The street is my pulpit

Jun 20, 2013

Bright Muhwezi would have been somewhere enjoying his youth, but he chose a tough and selfless call of preaching on the street. He says he is not going to retire until God gives him another assignment.

Sunday Vision
 
By Gloria Nakajubi
 
Bright Muhwezi would have been somewhere enjoying his youth, but he chose a tough and selfless call of preaching on the street. He says he is not going to retire until God gives him another assignment.  
 
Bright Muhwezi is a young and vibrant 24-year-old whose life is expected to be like that of the usual youth either at university or employed somewhere, but he is different. He has taken a road so many young men would not dare to tread. 
 
Muhwezi has spent three years on the street, preaching the gospel and not showing any signs of quitting soon. Muhwezi has spent seven years in salvation. He believes his ministry, as a servant of God is to preach the gospel and that the street is his pulpit.
 
After completing S4 in 2007, Muhwezi started working for Darling, a company that makes braids and weaves and was earning a decent salary.
 
His Calling
“When I got born again in 2006, I used to have dreams, visions and some preachers would give me messages pointing to my mission as a street preacher,” he says.
 
“I did not want to do this, but it is God’s will and I cannot go against it,” he adds.
I got a lot of resistance from my father, a staunch Anglican, as he thought I was getting lost and rebellious. He wanted me to go abroad for studies, but I refused, telling him that God had called me to do His work.
 
My father was angry with me and almost killed me. He called me all sorts of names until I got fed up and decided to find somewhere else to stay.
 
I struggled a lot both at home and at work after getting the message for my calling because I did not want to do it. I became uninterested in my job and things were getting worse at home.
 
“I continued to feel a lot of conviction within me and had to heed to God’s call as per the word in Isaiah 1:19 that stresses obedience,” he says.
 
Normal work day
I preach from Monday to Saturday for four straight hours. I have preached in three stations for the three years I have done this. I started from Kansanga to Wabigalo and now I am on Jinja Road.
 
I wake up at 5:00am daily and do my morning devotion and prayer until 7:00am. I have breakfast and set off to my station where I start preaching at exactly 10:00am.
 
I preach up to 2:00pm and only rest to sip water and then resume.
At 2:00pm, I go back home and rest for about two hours before heading to church for choir practice.
 
God has called me for a full time ministry and I have to adhere to the call. If I am not on my usual stations, then I am in villages doing door-to-door preaching.

Inspiration
God gave me the desire and courage to preach the gospel. I realised I cannot draw any satisfaction from anything else, but preaching. My church, Kibuli Miracle Centre, is an offspring of Rubaga Miracle Centre and I draw my inspiration from Pastor Robert Kayanja.
 
“When God appoints you to do something, he also gives you the right connections and I am glad I have such a man to look up to,” he notes.

Challenges
Honestly, if there was a way of rejecting God’s will, I would not be doing this because it is a tough appointment. The hot sunshine, attacks and abuses from the people are a bad experience.
 
“Just a few days to Christmas last year, a man attacked me and wrestled me to the ground, but somehow I managed to get away,” he narrates.
 
Some people spit on you, others throw empty bottles of beer at you and hurl insults, which sometimes puts you down. Somehow I have managed to overcome these challenges.
 
Is street preaching effective?
Street preaching is effective because I have had a number of people coming to me testifying how they were changed by just a word they heard me say.
 
“These vehicles stop for at least three minutes and as they let one lane go, you run to the other which has been stopped and trust me, you can change a life in those three minutes,” he argues.
 
As the popular saying goes; a word is enough for a wise and as Christians, we believe someone can be changed by just a word.
 
“Someone may hear the word and it sticks in their mind until they actually repent,” he says.
 
Financial support 
When I was still working, I saved some money and bought a motorcycle which I gave to one guy to ride in town and make money, so every day he brings me some money that sustains me. 
 
Future Plans
I know the Lord has a plan drawn out for me and I will continue to do this until I receive instructions for my new assignment.
But I believe this is my training ground because if God is going to use you, he has to first humble you and believe me, unless you are humble, you cannot preach on the street.
 
I also want to continue pursuing my theological studies. Right now, I am doing a diploma in theology at the Miracle Bible School in Rubaga. 
 
“My future is going to rotate around serving God,” he says.
 
Love life
For now, I am focusing on serving Christ but I know at God’s opportune time, I will be able to find a girl and marry. 
 
Religious leaders’ Opinion
Rev. Geoffrey Byaruhanga of the African Evangelistic Enterprise says it requires more effort to attract the people on the street who are already distracted by so many other things.
 
“You need some sort of entertainment to capture the attention of the busy, stressed and confused people on the street, otherwise, it is like scattering seeds in the wild and hope God can make them sprout,” he says.
 
Rev. Msgr John Wynand Katende, the Episcopal Vicar Wakiso zone, Kampala Archdiocese, says in the Catholic Church, there is no such thing as street preaching.
 
“We preach on official days and times, not just going anywhere. And our preachers are trained to do just that and not go on the streets,” he notes.
 

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