Vancouver, Canada, 1955
During a revival service meeting (accompanied with prayer & fasting) , that was taking place at Glad Tidings Church, Vancouver - Canada in 1955, a young woman called Maureen Garlandi say the word 'Uganda' in a vision of flames of fire. Garlandi explained the vision to her pastor, Reg Layzell who was also the President of Glad Tidings missionary society.
He also shared with other pastors and they got the world map and searched for Uganda, but to them, it sounded like a Latin or an African word.
From the map, they found out that Uganda was a British protectorate and it was in East Africa.
Our story
When Pastor Layzel was in Mombasa Kenya with other missionaries in 1955, they had a calling to establish a ministry in Uganda but by then, they were denied a permit by the British governor to Uganda who had made it clear that only Roman Catholic and Anglicans were the only permitted Christians in the country.
For Five years, Layzel with his fellow ministers prayed for a door to open in Uganda, and in 1960, they were allowed into Uganda. Layzel became the first person to be allowed to officially establish a pentecostal church in Uganda and he laid the foundation for the pentecostal movement in Uganda.
Princess Mugale sister to the late Kabaka Muteesa at the opening of the Glad Tidings Mission
Layzell established the Glad tidings mission in the heart of the Buganda Kingdom in Kampala which was opened by Princess Muggale who was a sister to Ssekabaka Muteesa, former Kabaka of Buganda. Princess Muggale was one of the people who received christ as her personal Lord and savior during the mengo crusade. She later officially launched the Makerere full gospel church on December 5th, 1962.
The glad tidings mission has established over 2000 full gospel churches in Uganda with Makerere full gospel church standing as the main church under the leadership of Pastor Fred Wantaate.
First Full Gospel church
In the early 1970's Idi Amin, then President of Uganda banned all religious sects but the Muslims, Catholics and Protestants. He expelled the missionaries including the founders of the Full Gospel Church. The national church leaders, by God's grace, continued to lead a church that had been banned. Ironically and miraculously, instead of weakening the church, the persecutions and arrests caused the church to grow at an amazing rate. The ministry of the Full Gospel Churches of Uganda, to which Makerere Full Gospel Church belongs, has grown be leaps and bounds to over 2000 churches countrywide.
Full Gospel Churchin the tent
Layzell’s baptism at the Kabaka’s lake
There was also an evangelistic crusade at Mengo (Kabaka Njagala) under a mango tree by an Evangelist
American woman as Dr. Joe Kayo made translations.
She changed people's perspective about the gospel and many came to know Christ.
In that crusade, Princess Muggale; sister to Ssekabaka Sir Edward Muteesa II gave her life to Christ when her son was miraculously healed.
Muggale who had been listening to the preacher on her veranda obeyed when the woman of God commanded those who had the sick to lay hands on them.
Immediately she did, the boy got healed. The boy was paralytic all his life, but when his mother laid hands on him, he walked again.
After that miracle, the princess came to the crusade and she was baptised in the spirit.