Our Ministries

1. House of Prayer

(Ministry Leader: Joyce Ocan)
The Favor of God Mission House, know as The House of Prayer, is the hub of all ministry activities conducted by the organization. Daily prayer goes on here, with corporate fasting and prayer one day a week; visiting teams stay here; retreats, conferences, and training seminars are held here; the classes for New Life Bible College are conducted here. Some of the staff members live on the grounds permanently and the house has become known in both the community and the camps as a haven and landmark of God’s presence. Often individuals and even whole families have come into the house, unbidden, asking how to be born-again. These people are lovingly led to the LORD by a staff pastor and arrangements are made for them to be discipled. Future vision includes a larger space for more guests from the outlying camps, and for larger classes and meetings. The office, located behind the house, contains administrative offices for the staff of nearly 20, a community library and resource center; and the center for Bible distribution. The FOGM staff welcomes anyone to any of our internal prayer events. Future vision includes a larger space for more guests from the outlying camps, and for larger classes and meetings.

2. Prayer Ministry

(Ministry Leader: Geoffrey Ojara)
With prayer as the foundation of all we do in the ministry, passionate fervent prayer is emphasized above all else, and is the heart and the engine of all that the ministry does. We have daily prayer and worship times that are open to the public. Houses of Prayer are being established and strengthened in the IDP camps, and are established in a camp prior to initiation of other ministries including portable Bible schools. We conduct an all-night, city-wide prayer gathering in the town stadium monthly. We host lunch-hour prayer and teaching sessions, schools of prayer and participate in prayer gatherings that are organized by various churches in the community. Prayer ministry is also extending south into Kampala and north into Sudan. Future vision includes 1) the rental or purchase of a building downtown Gulu to be established as a strong place of united, community prayer throughout the week for local and national/ international needs, 2) development of Houses of Prayer established in all 140 IDP camps before people are dispersed back to their villages.

3. New Life Bible College

(Ministry Leader: Martin Onen)
New Life Bible College (NLBC) began in November 2005 and offers a one-year certificate and a two-year diploma in Christian ministry. The classes are held in the Mission House and enrollment has grown nearly 50% during the second year. NLBC is the only Bible college program in northern Uganda and, as such, it serves all denominations. The Principal, Martin Onen, is assisted with instructional duties by Mr. Peter Madrama and other qualified staff of FOGM as well as guest lecturers from other institutions in southern Uganda. Course work includes Bible doctrine, homiletics, Bible survey, worship, family living, evangelism, pastoral care and church growth, prayer, and family living. Future vision includes a 5-10 acre Bible College campus and training center with dormitories, library, communications system and computer access and training, meeting hall, kitchen, recreation, vocational training, clinic, and chapel that will serve all of northern Uganda and Southern Sudan with Christian Leadership Training; the raising up of local teaching staff, in addition to visiting national and international guest lecturers; extension of the Bible College to other towns of northern Uganda and into Southern Sudan.

4. Portable Bible Schools

(Ministry Leader: Amos Pimer)
Portable Bible Schools (PBS) are two-month Bible training programs which are held in IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps. There are over 140 camps with over 1.5 million people living in crowded and desperate conditions, with very little church presence or gospel witness. Every time a PBS team goes into a camp, they are taking the Word of God to the people and training church leaders in the areas of shepherding, church leadership, youth and children’s work, and prayer. Each school has an average enrollment of 100 students. The students spend the morning in classes covering Bible content, principles for Christian living, doctrine, ministry skills, evangelism, discipleship, and other topics. Afternoons are spent in the practical exercise of the concepts taught in the morning, as the students participate in door-to-door evangelism, youth and children’s camps (averaging 350 attendees), discipleship classes and prayer leadership. The schools also include a 3-day crusade with the Jesus film, a medical outreach, Bible distribution, clothing distribution (as available), ministry to the local military, and Child Evangelism Fellowship’s “Mailbox Club”, which brings the Gospel and Bible training to children. At this time, four schools run concurrently, limited only by funding. Future vision is for all 140 IDP camps to be reached with a portable school prior to dispersal of the camps. Dispersion of the camps and rebuilding of communities will take some time even after the war is over; the opportunity to reach large numbers of people, hungry for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is limited.

5. House of Hope

(Ministry Leader: Jennifer Adong)
This long-term home for orphaned children (children who have lost both parents) was begun in the Mission House in March of 2006 with the admission of four sisters who were referred to FOGM by World Vision. Since that small beginning, House of Hope (HOH) has grown to a capacity for 33 orphans and has moved to a large house and compound in the Senior Quarters district of Gulu. Through the mentoring of both women and men staff members and through spiritual nurturing and training, HOH is working to see children loved, healed and given a stable family environment in which to develop their identities as children of God and come into their destinies in Christ. We believe that God will use these children as instruments of healing for our land as well as future leaders for this country. HOH is committed to being an agent of God’s provision for these children, in both the natural and the spiritual, so that they can become adults who are committed to the Kingdom of God. Future vision includes: 1) the development of a desperately needed Christian preschool within the home, with plans to expand to upper grade levels, creating the first Christian school in the north, 2) a 10-acre children’s village with small, family-style homes of 8-10 children with a widow as a house-mother; ten clusters of these homes would make up a village, providing 100 children a home, hope, and a future; 3) ten such villages would provide 1,000 children a home, and would include schools, vocational and recreational areas, clinics, and chapels.

6. Other Community Ministries:

(Ministry Leader: Peter Madrama)
Requests by church and community leaders for additional ministries and services has led to much prayer on the part of the FOGM leadership and staff. As a result of this prayer, the following ministries have begun during 2006:

  • a. Prison Ministry: Weekly Bible training and evangelism to prisoners in both the men’s and women’s prison in Gulu. A great many men and women have given their lives to Christ and been discipled as a result of this ministry.
  • b. Gulu University Campus Outreach: A well-attended student Bible study is taught weekly, working cooperatively with the Gulu University Christian Union (GUCU) and other pastors and ministries from the community.
  • c. Military Outreach: As with the university, a weekly Bible study is taught at the army barracks by a NLBC instructor and additional classes have been requested.
  • d. Pastor’s retreats are held every 2 months for pastors from Gulu and the surrounding area. These retreats are a time of prayer, sharing vision and direction, training and promoting unity in the Body of Christ.
  • e. Clothing and medical outreaches. These focus on the IDP camps, in conjunction with the Portable Bible Schools.
  • f. Crusades: Three-day prayer, teaching and evangelistic crusades, using the Jesus Film, are conducted in different camps about twice per month. These events reach hundreds with the Gospel and strengthen local church in the camps.
  • g. Bible distribution: Classes are held twice weekly at the Mission House to train believers in personal and corporate Bible study methods. Each participant receives a Bible in his/her own language and commits to start a Bible study group or a Sunday school class, and commits to giving an accountability report on the group that was started. 2,800 Bibles were distributed in 2006.
  • h. Radio Programs: Weekly radio Bible teachings are done live, from a radio station in northern Uganda, reaching all of the northern districts and into southern Sudan.
  • i. Training/Conferences: Training on Bible topics, integrity, worship, prayer, marriage and family life, children’s ministry, and other topics, are open to community leaders and the public.
  • j. Resource Center: Favor of God assists ministries and churches visiting the area, to connect with ministries on the ground. It also functions as a resource center, with a growing resource library, bookstore, and contact list.
  • k. Child Sponsorship: The child sponsorship program is $50.00 a month to sponsor a child for their home care, medical, and academics and personal needs.

7. Trauma Counseling

(Ministry Leader: Benson Ocen)
This program, developed by a Christian psychologist from Australia, is a ground-breaking program that seeks to bring emotional and spiritual help and healing to people who have been traumatized by life events. We became the first in the world to implement this program, called “Empower”, in September 2006. Thus far we have presented “Empower” in more than 10 camps. The two-week program is divided into 2 parts. The first part helps the person face his or her traumatic event(s) in a calm manner and learn to deal with those situations, as well as present stressful or traumatic situations, in a manner that will not bring more stress or trauma. Part 2 presents the concepts of forgiveness involving the use of the Bible and the example of Jesus Christ. A great many of the participants have found faith in Jesus and decide to follow Him, bringing a lifestyle of health and wholeness. Future vision includes expansion of the program to all camps, and reaching into southern Sudan.

8. Development of Small Businesses

Beginning small businesses in order to help generate on-going funding for our ministry and avoid dependency on outside sources. This will also offer jobs to people living in an area with 80% unemployment. We want to especially target widows and churches as a potential workforce. This part of the ministry will model methods of Godly business, integrity, accountability, and community transformation.