In Uganda, growth and a spiritual attack

MITYANA, Uganda — Christians in this rural, East African village found small statues, called fetishes, at the foundation of their new church building, still under construction.

Many Ugandans practice traditional religions, said Isaac Sanyu, a minister and church worker in the country’s capital, Kampala, and see growing churches as a threat.

SanyuThe fetishes were “thrown at severalpoints of the foundation structure of the building,” Sanyu said. The church’s minister, Michael Simbwa, gathered the congregation “to pray against the evil, spiritual attack on the mission of the church.”

But they did not remove the fetishes. Instead, a group of leaders and members of the Kampala Church of Christ who support ministry in the village traveled there, gathered the statues and burned them “with fire in the name of Jesus Christ,” Sanyu said.

“The growth of the church has been met with numerous challenges,” he added, “and as such the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues to fill gaps and transform lives.

“Despite all that is going on, God continues to do amazing things in the midst of his people.”