The first Pentecostal church

RELIGION 

Many big churches have sprung up, but the church which mothers all Pentecostal churches is still as small as its pioneers left it. Naguru Full gospel church, which was established in 1960, was the first Pentecostal church in Uganda.

How it came to be

According to Jotham Mutebi an elderly pastor at Makerere Full Gospel church and once an over seer of all full gospel churches, Naguru was the first church.

The first Pentecostal missionaries held their meeting in Nakawa and because most of the converts were in that area, they had no choice but to establish a church there.

Resistance to the first Pentecostal missionaries

The  missionaries hailed from Glad Tidings Church Vancouver, Canada.  They had been in Taiwan, Fromosa Island and had missionaries in the Northern part of Canada where the Eskimos lived.

That was not enough; they still sought God for other places to evangelise.

"In 1955, when they prayed and fasted, Maureen Gaglardi saw the word Uganda in a vision.  She never knew Uganda," Mutebi narrates.

Gaglardi explained the vision to her pastor, Reg Layzell who was also the President of Glad Tidings missionary society.

He shared with other pastors and they got the world map and searched for Uganda, but to them, it sounded like a Latin or an African word.

From the map, they found out that Uganda was a British protectorate and it was in East Africa.

In December1956, the missionaries applied to come to Uganda, but they were not allowed.

During the British Protectorate time, such matters were referred to the Archbishop of Uganda, Bishop Leslie Brown.

He said the Anglicans and the Catholics were enough and there was no need for the Pentecostals to come.

The missionaries included Hugh Layzell, the son of Reg Layzell with his children; Sharon, John and James. There were also Dorothy Williams and Verma Cole who were single women in their early 30s.

Having been denied entrance to Uganda, the missionaries went to Kenya.

Hugh pastored Elim Pentecostal Church in Mombasa while the two ladies taught in mission schools as they waited upon God to grant them entrance in Uganda.

Entrance is finally granted

 In 1959, Reg, came to visit the missionaries in Kenya. His other intention was to see the governor of Uganda, Sir Frederick Crawford.  

When he saw him, Crawford told him to return to his country and apply. When the governor read through the proposal he said: "if you should come to Uganda, you should do it now (1960)."

It was then that Reg informed the missionaries in Kenya to come to Uganda. By May 1960, the missionaries were in Uganda.

The first crusade

The missionary had their first crusade at Nakawa near the market, which was in an open-air place. And in it a dumb woman spoke. People were shocked and surprised at what was happening.

"The songs that were being sung were new to people's ears," Mutebi recalls.

"These songs were translated from English to Luganda, like Guggudde (the burden of sin was rolled away) and Yesu Mulungi (God is good).

People would dance and clap their hands, which was considered obscene because in other churches believers had to be humble."

Sincerely a new religion had come with false prophets. To make things more inexplicable, miracles were done as believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.

"That was a new thing among Ugandans and they took it as chaos," Mutebi explains.

Since many people had got saved, and Naguru was the nearest place where they could fellowship from, the missionaries procured a piece of land there.

In 1960 the church was built to accommodate the growing number of believers under Gospel Mission's name.

 The major crusade

In the same year, the missionaries procured a piece of land from Makerere University.

Mutebi says the part where Makerere Full Gospel Church towers, was used as a rubbish pit.

Here the believers cleared the place and a tent was established for people to fellowship from there. However, in 1961, a permanent structure was erected.

There was also an evangelistic crusade at Mengo ( Kabaka Njagala) under a mango tree by an Evangelist American woman as Dr. Joe Kayo made translations.

She changed people's perspective about the gospel and many came to know Christ.

In that crusade, Princess Muggale; sister to Ssekabaka Sir Edward Muteesa II gave her life to Christ when her son was miraculously healed.

Muggale who had been listening to the preacher on her veranda obeyed when the woman of God commanded those who had the sick to lay hands on them.

Immediately she did, the boy got healed. "The boy was paralytic all his life, but when his mother laid hands on him, he walked again," Mutebi explains.

"After that miracle, the princess came to the crusade and she was baptised in the spirit."

With more people coming to Christ, the more other people failed to comprehend the converts.

"People called us all sorts of names including night dancers and insane," Mutebi says.

"Others said our cries exiled the Kabaka Mutesa II. While some nicknamed us Gugudde from the songs we sang."

Despite that, the "new religion' continued to spread all over Uganda. When the white missionaries left, Pastor Joshua Kamya took over the church.