In 1994, Barbara Tumwine was attending a conference at her high school that was run by Scripture Union. During the conference, Barbara says she felt convicted by the truth of the Gospel, and chose to make a public profession of faith.
Almost 30 years later, Barbara works for Langham in the African region as a Regional Coordinator. She has previously worked as Preaching Movement Coordinator (PMC) for Uganda, before being invited to take on the role as Regional Coordinator by the African Director of Langham Preaching. She started this role in May 2022.
“My role involves working with the Preaching Movement Coordinators in the seven countries of Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda to grow viable preaching movements,” she shares. “I follow up the PMCs in these countries to keep them on track with their planned activities. I also serve as a link between the PMCs and the continental office which is more of an administrative role.”
The impact of Langham in the African Region
The need for the work of Langham is vast, but it can feel like the reality of impact is more like a drop in the ocean, with so many more church leaders and their parishes requiring help.
Barbara shares, “There are so many preachers and tens of thousands of churches and while preaching does happen in the churches and the marketplace we have barely reached a tenth of the population.”
However, where people are being reached, the impact is felt.
Barbara noted that in some countries there are pastors who are seeking out Langham Preaching for training and partnership following on from positive interactions with them.
Barbara shared that in March of 2023, she was involved in coordinating two Vision Bearer’s Consultations in both Uganda and Burundi.
“This is a meeting where we invite key church leaders and leaders from theology training institutions and parachurch organisations, and share the vision and ethos of Langham Preaching with them. They are also invited to partner with us in advancing this vision to other church leaders. I am glad to share that at both events, a good number of the targeted leaders participated and we expect many more pastors to participate in preaching clubs known as ushirikas and in future training,” she says.
Personal Encouragement
Barbara is a passionate Christian and enjoys working with different individuals in the Langham Preaching family.
“I think it is a great team of Christ’s servants,” she shares. “I am passionate about the Bible and so I generally enjoy all aspects of my work, study, and preparing lessons for training.”
Barbara shared that something she found encouraging to come out of Langham Preaching was that in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the Anglican church there gives more responsibilities to pastors who’ve received training through Langham. This is such an encouragement for those who support Langham and is a further encouragement to pastors to receive more training and Biblical understanding.
As Barbara continues her work, she shared that she hopes and prays for more viable preaching movements across the region that are able to be self-supported, self- propagated and to self-govern.
Please pray for Barbara as she continues her work with Langham to share the Gospel across the African region.