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Pastor, Christian Life Church, Kampala, Uganda - 25,000 members since 1995; fastest growing church in Uganda
Ministers internationally on prayer mobilization
Affiliated congregations: Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Congo
December 26, 2003, the largest prayer gathering in the history of Uganda was held. All through the night from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. 25,000 pastors mobilized three million Christians to pray in 50 stadiums -- one in each district of the nation. They prayed for their nation and for global harvest to cover the earth. Jackson says in the coming years they expect 13 million, or half the population of Uganda, to gather for such annual prayer meetings. They are seeing many Muslims come to faith in Jesus.
The Lord has shown them there must be six levels of prayer so that God can harvest a nation to Himself: 1) prayers in homes, 2) prayers in churches, 3) prayers in communities, 4) prayers in cities, 5) prayers in a nation, and 6) prayers for the nations. These six waves create an atmosphere where God can dwell.
Revival in Uganda
Jackson says the Lord showed them not to pray for a change in the government as problems come and go. Instead, as they interceded for the divine calling and destiny of their nation, everything would fall into place. As they prayed for the presence of God to come to their nation, a spirit of revival was birthed in Uganda. In the early 1990s a prophetic word came through Israeli believers that said Uganda would be the breadbasket to the world in the end time harvest.
Jackson says they are seeing changes with people at the highest levels of the government being concerned with moral standards and enforcing principles of God's Word. New government ministries have been established, including the Ministry of Ethics and Integrity. Christians are being placed in the most sensitive positions. Laws are being rewritten to favor God's principles and Word. Members of parliament are meeting weekly for prayer. Judges acknowledge praying privately. Police often send prayer requests to churches. First lady Museveni prays publicly and encourages all sectors of his government to hold morning and lunch-time prayer meetings. Every day from 5:00 to 6:00 a.m. and again from 11:00 p.m. to midnight live intercessory prayer is broadcast across the nation on radio. The AIDS crisis has been severe, but they are now seeing many supernatural healings that the doctors can't explain. The crime rate has dropped 50 percent.
On New Year's Eve, 1999, President and first lady Museveni joined a huge stadium celebration where a public proclamation was read in which they covenanted with God for the land of Uganda to be used for the next 1,000 years for the purposes of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Unity in the Body of Christ
Jackson says they used to see spiritual breakthroughs on the church and community level, but as they have come together in unity in the Body of Christ, they have seen national breakthroughs. Sometimes it would take four retreats before pastors would work together. They have had to refuse to be offended.
Unity is more than having a crusade together; it takes a revelation of God to strike hearts in tangible ways, causing a need for each other. Because of the intensity of the spiritual darkness over a city, one man or one church cannot handle it. But when there is unity in the Body, the spiritual strongholds cannot withstand the combined strength.
Abandoned as a Baby
Jackson's father was a polygamist and his mother abandoned the family soon after Jackson's birth. A sickly child, Jackson was not expected to live. In fact, his parents were getting ready to toss Jackson onto a garbage dump to die when his grandmother rescued him. His aunt, who was daily involved in witchcraft, raised him through the Idi Amin years. At 15 Jackson went to school in Kampala where a friend took him to church. He was saved and received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He read the Bible voraciously and attended ministry courses.
In April 1995, Jackson started Christian Life Church with seven people. By a move of God, they had 2,000 people in two weeks! Seeking God's presence and not church growth, they now have 25,000 people in the church.
Desperation of Idi Amin Years
The tyrant Idi Amin ruled Uganda from 1971 to 1979, brutally slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people. These were hopeless times as the economy was in shambles and no life was safe. Jackson says that in these desperate times, the pressure taught the Christians to pray. God birthed a prayer movement. In small pockets, Christians gathered in secret places in the jungle, caves, and swamps to call out all night to God. In 1979 Amin invaded Tanzania and then fled to Saudi Arabia when the Tanzanian army invaded Uganda and took over Kampala. Jackson says unfortunately the church in Uganda did not follow up, but rather went back to sleep and worshiped its own victories. Milton Obote again headed the government, and Jackson says it was back to the ugly days of villages being wiped out. Once again the church was desperate. In 1986 Obote was overthrown by the current leader, Yoweri Museveni.
The revival in Uganda has been reported in George Otis Jr's Transformation II video.
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