Graduating to the Next Step

by L. Charles Jackson

After many years of labor and prayers, this spring we celebrated the first graduation of the new Knox School of Theology in Mbale, Uganda. It was my last time to address the school as its principal, and I was overwhelmed. For my wife Connie and me, this event was one of the most emotional, joyful, and amazing moments in our life in the ministry. We didn’t know what to make of the flood of emotions coming together all at once—joy; thankfulness that we were finished after years of labor, mixed with a serious sense of loss and homesickness for Africa; appreciation for deep friendships; and an overpowering feeling of hope for what this graduation represented for the church in Africa. It wasn’t just the culmination of ten years of our lives; it was an encounter with the beauty of God’s work. It was the end of our work in Uganda, but for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), it was a great new moment in our church’s history. On May 24, 2025, we granted four diplomas and ten bachelor’s degrees in ... Read more

Churches and a School in Mbale, Uganda

by L. Anthony Curto, Brian T. Wingard, Philip T. Proctor, Jonathan B. Falk

The OPC Committee on Foreign Missions has been working in Uganda for thirty years. Others, who were there before us, asked us to work in the east, around Mbale. Rev. Dr. L. Anthony Curto (who served 1995–1999) began by helping the Presbyterian Church of Uganda plant churches in the villages and train men to be pastors, ruling elders, and deacons. Soon, with the establishment of Westminster Theological College, pastoral training was being done in a school setting. When Tony moved to begin church planting in Nakaale, Karamoja, Rev. Dr. Brian T. Wingard (who served 1998–2001) and Rev. Jonathan B. Falk (1999–2002) continued the pastoral training in Mbale until Tony’s return (2001–2004). Then, as the chapter of our work at Westminster Theological College closed, a new one began. Rev. Philip T. Proctor (2003–2011) arrived to start Knox Theological College. He would be helped there by Brian Wingard (2007–2011) and others until the work was eventually taken up by Rev. Dr. L. Charles Jackson ... Read more

What the Church Is in the World to Do

by Danny E. Olinger

On March 26, 2025, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shut down its foreign mission endeavors. Mission workers were let go, tendered severance packages, or offered other positions in the PCUSA. In its announcement, the denomination included a statement, “Four Waves of Mission,” about its work in foreign fields since 1789. According to it, the major achievements of the first wave, 1789–1958, were the establishment of the inaugural Protestant missions board in the United States and the sending of missionaries that led to the opening of hospitals, clinics, and schools around the world. The second wave started in 1958 and saw mission stations dismantled and resources turned over to local groups. The third wave, beginning in the 1970s, saw partnerships with other faith traditions. Mission networks were developed that “offered a U.S. presence in the world that often radically contrasted with that of large transnational corporations and U.S. government policies.” It was also at this time that “humanitarian ... Read more