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by Danielle Hurley
Pastor Edward's week is full of counseling, visiting the sick and needy villagers, meeting men for one-on-one discipleship, leading his weekly men's discipleship group, coordinating church-wide events, ministering to the Baptist Union pastors, and preparing weekly sermons.
But Edward didn't always envision himself in ministry. Raised by Anglican grandparents who were, "committed to the church, but not the teachings of Christ," Edward never heard the gospel as a child. He completed the first level of high school at the age of 18. For the next four years, he acquired odd jobs, struggling to save enough to complete high school.
 One Sunday morning, at the age of 22, Edward heard a stirring message on the wrath of God, which led him to surrender his life to Christ. The next month, he felt the Lord leading him into full-time ministry. In 2006, he joined a college to train lay readers in the Anglican church where he met Shannon who was training the pastors of the Anglican church in Mukono, Uganda. The students in his lay readers college attended SOS's pastors training one day each week. Edward was drawn to Shannon's preaching, especially his passion to encourage pastors to dedicate themselves entirely to the ministry. Edward realizes, "For the first time I understood the entire gospel clearly."
Unfortunately, his lay readers college ended a month before SOS Ministries' training finished. So he stayed in the Hurley's home to continue to attend SOS's training. "When that training was completed, I continued to stay with Shannon. He spent time discipling me. He offered to pay for the rest of my high school education. In 2007, I joined the final level of high school and continued (my education) to complete my university, where I graduated in 2013. After school, I joined SOS Ministries full time as the pastor of Community Bible Church [CBC] of Kubamitwe."
Serving Together
After returning to Kubamitwe, Edward began to notice a certain Ugandan university student who lived with the Hurleys. Hope, a former Muslim, who gave her life to the Lord at an SOS conference in 2009, stood out above the rest as a young lady devoted to the Lord and His Word. We are thrilled to see the Lord bring them together to serve the Lord as a team! They are planning their wedding for this winter.
Excitement in Ministry
Edward remembers our villages before the birth of CBC. "At first, there was not a single believer in this community. Now there are many testifying and ministering the gospel to others. They are carrying on the work of the ministry, which is expanding the kingdom!" He has observed many changes in our church families who experience less conflict, more love, and more care and respect for one another. He exclaims, "One of my guys who used to neglect his family told me, 'Now I could even die for my family!'"
He has also witnessed drastic growth in the Baptist Union of Uganda (BUU). He notes that most of the pastors in the BUU have changed their perspective of the gospel. The Pentecostal Movement had confused them, but he sees them now coming back to embrace the Word of God.
How to Pray for Pastor Edward and Hope:
* To help our people grow in their love for the Lord
* To save many people in our church who are not yet saved
* Provision for their upcoming wedding
* Strengthen Edward and Hope to continue to serve Him faithfully
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