sustainable resources instead.

Northern Uganda has been through some terrible times. A 20 year war isolating the North from the South of the country, placing people in camps, constantly worried if they will make it through to the next day. Aid groups have mercifully worked in the region serving for decades now helping through the crisis and the rebuilding of social norms.  But 20 years of living like this has had long term impacts on the internal monologue or messages people tell themselves here.

One of those messages is, subtly being told that they are not able to sustain themselves. That they are not strong enough to do it on their own. Aide must come, and it must come from outside.  These messages have come across in practical skills as well as in ministry.

Northern Uganda has been bombarded with missionaries, from around the world, as well as from within Uganda’s own borders, handing out bibles, tracks and making big speeches about converting to Christianity. The truth of the Gospel is sometimes proclaimed, but the model given is that leaders must come from the outside of the region.  The message is clear, you need Jesus AND a foreigners help to get on the right track. 

For a movement to be sustained here everyday Northern Ugandans need to be able to follow Jesus within their normal life schedule, and have the confidence that they can make disciples themselves.  When growth or discipleship is tied to outside leaders or resources provided by foreigners, movements stop.  If we are providing bibles, pamphlets, audio readers, and endless supplies to Ugandans who want to follow Jesus, then we are hinging the growth of a movement on the resources we provide. That is simply not sustainable.  The short term benefit from handouts is out-weighed by the dependence it continues to reinforce.

We have challenged our leaders, and they have challenged us, to find culturally relevant ways to answer these places of need in ways that will  reinforce community values and strengths. We have to think outside of the typical resource provision to find simple ways Ugandans can pass on their methods to others.

We cannot introduce financial constraints when God is moving. We want to give Him as much space as he needs to move and do his thing, and reducing the barriers to encountering his word together is something we are very serious about. 

We have the patience to see God move here in a way that honors and respects our friends.  That lifts them up and says we believe in your ability to lead others into all that God has for them.