“I don’t know when and how I was born. I don’t even know who my parents were. By the time I was old enough to understand, I was in the streets of Kampala, Uganda, being taken care of by fellow street kids. I don’t know how I survived the dirt, hunger, coldness, disease, and danger! I don’t even know how a stranger named Rev. Kefa Ssempangi decided to take me off the streets. All I know is that this Good Samaritan gave me more than shelter, food, and clothing.”
Richard Sempa
I met Richard during the fourth gathering of the Lausanne Congress at a breakout session. His background is much like that of many in Uganda, yet his path is filled with hope for the future. You can find more about his story here. Today, he enjoys a lovely family life with his wife Stella and their children: Robin (12), Ronah (10), Randy (7), and Reagan (5).
In 2004, Richard established the Africa Life Youth Foundation. Their vision includes mobile Bible training, child sponsorship, youth camps, student outreach ministry, pro-life initiatives, and church planting. At present, they have successfully planted three churches and aim to establish two new churches each year by reproducing existing ones – click here for more information. Church multiplication is a strategic approach to ensure that more and better disciples are developed.
Here are two statistics that highlight the situation in Uganda:
- Christianity is on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia Pacific (Global Christianity).
- Uganda is ranked #5 for having one of the youngest populations globally, with a median age of 16.9 years.
Richard and I are set to launch a coach training program in January 2026, which will train 5 leaders in Christian coaching, enabling them to train others, including leaders from similar organizations. Our shared objective is for disciples to create more disciples, extending into the third and fourth generations. Ultimately, the churches that train church planters will have leaders available to coach their church planters. The coach training process we are implementing will reflect what InFocus is doing in Project Congo – CLICK HERE.
Multiplication differs from addition, and it is certainly distinct from reproduction. Multiplication speeds up the process of making disciples and planting churches. Focusing on multiplying disciples emphasizes the essentials for a disciple-making movement, while multiplying churches concentrates on the essentials for a church planting movement, where coaching plays a strategic role.
One example of multiplying disciples is known as a 3-Thirds Group. There are certainly other models, but the key ingredients for this model are simplicity and reproducibility. In my experience with the 3-Thirds Group process, I’ve observed a few significant characteristics:
- Disciples understand the value of community.
- Disciples appreciate the strength of Scripture.
- Disciples honor the act of confessing sin.
- Disciples build resilience through repentance.
- Disciples engage by sharing their experiences with others.
These are fundamental aspects of disciplemaking that Jesus demonstrated with His followers, and they are what we aim to focus on in our coach training for Disciplemaking Movements (DMM) & Church Planting Movements (CPM) in Uganda.
Reflection Questions for a Reproducible Disciplemaking Process:
- How purposefully are you assisting others in navigating the 5 points mentioned above?
- Can you depict your process on a napkin?
- Can you describe your process in under 5 minutes?
If you’re interested in a straightforward discipleship group format:
Photo by Random Institute on Unsplash
