Hundreds of children gather together to worship through song and listen as a speakers share from the Bible. Scripture Union, similar to school chapel, is a weekly program held in the Empower Community Church in Zirobwe, for all students at our school, Empowered Leaders Academy.
During a recent Scripture Union assembly, a young girl sat among the rest of the children singing the songs she had sung countless times before. She did not think twice about those words which had been written with great conviction and purpose, but instead let the lyrics flow from her mouth out of habit. As a pastor’s daughter, Dorcus Babirye had heard the Scriptures and knew the stories, but she still searched for answers to her uncertainty. Dorcus explained how her father consistently reads the Bible and prays with his ten children each evening before he puts them all to bed for the night.
As Scripture Union continued that day, our volunteer missionary got up to speak to the children about the life of Job, the sin that entered the world through Adam and Eve, and the redemption from sin that we all have because of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection. “All it takes is us asking for forgiveness when we sin.” Dorcus recalled the sermon:
“Salvation is submission to Christ.”
Prior to this, Dorcus had been contemplating what it meant to call Jesus her Savior. She wanted to know that God was real and prayed for Him to reveal Himself to her. One ways she felt God did this was by showing her biological mother to her. When she was just 6 years old, she told God she wanted to see who her mother was in 6 years. This past year, at age 12, her grandmother came to Dorcus and led her to a place in the village where she then stood and pointed to a woman, telling Dorcus that she was her mother. A second experience that Dorcus felt was a revelation from God was during her recent exams at school. She kept getting headaches that were making her sick and holding her back from her full potential as a student. She prayed that even in her sickness she would be able to pass all of her exams. As she thought about her results, she commented on the outcome. “By God’s great grace and mercy, I passed all of my exams. I knew after this that God exists.”
After hearing the message in Scripture Union about forgiveness and trusting God, she felt a calling on her heart to speak up about these things. An altar call was presented and she knew she had to respond. She walked over to one of the Empower a Child staff members and told them that she wanted to accept Christ into her life. Staff and volunteers laid hands on her and prayed with her as she made this decision to give her life over to Christ.
“Not all of our children attend church (on Sundays) because they live far away or come from Muslims families.” stated Sarah Mwondha Ganafa, who oversees our community & spiritual development programs in Zirobwe.
“Scripture Union helps build children who are God fearing. It helps children realize that church is not just for old people, but they have a part to play in God’s Kingdom. We want to see them grow spiritually. We pray that Scripture Union will continue to win souls for the Kingdom.”
Since this experience, Dorcus has been attending church regularly and participating in praise and worship. She now has new meaning and finds deep conviction in the songs she is singing.