Our call is to trade bullets for bibles, transform prostitutes into preachers, and mercenaries into missionaries. Favor International is an indigenous organization that arose in 2004 in response to God’s heart for northern Uganda during the most horrific war in African history. We are indigenous leaders multiplying leaders on the front lines, and we are a support network throughout the U.S. and Australia holding the ropes so that all whom God calls can go to hell and back to “rescue those being led away to death.” Together we can partner with what God is doing in East Africa by raising awareness, rallying people to pray, letting the world know the powerful works of God, building a team to share the vision, and financially supporting and raising support for the various projects of Favor of God. God has strategically placed Favor International in order to act as a “birthing room” for many of His plans and purposes in northern Uganda. As an inter-denominational group of Christian ministries with a passion for the unity of the Body of Christ, FI has been used to unite the leaders of many churches together to bring transformational revival to all areas of life – spiritual, physical, social, emotional, economic, academic, and moral. Revival isn’t finished if it’s not complete. It takes the totality of our lives, and the unity of the commissioned church, to prepare revival. Therefore, our motto is “All of us serving to see the totality of God’s kingdom transforming the totality of nations.” Revival must touch every aspect of society to last. If any area of life is transformed and the others are ignored, the impact will be minimal and the change will probably be a temporary experience. How We Got Here
By 2004, northern Uganda had experienced 20 years of horrific warfare that the government and people were unable to end for themselves. A generation of children lost their parents, died, or were conscripted to brutally kill others and trained to disdain life. A UN official summarized, "I cannot find any other part of the world that is having an emergency on the scale of Uganda, that is getting such little international attention." Hope was lost, and horrors were real. Military options to defeat the LRA were not working. Two million people were forcibly interned in IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps with tremendous poverty and little recourse to defend from attacks. Healthcare, education, food, culture, and practical training in farming and construction were forgotten. The spiritual darkness was so thick “you could cut it with a knife.” Unforgiveness, division, and willful ignorance kept those few who could help from risking their lives to help. A generation and a society was marked for annihilation and was losing when God intervened. Some Ugandans continuously reached out in prayer and praise. At the same time, an American third-generation missionary, Carole Ward, was praying, “Lord, send me where no one wants to go, to do what no one wants to do.” She came to Uganda in 2001 and heard about the war in the north. As all church leaders and westerners were leaving the warzone, she moved up to pray and to live in the IDP camps the government created to reduce the LRA’s capacity to kidnap more recruits. After 6 months of intercessory prayer, Ugandans came to the hut with desperate visions for reaching their people with Bibles, and training, evangelism, and many more. The government required registration to work in the high-profile war area, so the indigenous missionaries formed Favor of God Ministries in 2004. Though the urgent needs around were infinite, God said, “Build My house, and I’ll build yours.” Immediately Favor opened a simple community House of Prayer in Gulu, the regional capital in the center of the war. The miracles, networking, and teaching occurring from the House of Prayer launched an indigenous missionary movement to end the war by the power of the Gospel. The ministry quickly grew to 70 indigenous missionaries who have distributed 40,000+ Bibles, trained 5,000+ pastors, adopted 32 children and built a school with 400 attending, graduated 500+ leaders from a Bible college, reached 40,000+ through trauma counseling, built the first Christian radio station, held crusades with 1 million+ attending, trained government leaders, conducted mobile medical clinics for 8,000+ patients, and more. In 2005, Favor organized a national prayer event in the Gulu stadium to unify the tribes, leaders, churches, and regions in repentant prayer for the ending of the war. Simultaneously, Joseph Kony pronounced that his power over the land was lost, according to his former right-hand general (who has since converted to Christianity and attended Favor’s New Hope Bible College). The LRA evacuated from Uganda, eventually leading to peace talks. Today the powers of darkness over the land and the people have been broken so that the war is over and people are rebuilding their lives and the lives of others. Hope has returned, and there are tangible signs everywhere in northern Uganda. Those who were once victims of war are now zealous instruments of revival in Uganda and neighboring South Sudan, which has experienced similar traumas to this day.
