News From Africa

Cliff Pash
Apr 2, 2009

I have now been in Uganda for the past two weeks. As most of you know, I needed an extended time in the USA, being gone from the mission for a total of 4 months. God was so good to me and I returned filled with hope and, having found the presence of God, knew this would be a good year.

The ATK Mission Base at Nawansega is doing well. Two more orphan children were added while I was gone and the ministry is going well. We have a total of 18 children now living at the ATK Mission Base. Thank you for your support of these Fatherless children.

Upon my return, there were 340 in church to greet me and to tell me of their love for me. Actually, when I arrived, there were more than 100 who came out from the church about 200 yards to greet the van and begin dancing around the van and making a lot of noise. So many were so happy at my return.

ATK Ministries has been helping the village keep the bore hole (water well) in good repair. Upon my return, we needed to give $100.00 total for the repairs. It is the mission of ATK to help the community in every way that we find possible.

Some of you know that we have been lending our tents to Islamic families to use for weddings and funerals for the past year. We now are concerned about the repair of this equipment. However, the people in the village are very grateful to ATK Ministries because we are so generous with our property.

Since God has so blessed us with some extra items, we shall continue to share in that which God has given to us through you, our generous donation base. I thank God for moving on your hearts.

Pastor Festus struggled with some issue, but God is always faithful. Pastor Festus was traveling through Bugiri District preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God and God blessed him. IN this village of Bukewa, people began coming to Christ in great numbers. Last Sunday, there was 181 people at the church service.

Understand that there is no church building. The people meet under a tree. A friend was able to purchase a small tarp, but it does not keep the sun or the rain off of more than 25-35 people. This humble beginning has caused the people of this area to marvel at the goodness of our God.

Today, 2 April 2009, we erected a tent on that property that will hold more than 200 people and will keep the sun and rain off of the people when they come there to worship.

The days are coming when I may ask you to pray about constructing a permanent structure on this land which was donated to ATK Ministries in Bukewa.

We are not in a position to receive these lands in our area for we do not have the monies to develop the land nor do we have enough staff at the present time to staff the churches that we are being asked to build.

The fields are white unto harvest, but we have so few laborers. The fields are whiter unto harvest than I have ever realized. Now is the time to go forth into the ripened fields and bring in the harvest. I invite you to come to Uganda for a period of time long or short. You will see the Book of Acts come alive as you pray and as you preach. We will raise up soldiers in the Army of the Lord. Muslims will turn from that religion in great numbers.

I came to Uganda to preach the message that Jesus preached. “The Kingdom of God is near, repent and believe” . When the Kingdom of God is near, the sick are healed and the demons will flee. Now, ATK is charged with the further responsibility of making disciples who will preach this message and demonstrate the goodness of our God.

I now find myself in this position of fulfilling this mandate through the construction of churches so that the people can come to know our God through Jesus Christ.

I thank you for praying for us, for supporting us emotionally, and supporting us financially. God bless each of you for doing so.

United States and in the world. The financial difficulties have reached us here at Advancing The Kingdom Ministries. If you can help, we love you and appreciate you so much.

Cliff Pash
Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc.

Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc. is a Kansas not-for-profit which receives donations under deductibility provisions of IRS Code 501(c)(3). Financial Statements are available upon request.

Donations are accepted through PayPal (www.advancingthekingdom.org), Mastercard, Visa or Personal/Corporate Check.

Lawrence, KS66046
P.O. Box 3321
Advancing The Kingdom

I am sure you are aware that these are difficult financial times for so many in the

We have also been asked to receive donated land in the villages surrounding Nawansega, including Busola, Bukenke and Buave. We have been offered land (donated) in the town of Busesa also.

We are now registering a Second church under the Advancing The Kingdom Ministries. This church is in a village called Bukewa in Bugiri District, the district next to ours. In 2007, Pastor Festus began the church at Nawansega. In time, he felt God calling him in a different direction and he went back to Kitale, Kenya.

Cliff Pash
Mar 24, 2009

Dear Readers: I have returned to Uganda after a very much needed 4 months of spiritual, emotional and physical renewal. I am filled with renewed vision and enthusiasm.

During my time in the USA, Muslim evangelists came to conduct meetings in the network of villages we are ministering in. Because of their confrontational language towards the Christian Community of ATK Church, the local Islamic leaders asked the Muslim evangelists to depart.

To me, this story was an amazing sign that our work here has been bearing much fruit. The following are some thoughts I have on the matter and to ask you to stand with us in this fight to establish the Name of our God in this network of Villages.

Community Transformation

The Busoga tribe in Uganda became Islamic sometime in the 1800’s. Nobody seems to be able to explain the cause of their conversion to Islam. This is the only people group in Uganda that is majority Islamic, estimated by some to be over 70%. The network of villages that we are ministering in is over 95% Islamic.

There must be a community transformation of the Busoga tribe. Somehow, Islam must be discredited at the particular time when the peoples are wondering why they are Muslims. There must be a great turning from Islam. My question is this: Why has this not happened?

The answer may be in our current ways of promoting Christianity. The first model to discus is the model of the Crusade or the Evangelistic Campaign. Christians from America come and organize a great Crusade with 30-50,000 people at a great expense. Many are “saved”, healed, delivered and born again. Some will attend a church.

What the Crusade has accomplished is to cause a small handful of individuals to accept Christ and to join a church. Because they are ostracized by the community, there is no community transformation. These “born agains” may remain in the community, but there are very few churches that have the power of God that brings about the real transformation of the lives of those individuals.

There have been many communities transformed as the born agains begin to multiply, but somehow, this has not happened in the Busoga region of Uganda.

The Second model is what is often called “servant evangelism” or some other names whereby a group will come into a community and do good works in serving the community.

Often these groups will begin an orphanage, a school, a medical facility and will offer these services free to the local population. The idea seems to be that by a demonstration of the goodness of the Christian, the local population will turn from their evil ways and will embrace Jesus Christ.

Again, some individuals will join with the American or Western group and will begin to walk in a different lifestyle than the prevailing culture is living. Most of the community will enjoy the benefits of the Christian groups living among them, but will not embrace their religion.

There is a wonderful book “Rediscovering Christianity” that was very helpful to me as to why this model seemingly does not work in our day.

Before Advancing The Kingdom Ministries began to work in these villages, I had a dream of preaching in a mosque and seeing the power of God come down, Muslims weeping, crying, repenting, and shaking under the power of God. God would demonstrate that He is the true God and would demonstrate that He wants to be near these people.

I have not yet spoken in a mosque, but hundreds and hundreds have confessed Jesus Christ. We do not, however, see enough of these baby Christians attending the ATK Christ Church in Nawansega.

We have seen many hundreds of salvations, but the culture of the community seems to keep them from pursuing this new relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

There are so many times that Julie and I feel that we are somehow lost and seeking God each day for what we are doing in the network of Islamic villages we find ourselves in, BUT, we recently received a very good report that said we were making a difference.

An Islamic team of missionaries came to our village. (Yes, there are many Islamic Crusades and conferences in Uganda). What followed was very interesting; again, it renewed our hope and gave us confidence that God was working through this ministry in very powerful ways.

As the Islamic team was conducting their meetings, they began to speak very poorly of Jesus Christ and Christians in general. They continued to mock the Christians so badly that the local Islamic leaders became somehow offended.

The local Islamic leaders told the group that the Christians with Advancing The Kingdom were a big blessing to the community in many ways. I understand that they told the Muslim evangelists that the ATK members pray for their sick and are healed that the many other ways that we have reached out to the community.

Then, from the way most Christians would see things, the impossible happened. The Islamic leaders of the village asked the Muslim Evangelists to leave their village.

This is not community transformation as of this date, but it was a great encouragement to us and to all of our team.

What I seem to be saying here is that we do practice a form of “servant evangelism” and we conduct outdoor open air meetings, evangelistic campaigns or crusades.

We are also under the additional pressure of demonstrating a lifestyle of the Christian life. I am finding that this pressure it the most difficult, for this is a 24/7 modeling of the Christian way, and we fail often.

Perhaps the lesson that has been the most powerful to our village or community has been that we suffer from the same problems as they do, but God somehow keeps us strong and we continue to see the hand of God whenever we pray for our neighbors.

Many amazing things are happening since my return, but I will discuss them in a few days with a different report.

Please consider standing with us through this difficult year as the financial situation in Uganda is deteriorating and people are beginning to suffer.

May God bless you and pour His presence upon you, May you see the beauty of God and dwell in His courts each day (ps 27).

Cliff & Julie Pash
Founders & Directors
Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc.

Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc. is a Kansas not-for-profit which receives donations under deductibility provisions of IRS Code 501(c)(3). Financial Statements are available upon request.

Please pray for the Unity of the ATK Team and for God’s Direction as we are being offered land to construct four church buildings in several communities. More on this in my next report.

Donations are accepted through PayPal (www.advancingthekingdom.org), Mastercard, Visa or Personal/Corporate Check.

Advancing The Kingdom
P.O. Box 3321
Lawrence, KS 66046

Cliff Pash
Feb 19, 2009

The purpose of going to church must be more than going to heaven. Through Jesus, we become a representation of God on the earth. As you will see in this article, God desires that through us, His salvation comes to the ends of the earth and His glory is seen among men.
In this season, I believe this purpose is of much greater importance in our day than in many other days.
I believe that Islam will be a greater threat to world peace than was Fascism or Communism. I believe this threat will be with us for 1-2 generations. Radical Islam is alive and doing well in Algeria, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Radical Islam is growing in many other places such as Great Britain, France and Belgium. We will soon be hearing more of this from Canada.
I know the way Christians look at the Koran, but from my side, there is enough truth there that is so twisted that it becomes wickedness. The people believe they are serving God, yet they profane His name every day. The religion keeps God so far that they do not know Him. There is a truth in Islam that is twisted and becomes a great evil.
To meet the threat, God stirs His people with unmerited grace and unprecedented power from heaven. Is anybody listening? American Christianity is all about self affirmation and building up this ministry or that ministry. IN the end, there is no coordinated effort to defeat the enemies of God – here Islam.

Islam is a religion that is held together with demonic spirits (djinn or demons). In Islam, no matter what you believe in your heart, it is very difficult to go against the group. Some of the demonic spirits seem to be very strong. They study the book of the demons (djinn) that is in the Koran. Those who are experts in this demonic realm have become very frustrated with the Advancing The Kingdom Ministry, for their witchcraft has been somewhat powerless in attacking us.

Unfortunately, they have learned from Balaam and learned how to divide the Christians because that is the only way they can defeat us. And now, that brings me right back to the basic problem with Christianity today - it is too much about the self. The one who finds success is blessed and the one who does not is cursed of God. And the power of all is broken.

Now, what is God saying to the Church today? From my side -- Wake Up! See the bigger picture. Prepare your hearts to serve God and God alone. Isaiah says it is too small of a thing to be a servant to God. It is too small of a thing to restore the people of God back to their first love. All this is too small. "I will make you a light to the gentiles (people not of God) so that my salvation will come to the ends of the earth!" (Is 49)
Therefore, I see 4 things that god is saying to the Church today.

1. Learn to become a servant. It is no longer your life and you cannot do what you want to do. We must live for something bigger than ourselves. The Name of God must take precedence over our wants and desires.

2. Turn back to your first love, be restored back to the passion you had on the first day of your salvation. A season of refreshing or a full and total revival comes to the people of God and they are restored back to Him. Love God just as we did on the first day of our initial salvation. May the passion and the joy and the trust that we had in that day be with us once again.

3. Learn to become a light to any people NOT of God. How in the world are you going to minister to Muslim populations? Buddhist? Hindu? Believe me, a healing crusade is only a tiny beginning. If we do not understand any other culture than the one we have come from, we will be very limited in bringing anything of God to another people group.

4. Salvation of mind will and emotion must come to the ends of the earth. Bring the nearness of God to the nations, Bring the presence of God, demonstrate His power and authority, bring His glory. God wants to be near! The Kingdom of God is near!

So far, my limited experience as I learn to do this in cross cultural situation is that this is a message that Muslims are interested in. The only thing that has kept us from wild success has been our own inability to get past ourselves and work only to make the name of the Lord great, to establish the greatness of His Holy Name.

Our Advancing The Kingdom teams are doing great in Uganda. As I prepare for my return to the mission field, I am filled with a greater sense of purpose than ever before. I see the threat clearer and I know God will bring His correction to the church so that we can be what we were created to be.

The church at Nawansega is doing great and God continues to heal, deliver and save the people, so that His name is being made great.

May you be blessed this day. May you always know that God is near you. May you surrender everything to Him so that He might show Himself strong.

Cliff Pash
Founder/Director
Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 3321
Lawrence, KS 66046

Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc. is a Kansas not-for-profit which receives donations under deductibility provisions of IRS Code 501(c)(3). Financial Statements are available upon request.

Please pray for the Unity of the ATK Team. Can you stand with us in prayer and with finances?

Donations are accepted through PayPal (www.advancingthekingdom.org), Mastercard, Visa or Personal/Corporate Check.

Advancing The Kingdom
P.O. Box 3321
Lawrence, KS 66046

Cliff Pash
Feb 2, 2009

The News from Nawansega is below. To read the news of the village first, scroll down. I have been dwelling on the message of Jesus Christ and the message of Paul of Tarsus, and so my somewhat lengthy thoughts are immediately below.

The Message of Jesus Christ -- The Kingdom of God is near, repent and believe the good news! I try to speak the words of Jesus whenever I can. The King's desire is to be near. When the King is near, the domain and dominion of the King is near. When the King is near, the power, the authority and the glory of the King is near. When the King is near, the protection and the provision of the King is near. The Kingdom of God is near!

Now, step into His kingdom and see the world through the eyes of the King (true meaning of repentance), then believe, have trust, have faith that He will shine through us as we allow Him to manifest Himself through us.

Much of the world has a belief that God is far and that we must do certain things to obtain the favor of heaven. Some people will do certain things to keep the judgments of God from coming down or evil from rising up. Many, through amulets (ward off evil) and charms (draw down goodness) are in a continual cycle of fear because God sits up there high on the throne, doing whatever he pleases (Ps 115) and evil has free reign on the earth. This is the way much of the world looks at God.

The Most High God is not in heaven doing whatever He pleases. God is not demanding to be served with punishments being thrown down for not washing properly or kneeling properly. Hebrews says even the angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.

Everything of the Kingdom is the greater serving the lesser. Jesus came to serve the creation, to make that which was created to shine forth with the glory of God, to break the power of the enemies of God within our lives and through us to bring His salvation to the ends of the earth!

God did not sever any relationship with Adam, it was Adam that hid from God. God looked for Adam and Adam was shamed by his behavior and did not want God to be near. In reality, the thought of God being too near is very frightening to many people.

It is we who keep God far. Repent and believe that God desires to dwell among men. God desires to give the gift of Himself to all who will receive it. We need to empty ourselves of us and turn it over to God so that He can be manifested through us.

In short, it is God in search of man, It is man who wants to keep God far -- except when he is in trouble.

The Epistles of Paul seemingly are meant for the believer, with a primary focus being this: How do we live our lives in such a way that the Glory and Power and the Presence of the Most High God will continue to dwell among us. Through Jesus Christ, THIS becomes possible.

Perhaps we can do better to preach the Words of Jesus more than we preach about Jesus. Do not misunderstand me here. Jesus was given all authority and all power over every enemy of God (1 Cor 15) and was given all the authority, power and glory of heaven (Dan 7) so Jesus must be preached.

BUT I find that the words that Jesus spoke bring about an understanding in tribal populations and Islamic populations much more than the preaching about the person of Jesus seems to bring. Muslims have responded and received this word in our little corner of the world.
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The Kingdom of God is near! God will make even the worst of sinners to be a sign and a wonder to the people. God will shine His glory and His Presence through even the worst of sinners because it brings such honor to His name; Through such a people, the name of God is made great and every tribe and every tongue come to know Him as the Lord and there is no other. God is near! He is not far!

NEWS FROM THE VILLAGE OF NAWANSEGA

The Children (16 ranging in age from 4 years to 16 years) are doing fine and are now back in school after the long semester break. We are very proud of them as God continues to give them a vision for their lives.

IN this land, many would say we are instilling unrealistic expectations of life in these children, for those with no mother and father should understand their place and lower their expectation s. Again, but for God, this is true. However, our God will raise them up for by doing so, HE will demonstrate His glory to the world.

There was a powerful worship time on Sunday morning during the church service with Kibet teaching the first service and Moses preaching the main service. Outreach teams continue to travel to the surrounding villages bringing the Good News to these remote villages. There were 282 people in church Sunday morning.

One of our young ladies, Maebel, has been undergoing some aggressive and expensive treatments each week for a health condition that seemingly will not go away. The current treatment seems to be working. Might God move on your heart to help us with these extra expenses? ($100.00)

During this Malaria season, our medical expenses have been somehow elevated, but today, I believe everybody is healthy. However, our budget has been hit with these extra expenses.

May God bless you richly for your prayers and financial support. We are still in need of the finances to purchase airline tickets for Julie and myself to return to Uganda and Kenya. Your prayers change the world. Please pray for this ministry to the Islamic peoples of Eastern Uganda, the Busoga Tribe.

May our God bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you this day and this week.

Cliff & Julie Pash
Founders/Directors
Advancing The Kingdom
P.O. Box 3321
Lawrence, KS 66046

We encourage you to invite us to speak before your church, small group or circle of friends. We will preach on the parables of Jesus in a Historical context.

Donations are accepted with Personal Checks, MasterCard/Visa and through PayPal which is accessed through the website: www.advancingthekingdom.org

Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc. is a Kansas not-for-profit corporation which receives donations under deductibility provisions of IRS Code 501(c)(3). Financial records are available upon request.

Cliff Pash
Jan 29, 2009

There came a time when I began to wonder why it was that I was always going to church. It seemed to me that I did not “fit in” with the community of faith, the church. As most of us do, I knew that I should lead a better life, but change seemed to be impossible.

I knew I was going to heaven, but that seemed to be a long way off. I knew God loved me and forgave my sins. The problem was that I heard of this love and forgiveness and salvation every single week.

If our Christianity is about going to heaven, there really is nothing more we need to do to get there. We are saved, forgiven and loved. We are going to heaven. There is nothing more we need to do but to accept this fact. Every sinner who confessed Christ as a teenager was going to heaven. Our heavenly salvation was assured.

So why go to church?

Perhaps there is a bigger purpose to our salvation than going to heaven. The bible speaks often of God’s purposes. He desires to raise up a people for Himself that through them, He can display his glory here on the earth.

The purpose for which this is done is so that every tribe and every tongue would come to know Him as the Lord, to make His ways known on the earth, that His salvation would come to the ends of the earth, and finally, so that His glory would fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Now, my whole orientation is becoming the fulfillment of God's purposes on the earth. An immoral life ruins God's reputation in the hearts of other people.

The world will know that God sent Jesus by the way we treat each other -- or live in some sort of community together. If Christians are divided, the world will never accept that God sent Jesus, but if we are ONE, then the world will know that God sent Jesus.

The Kingdom of God is near, the dwelling place of God is to be among His people ON THE EARTH! In Hebrew, Tikkun Olam, we repair or bring repair to the earth. Through us, the earth is restored, renewed, and made better.

The King has always desired to dwell among His people. It is His people who make Him to be far. The dominion of the King is to be with His people, the power of the King, the authority of the King, the glory of the King is to be seen in and through the people He has prepared for Himself.

To fulfill God’s purposes in this life requires a radical re-orientation of a life. To have the King to be near is seeing everything through the eyes of the King and to dedicate one's life to the purposes of God on the earth.

In the same way as a Medieval Knight would give his life to the purposes of the king, so do we give our lives to the purposes of the King of Kings. The Knight would die to protect the king and the kingdom. He would go where he was sent and would do what he was to do. He pledged his life to the king and to the people of the kingdom.

CONCLUSION: if our purpose is make the name of God to be known on the earth, well, we have no power to do so.

We must have something from heaven if we are going to represent heaven on earth. Unless the empowering grace pours down like rain from heaven, we cannot be who God created us to be. Without the Power of God, we cannot do such a thing.

We must learn to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. We must return to the Lord each day. The closest many of us have ever been to the Lord was during those days of our initial salvation experience. Everything in scripture says God wants that relationship to be everyday that follows our initial salvation experience.

If our focus is correct, we will need to be around people who help us to find the Presence and the Power of God. We learn to live in community because we need each other to encourage daily. We are part of a huge army that is confronting the evil of this world each day.

As in individual, the enemies of God find ways of destroying the testimony that God has recreated us to be. When we are in community, the enemies of God have a much more difficult task of destroying that testimony.

NAWANSEGA AND THE ATK MINISTRY IN UGANDA

I have been so grateful for this time of healing of body, soul and spirit. I have now been in the USA for the past 10 weeks. I will return to Uganda around the beginning of March.

The ATK Ministry team is doing a marvelous work in Uganda. The “orphan” children are becoming ministers and worship leaders.

Bible studies are conducted in all the surrounding villages each week. Outreach teams continue to confront Islamic peoples with the reality that God desires to dwell among His people and to make His name great.

The team is strong and the ministry is strong. God is developing Kibet, Moses and Felix to become powerful ministers of this Gospel of the Kingdom.

They are eagerly awaiting my return, but they are doing fine for the time that I am here.

As for Julie and myself, we have been given opportunity to speak in several churches to tell of the wonders that God has done in that village and to speak the messages of Jesus, the message of the Kingdom of God.

God bless you for your prayers and financial support. We are still in need of the finances to purchase airline tickets for Julie and myself to return to Uganda and Kenya. Your prayers change the world. Please pray for this ministry to the Islamic peoples of Eastern Uganda, the Busoga Tribe.

May our God bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you this day and this week.

Cliff Pash
Founder/Director
Advancing The Kingdom
P.O. Box 3321
Lawrence, KS 66046

We encourage you to invite us to speak before your church, small group or circle of friends.

Donations are accepted with Personal Checks, MasterCard/Visa and through PayPal which is accessed through the website: www.advancingthekingdom.org

Advancing The Kingdom Ministries, Inc. is a Kansas not-for-profit corporation which receives donations under deductibility provisions of IRS Code 501(c)(3). Financial records are available upon request.