Pastor Hughes Has Made The Bible Legible, Enjoyable

Oct 31, 2002

DEVOTIONS are such an important aspect to a Christian, especially as far as spiritual nourishment is concerned.

By Joan Mugenzi
DEVOTIONS are such an important aspect to a Christian, especially as far as spiritual nourishment is concerned.
One sure way of nourishing one’s soul is by reading the Word. But thinking of opening the Bible can be a taxing event.
Where one can start from and how one should read the word, are usually the biggest challenges.
Such kind of yearning for the word led a few Christians to ask their pastor to help them with notes on how to read the Bible every day.
The pastor, Selywn Hughes is author of Every Day with Jesus, one of the famous Christian devotional books.
He is also co-author of Cover to Cover, a book that has helped many Christians to follow the events in the Bible as they occurred.
While working as a pastor in 1965 in London, many people wanted him to explain the Bible to them.
“They wanted something they would read every day,” Hughes says.
This marked the beginning of his writing and for the past 37 years, he has been making Bible notes.
He started with a few copies and now the sales have grown to 750,000 copies in 130 countries, Uganda inclusive.
The largest circulation of Every Day with Jesus is in Nigeria, where the readership is 250,000 and according to Hughes, “it could be more than that because one copy can be read by one or two people.”
To many Christians, Hughes has a great impact. Many people will certainly identify with his book.
Many Christians were excited to see Hughes during his visit to Uganda recently at the invitation of Kampala Pentecostal Church (KPC). Hughes was invited to conduct a counselling training seminar for teachers. He also preached at KPC.
He was accompanied by Jearnette Barmick, also of the Crusade for World Revival.
“That man has really been a great inspiration to me,” said Andrew Zzimbe, a member of KPC.
“I have read Every Day With Jesus since secondary school,” says the pastor who left secondary school in 1989.
The works that bless people’s lives take time. Hughes has to prepare in advance.
“It takes me two weeks to write one edition and the edition is for two months. I select the themes depending on the theme that is burning in my heart. I have just finished working on the May/June issue of next year. The subject is on the Holy Spirit,” he says.
“The themes really revolve around the issues of the year. I have to write seven months in advance because the book has to be edited, printed and sent around the world,” adds Hughes.
His main challenge is to say something that will reach all countries with diverse cultures.
“The culture in Uganda is different from the culture in India, but at the end of the day, there are things that affect all human beings. Everybody hurts, everybody has feelings, everybody thinks, everybody is wounded and when you get beneath culture and colour and get to see the soul, we are the same because we are all made in the image of Jesus,” Hughes explains.
“I am a doctor of the soul and not a doctor of medicine. I know how the soul works, therefore, I need to address issues of the soul,” he adds.

Hughes became a born again Christian at 16 years. At the time he became a preacher, he was an engineer.
“I was studying engineering. I served five years as an apprentice and then God called me to the ministry to be a preacher. I quit engineering in 1949 and went to train as a pastor and became a pastor of a church in UK, where I worked for 18 years,” he narrates.
“I moved away from being a pastor and founded the Crusade for World Revival (CWR) and now we have our own training centre and we have a staff of 50 people,” he says.
CWR is out to preach and would particularly like to have a revival in Wales, Hughes’ birthplace.
In 1904, Wales had a great revival. One hundred thousand people were converted to Christianity without any preaching and Hughes’ grandfather converted.
This is where Hughes draws his love for God. “My grandfather was converted in that great revival. He influenced my mother to become a Christian and my mum influenced me,” he states.
Because of his background, Hughes feels obliged to bring a revival to Wales. “Churches are empty, some have been turned into warehouses, some into gambling places and some have been broken down. Wales is very spiritually down. That is why we are praying for a great revival again in Wales,” he says.
His scriptural conviction is 2 chronicles 7:14: “If my people who are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from them and will forgive their sins and heal their land.”
“That is my vision for the future and that is what I preach in the UK,” he says. But, like the scriptural Job, Hughes has had his trials.
He was married in 1951 after college in Bristol and had two children, David and John. His wife died in 1986 and in the last 18 months, his two sons died.
“It is a very tough time losing two sons, but God has supported me, strengthened me and given me the grace to continue. Without Him, I just don’t know how I would have handled that,” he says, thoughtfully.
The pastor surely has his God at heart. His face shows it.
During his visit here, he had to visit one of the disadvantaged groups –– the Watoto Children’s Camp and while in Bbiina, his heart could not stop bleeding for the children. He prayed for and with them. He was accompanied to this place by KPC’s pastor skinner. His visit to Uganda left a number of people blessed.Ends

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