Paul Bangs

Will you partner with me in Africa?

Then I heard the Lord asking “Whom shall I send as a messenger to these people? Who will go for us?” I said “Here I am. Send me.” And He said “yes go.” (Isaiah 6: 8-9a)

In my three recent visits to Uganda, I can see that God is doing something amazing in Africa. Politically there is change taking place but more than that, the church is changing. It is growing at a rapid rate – more churches are being planted and it is these churches that are feeding the poor, the widows and the orphans and providing education and health care where there is none.

There is much more to be done. Poverty, corruption, witchcraft, climate change, disease are all having a negative effect; slowing down progress but the church of Christ is rising up and is a bright light in what is a dark world. It is the church that is making a positive change as it meets the needs of the hungry, the lonely and the sick. “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told” (Habakkuk 1:5) God is doing the unbelievable through His church in Africa.

But they need our help and they need it now. As they plant more churches and open new schools, they need leaders, not only pastors of the churches but also people who can start their own businesses, employ people and create wealth to meet the needs of the people. On my last visit I realised they didn’t need preachers and Bible teachers; they have those already but they do need business and leadership teachers. More than one pastor told me “We have never had training like this before, we need it; please will you come to my town, my nation”

God is opening new doors for me, last year is was just Uganda, this year it is five African nations as well as other regions of Uganda. They cannot afford to pay my travelling or support cost so I need to meet these expenses myself. There are two basic needs; firstly my travelling and other costs and secondly, whenever I am there, I constantly see immediate local needs such as exercise books and pencils for a small church school or a help towards food or travel for a young pastor. It is wonderful to be able to respond to those needs.

Will you please consider joining me on this great adventure and making a contribution towards my costs? Any amount would be welcome and together we can be part of what God is doing in Africa today. A Chinese proverb tells us “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now” Together – we can help plant some new trees in the nations God sends us to; “Yes Lord, here we are. Send us”

Thank you

Paul

Leaders conference in Uganda

I have just returned from my third visit to Uganda where I was speaking at a number of conferences and churches. The main conference lasted five days and was hosted by Pastor Paul Musisi of Caring Heart ministries on the outskirts of Kampala. The conference was attended by nearly 1000 ministers, bishops and other church leaders from seven African nations and I was one of ten speakers. I spoke twice a day on “Identifying and Reaching your God given dreams” “How to be a Winner” and on “Leadership” following the John Maxwell EQUIP programme. EQUIP have given me a licence to teach all of their material and currently Willow Creek church are running a series of my “Blogs” www.willowcreekevents.org.uk

The various conferences were a tremendous success and I have not only been invited back to Uganda by a number of churches to run conferences in their areas, but I have also been invited to Burundi, South Sudan and Rwanda; 2012 could be a very busy year for me if God wants me to go to all of these nations.

The African nations are desperate for good leadership training and I am certain the more I go there, the more request will come in. It was a humbling experience to be among so many mighty people of God, people who know what true persecution is and yet rise above it all. The church is growing but so are the works of the enemy; we live in evil days but our God is mighty and He will give us the victory. If you would like to partner me in this ministry, please let me know, it would be very much appreciated as the need is great.

Blessed in Aberdeen

I have just returned from Aberdeen where I ministered to a group of churches under the banner of the Redeemed Christian Church of God which was birthed in Nigeria but now has over 200 churches in the UK. In Aberdeen they have planted five churches in total and are growing rapidly. The worship was amazing in the two churches I ministered in and they were hungry for the messages I brought to them.

On the Friday evening I shared my programme “Make your dream a reality” to over 100 people and on the Saturday I delivered my full day “Business growth programme”. On the Sunday morning I preached in the City of God Centre in Holburn Street at the 9.0am service a church of over 300 and pastored by Pastor  Mark Igiehon and then at Pastor Dapo Nurundeen’s church Jesus House at the 110.am service. It was Pastor Dapo who invited me to Aberdeen and organised the conference.

What a joy it was to be asked to minister in the beautiful city of Aberdeen and I thank everybody who made my weekend so special. I look forward to being asked to return and to be a part of what God is doing there. If ever you are in Aberdeen, visit one of their churches; you will never experience better worship anywhere in the UK.

Latest News

Caring Heart Community Church in Uganda, where I spent six days ministering in February this year, has been completely destroyed by a huge storm. There is nothing left of the church and it will take about £8,000 to rebuild which for them is a vast amount of money. Already over £2,000 has been raised in the UK but there is still a long way to go. The church building is also used for the 950 school children during the week for some teaching and also as their dining room when they are served lunch so they need to rebuild as soon as possible. If you want to make a donation you can do it through me viaTy Cariad Africa which is the charity I use to transfer money to Caring Heart.

Next weekend 18th to 20th March I am ministering for a group of churches in Aberdeen in Scotland. On the Friday evening I will be presenting my course “Making your dream a reality” and on the Saturday I will be teaching on “Business Growth Skills” which is an all day programme. On the Sunday I will be preaching at one of the churches and I will be weaving in the Gospel message at each of the meetings, so your prayers are welcome as I believe that God not only can but will do amazing things. I am very excited about this ministry trip and will report back on it next week

The work continues

The work continues in Uganda

Last Sunday I preached again at Caring Hearts Community Church in Kagala Hill in the Wakiso district and then in the afternoon we went once again out to Kikuji Villager where 50 people gave their lives to the Lord the Tuesday before.  I preached the Gospel and 13 more people asked Jesus into their lives. A church has now been well and truly planted and there are now well over 100 Christians in the village. They are now looking for land to buy and will then start the process of raising the £15,000 needed to buy the land and build the church, which will also act as a school for over 100 children and also as a medical centre open for 2 days per week.

When we arrived at Caring Hearts we could see that there was a great deal of damage to a large part of their roof. The Thursday before a storm had struck the hill and torn corrugated sheets of the roof. It will take about £1550 to repair; money they don’t have as they live week by week on a very tight budget. But they were rejoicing at what God is doing and they are determined that this sort of setback will not effect their progress in proclaiming the Gospel, educating over 950 children and feeding over 1000 people per day. They are an amazing group of people and we could learn a great deal from them on how to live by faith. If you feel moved to make a donation for this church, please let me know.

I have also done two spots on the English speaking radio and have ministered to other people. Tomorrow I will be running a 3.5 hour training/motivational session on “Fulfilling your Dreams” and on Thursday morning doing a one hour session for 50 staff of an international mission organisation. We leave on Thursday night having had an amazing time in this wonderful country. We have been here during the election of the President which thank God went without any major incidents.

I have been invited to return in late November to be their keynote speaker at a major conference lasting for a total of 8 days. The delegates will be Christian leaders from 5-7 African countries so it is a wonderful opportunity to minister to so many from different counties. It has been a privilege to be invited to work here and again I have loved every moment of it.

The work continues

The work continues in Uganda

Last Sunday I preached again at Caring Hearts Community Church in Kagala Hill in the Wakiso district and then in the afternoon we went once again out to Kikuji Villager where 50 people gave their lives to the Lord the Tuesday before.  I preached the Gospel and 13 more people asked Jesus into their lives. A church has now been well and truly planted and there are now well over 100 Christians in the village. They are now looking for land to buy and will then start the process of raising the £15,000 needed to buy the land and build the church, which will also act as a school for over 100 children and also as a medical centre open for 2 days per week.

When we arrived at Caring Hearts we could see that there was a great deal of damage to a large part of their roof. The Thursday before a storm had struck the hill and torn corrugated sheets of the roof. It will take about £1550 to repair; money they don’t have as they live week by week on a very tight budget. But they were rejoicing at what God is doing and they are determined that this sort of setback will not effect their progress in proclaiming the Gospel, educating over 950 children and feeding over 1000 people per day. They are an amazing group of people and we could learn a great deal from them on how to live by faith. If you feel moved to make a donation for this church, please let me know.

I have also done two spots on the English speaking radio and have ministered to other people. Tomorrow I will be running a 3.5 hour training/motivational session on “Fulfilling your Dreams” and on Thursday morning doing a one hour session for 50 staff of an international mission organisation. We leave on Thursday night having had an amazing time in this wonderful country. We have been here during the election of the President which thank God went without any major incidents.

I have been invited to return in late November to be their keynote speaker at a major conference lasting for a total of 8 days. The delegates will be Christian leaders from 5-7 African countries so it is a wonderful opportunity to minister to so many from different counties. It has been a privilege to be invited to work here and again I have loved every moment of it.

Revival Time

Revival Time

My first week in Uganda has been amazing and very busy. Last Sunday I preached at the 9.30am service at Victory church in Kampala and then we travelled 14K to Caring Hands church where I preached at two services, one at 12 noon and the evening service at 5.0pm. At Victory 6 people gave their lives to the Lord and in Caring Hands 15 responded at the mid day service plus a further 5 at the evening service. I said goodbye to our team as I was staying on at Caring Hands with Pastor Paul and his wife Olivia for a series on meetings for the rest of the week.

I preached at all of the evening meetings which were held in the open which was an interesting experience as when the sun went down and it got dark, I could no longer read my notes or my Bible; it was certainly a great lesson on relying on the Holy Spirit to give me the words to say and each evening He moved in a mighty way. However the highlights of the week was when we travelled down dirt tracks into the hills and forest areas to the local villages and then in the clearings and preached to the local people. In one village called Kikuji over 100 people arrived, some from Caring Hands church including 4 of their leaders who had invited the villages to come, and 35 adults and 15 children gave their lives to Jesus; it was a time of revival. They said they wanted their own church in the village and we took up a collection as the first seed toward the new church. The church will also act as a school during the week and also a medical centre. There is no school in the village and they have over 100 children. The cost of buying the land and building a basic building will cost about £15,000. Not a bad investment to serve so many people as a church, school and medical centre. With the 50 who gave their lives to the Lord they now have well over 100 Christians in the village. Wednesday we went to another village, there was a smaller crowd, about 40 in total and 6 responded to the Gospel. On Thursday I ran a Business course for over 100 delegates and preached in the evening before going back to Ty Cariad and joining the rest of the team.

It was an amazing time and God moved in a powerful way, over 70 people saved, many healed and a new church planted; all they now need is a building. If anyone has a spare £15,000 available to build the church, please let me know but any donation would be welcome.

I have an increasingly full programme ahead of me for the rest of our stay

Come on Lord

Come on Lord

Now in Uganda, very hot reaching 35c. Having a great time and looking forward to the work I will be doing. I have still to hear when I will be running my courses but I have been asked to be involved for a five day crusade with Caring Heart Breakthrough Community Church in Kagala Hill in the Wakiso District. This is the church of Pastor Paul who was so badly injured in a motor accident last year. I start on Monday and will be ministering through to Thursday and we are expecting great things to happen. Please pray for this crusade; it is the first I have been asked to be part off and I will require all the help I can get from the Lord.

On my way to Uganda

I am on my way to Uganda once again; I have no idea yet what I will be doing but I have no doubt the Lord has full agenda for me. I feel that I am well prepared and as well as my business programme, I  have offered to teach the EQUIP Leadership Programme plus a new programme I have developed called “Making your Dream a Reality” based on a book by John Maxwell  “Put your Dream to the Test”. I will also be sharing and preaching in churches.

My last visit was to say the least, memorable and I am excited to be going back to that wonderful country. As anybody who has been to Africa will testify, it gets under your skin and you leave a part of you behind when you go home.

I will be staying at the home of Pastor Joseph and his wife Freda and where the children’s home Ty-Cariad Africa is based. Pastor Paul Thomas is already there and a team of us will be joining him on Tuesday 8^th Feb for 18 days including Paul’s wife Jan. Much work is being done at Ty Cariad and we will be taking clothes, shoes toys etc for the 35 children plus gifts on money to help the building of stage two of the home. (See www.tycariadafrica.org ) for pictures and a progress report.

I will update my Blog whilst there with the latest news but please pray for us all and expect great things to happen; they did last year and I am certainly expecting God to do amazing things this visit.

Be a Dreamer

Can you dream a dream so big that you doubt you can achieve it? God is a dream builder and He has put into us natural desires to do great things but for a dream to become reality, we have to spend time praying and asking God to clarify it for us. In the business of life with so many people demanding our attention and with so much to do including “Godly” things we can lose sight of our dreams and what God has created us to do.

We are unique, there is not another person in the World like you; it’s the way God made you and you are made in His image. He created you to live in this age in the country and town you live in. He has put into you natural talents and skills; things that come easy to you and are your passion but “life” sucks the passion out of us and the enemy does all he can to keep us so busy doing “things” that we fail to see that we are not fulfilling our purpose.

It is time to get back on track. What is your dream; what do you feel passionate about, what comes naturally to you? whatever it is take time out to think about your dream, write the dream out as a vision statement and do it as if you have already achieved the dream. ” I am in the process of preaching the Gospel to thousands of people and I am leading people out of captivity and into freedom and I am being invited to preach all over the World and to teach and motivate people to reach their full potential in life and in their careers and in business”

That is my dream, my vision for what God has called me to do; what is yours? Whatever it is, dream the biggest dream you can, check it out with God and others you trust and who know you. Write it down as if it is already happening and then pray and ask God every day to lead you into your dream. Believe you can and so long as it is what God has called you to do, He will equip you to fulfill what He created you to do.