Issue #65 - September 2017

Does a persons experience guarantee effective service in church ministry? resources, but you want immediate returns, and you want specific things to be done within
George Nyeko shares his thoughts. a specified period of time. In that case, you do not want someone who is going to be
learning on the job.

GEORGE NYEKO No, because many of us when we were recruited we were amateurs. Today we have a
challenge in that the church is looking for where to cut costs. If the church needs a cook, it
George worked with Bank of Uganda for doesnt get one who is going to learn how to cook. It gets one who can cook because of
32 years before retiring as Bank Secretary limited resources. If I recruit somebody whom I want to grow as my own tree, which is a
in 2015. very beautiful thing, it is going to cost a lot and may take much longer.
Recruiting those with experience has a cost to it as well in that you can easily end up with
He is married with four children (all of someone who does not subscribe to your values. And these days, people pretend a lot.
them now married) and three grand chil- They will say I am a Christian but you will find they are not. Sometimes they could be
dren. Christians but from a different church denomination, and there you may have a problem in
st your hand. Not that you dont want them to come from another church denomination, but
He got saved on 1 October, 1978 while you would want a person whom you are working with to be one who will propagate your
still a student at Makerere University. values as a Church, and they need to appreciate the same values and doctrine.
He once served as Chairman of the Board In a church, ordinarily, the best will be to grow your own tree: nurture the young men and
of Elders at Kampala Baptist Church. women and groom them in a certain direction and in your church doctrine as long as they
have the willingness, commitment and zeal to learn. If the church wants to groom and
1. In your walk with Christ, which ministries have you served in and for how long? produce what will be in line with its own values and doctrine, then the church should go
As the Psalmist David said, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin look for a person who is probably only qualified in a certain discipline, but with no
against you (Psalms 119:11), I too have realized that unless the word of God richly dwells experience and train them.
in us, we run the risk of being led astray. So, one of the ministries that became very key to 4. God says in Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your
me, one that I have never left, is Bible Study whether its within the church or outside the ways my ways. As Christians, how do we prevent our experience from getting in the
institutional structure of the church. As a result I have been involved in various church Bible way of what God may want to do?
study groups wherever I have been, either by instituting the Bible study or leading it. In Colossians 3:23-24 Paul writes, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
Later on I got involved with a series of other ministries that propagate and propel the working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from
understanding of the Bible like the Gideons International which I joined them way back in the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. The other way to ask that
1984. I am also involved with the Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) as one of the group leaders. question is, When Christians want to do something, is it in accordance with Gods will or is
In our home, we have periodic Bible studies where people come and we study the word of it what we have perceived as the way to go or the new trend and therefore we must go that
God. way? If we want to do something, it may not be very easy but we need to ask
The other ministries are in form of roles I find myself being asked to play. I served as a ourselves, Is this in line with Gods will? Gods will is revealed in his written word, the
church elder at Kampala Baptist and later became Chairman Board of Elders for many Bible.
years until I moved to Nakawa Baptist Church. I was also in charge of the church finance Churches today have church mission, church vision, church values. We need to ask
committee when we were setting it up to ensure things are managed professionally at ourselves, are those things we uphold in line with Gods will. If we are convinced they are,
KBC. When I moved to Nakawa Baptist Church (now New Life Baptist Church), I found then we go ahead and do what we have agreed upon because it is in line with Gods will.
myself playing similar roles there. There will be moments where we plan very well, when we think weve done it very well but
I have also been asked to serve on a number of Boards of various organisations. I consider we still do not seem to go as we should. Then we ask ourselves, Why is it that we are not
this service as a ministry because the people I serve look at me and pick a number of skills moving the way we should? Such moments require a lot of time to pray, fast and
from me where possible. depend on God. We need to always get back and ask ourselves, Am I still on track? Is this
in line with Gods will for me? Or are we just being copycats doing what everybody else is

Relying on experience can doing.

Whatever we do must be in line with what the scripture demands of us. Get back to the
basics: read and study the Bible. If God tells you to go start a church, follow what God is
stifle potential telling you. Others may oppose you but with time theyll come back and say, Why didnt
we believe you early? because God has a way of dealing with His situations very different
from the way we do. What looks like a mountain, to God, its nothing.
2. Now that you have served in church ministry before, do you think your experience The other question I would like
guarantees that you will serve better than one with less experience? to ask is, How much do we try
to understand Gods ways?
Not at all. The scripture tells us not to despise humble beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). And it
Sometimes we are very
also tells us that man plans his ways but God directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9). I dont
impatient. Paul writing to the
believe that in serving in the body of Christ one necessarily depends on experience.
Romans talks about suffering
Experience is good, I have no problem with that, but its not necessarily a stepping stone to
producing perseverance;
doing better. Far from it. I think what makes us do even much better is looking up to God,
perseverance, character; and
and trusting Him alone for good results. Somebody can be very young but very talented in
character, hope. (Romans
an area. And as long as theyre willing to learn, willing to sit at the feet of Gamaliel and be
5:3-4) Sometimes we are
taught new things, they will serve effectively. With experience you can say We did things
taken up by our own emotions
differently, but what were the circumstances then? Circumstances do not necessarily
and we begin to hear ourselves
always present themselves in similar ways. Somebody said that an experience of ten years
rather than hearing God. Even
is nothing but a collection of failures and successes over ten years. Its a collection of tough
for church leaders, its not
times and good times; things done wrongly and those done rightly or correctly.
about experience. There are
It doesnt mean that the older you are, the better endowed you are. Relying on experience times when God is
can stifle potential that would better the church. For example, technologically speaking, saying you have been so
my experience as I grew up is irrelevant to the present time. But one thing I know which comfortable in this place for
will never be irrelevant is my knowledge of Jesus Christ. What we need to do is to sit down too long, now, move camps.
with the ones who believe they have a lot of experience and the ones with less experience George and his wife, Jolly
and reach some kind of compromise, depending of course more on God and not on our The KEY RING is a monthly publication by the Kampala Baptist Church Media Team
own wisdom, knowledge and understanding alone. that seeks to provide an avenue where men and women can share knowledge and
3. Should the Church recruit only experienced people to serve in ministries? understanding of the word of God, experiences and encourage one another as the
Yes and no depending on the circumstances. Yes, if you want to deal with a specific aspect older perform the act of paralambano to the younger.
that you think by taking in an amateur it will be more costly. You may not have a lot of Our prayer is that the Lord will speak to you through this publication.
Drop us an email at kbcmediateam@gmail.com Visit the church website at www.kbcuganda.org