On Sabbath, May 16, 2026, the Seventh-day Adventist Church at Bugema University witnessed one of the most significant spiritual awakenings in recent memory as 436 souls stepped into the baptismal waters. The momentous occasion marked the grand finale of the Converts Convention evangelistic campaign that united radio broadcasts across Uganda’s airwaves with an in-person meeting centered on the theme “Celebrating Transformed Lives.”
A message of hope and urgency
The spiritual centerpiece of the day came through Pastor Jim Howard, President of Adventist World Radio, who delivered a powerful message titled “The King is Coming.” Speaking to the thousand-plus gathered at Bugema University, Howard reminded the audience that the return of Jesus is certain, imminent, and should shape how every person chooses to live today.
“We can avoid it. We can deny it. We can ignore it. But we cannot change the fact, the absolute certainty, that the king is coming,” Howard declared. “The Lord Jesus will come, and he will come soon.”
Howard’s sermon, which served as the climax to the series of messages on the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation broadcast on all AWR stations in Uganda and Hope Channel Uganda, emphasized that Christ’s return will be visible, audible, and glorious. He challenged listeners to be spiritually ready, warning against deception and urging commitment to Christ before it is too late.
“Don’t procrastinate in giving your life to Jesus, friends. You do not want to hear Jesus say, ‘I never knew you.’ You want to hear him say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ Enter into the joy of thy Lord,'” Howard said during the altar call.
Testimonies of transformation
The power of the radio broadcasts became evident as individuals shared stories of how radio waves had reached into their lives and completely transformed them.
A warrior's journey to forgiveness
One of the most powerful testimonies came from John, a Turkana warrior from Kenya whose life had been consumed by tribal conflict. John grew up in a pastoral culture where cattle were revered as gods and fighting over grazing lands and water sources was a way of life. For John, life meant only one thing: the cycle of killing, stealing, and tribal conflict. God did not exist in his world.
Everything changed when his younger brother was shot and killed during a cattle raid. Consumed by rage, John vowed to find and kill the man responsible for his brother’s death. But when he received a GodPod, a handheld audio device preloaded with biblical messages, something unexpected happened.
As John listened to messages emphasizing forgiveness and the command not to repay evil for evil, his hardened heart began to break. He described initially turning off the device, unable to accept what he was hearing. But as the messages continued to repeat, the Word of God penetrated the walls around his heart.
“I said that person who killed my brother, I will forgive him today,” John testified. “Because I have also made a lot of mistakes. I have killed many people. I said in my heart, I will leave that to God.”
For the first time in years, John felt freedom. He no longer carried the burden of avenging his brother’s death. Instead, he had found peace in Christ.
From witchcraft to worship
Perhaps the most dramatic transformation came from Umar Alons, a prominent witch doctor who had practiced for 45 years. Alons had made pacts with demonic spirits, accumulated 40 wives, and made a covenant that water would never touch his body.
One day, he accidentally tuned to AWR Messenger FM and heard teachings about the gospel. His heart was suddenly “overjoyed like never before.” He kept listening, and despite threats that he would die if he got baptized, he decided to follow Jesus.
“Although I was threatened that if I got baptized, I would die, as you can see, I am not dead,” Alons testified with a smile.
When Adventist pastors explained that baptism into the Seventh-day Adventist Church meant he could have only one wife, Alons made an extraordinary decision. He dismissed 39 of his 40 wives, keeping only one. His transformation became a living testimony that no life is too far gone for God’s redemptive power.
Why radio ministry succeeds where traditional evangelism fails
The convention highlighted a remarkable reality: radio evangelism has proven more effective than traditional methods in reaching communities that the church had previously been unable to penetrate.
Pastor John Kaganzi, who serves as Executive Secretary of the Southwestern Uganda Field and manages Messenger FM, explained the phenomenon. The church had attempted for 78 years to reach cattle-keeping communities in southwestern Uganda with little success. Yet through radio broadcasts, the gospel has penetrated these communities in ways that in-person evangelism could not.
Culturally, those people don’t like to listen to anyone who is not one of them. But on the radio, they listen to someone they are not seeing, and they can easily accept when they hear you articulating messages very well,” Kaganzi explained.
Additionally, these pastoral communities spend all their time with cattle in remote areas. Calling them to evangelistic meetings is impractical, but radio waves find them wherever they are in the fields or in their homes, tending their livestock.
The statistics tell the story: through the Mara Vision Outreach Ministry partnering with AWR’s Godpods in Kenya’s northern regions, “hundreds of Morans” have been baptized individuals from warrior tribes that had long resisted the gospel message.
A network spanning a nation
The scale of Adventist World Radio’s presence in Uganda is remarkable. According to Pastor Isaac Kugonza, the AWR coordinator for Uganda, the radio network now includes the following:
- Prime Radio (central Uganda)
- Maranatha FM (eastern Uganda and far eastern regions)
- Ebenezer FM (far eastern areas)
- Orion FM (northern Uganda)
- Vine FM (western Uganda)
- Light FM (southwestern Uganda, near the Rwenzori Mountains)
- Messenger FM (southwestern Uganda) among others
“Literally the footprint of AWR is in every corner of the country,” Kugonza reported, though efforts continue to reach broadcast valleys where the signal cannot yet penetrate.
What makes radio converts unique
Pastor Kaganzi shared an insight about the distinctive nature of radio converts. Unlike converts from short-term evangelistic campaigns, radio listeners engage with the gospel over extended periods. By the time they decide to seek baptism, they have already been thoroughly grounded in the knowledge of the truth.
“By the time they choose to call and look for someone to baptize them, they are already grounded in the knowledge of the truth,” Kaganzi explained. “I am an example. I first listened to the radio waves, but it took me a full year to call for someone to baptize me. By the time I got baptized, I had even preached to three other boys and we were baptized together.”
This means radio converts arrive at baptism fully prepared, often having already discipled others in the faith.
A vision for continued expansion
The leadership of AWR in Uganda is not content to rest on these accomplishments. Plans are underway to expand coverage through:
- Shifting transmission towers to more elevated locations to improve signal strength
- Establishing booster stations in strategic locations (Kungu and Kisuro)
- Creating integrated evangelistic campaigns across all AWR stations to speak with “one voice” across Uganda’s diverse linguistic landscape
- Developing a media center at the union level to produce content and coordinate simultaneous evangelistic campaigns across the entire country
- Strengthening partnerships between radio and television, recognizing that multimedia approaches achieve greater impact than either medium alone
Significance of 436 baptisms
As the sun set on May 16, 2026, 436 new believers emerged from the baptismal waters at Bugema University, each representing a decision made within a campaign. Some had listened faithfully to AWR broadcasts. Others had been encouraged by family members touched by the radio ministry. All represented the harvest of seeds planted through radio waves reaching into homes, fields, and hearts across Uganda and beyond.
The baptisms included warriors from Kenya’s pastoral communities, mothers facing impossible circumstances, former practitioners of witchcraft, and ordinary people whose lives were touched by the gospel at a crucial moment.
The challenge ahead
As the convention concluded, church leaders emphasized the importance of continued support for radio ministry. Pastor Kaganzi urged church members to contribute regularly through designated offering envelopes to sustain and expand radio stations.
“The time has come for the radio broadcast to conquer our mission, especially in Uganda Union,” Kaganzi declared. “I would like to implore you to make sure that every Sabbath you contribute an offering in your envelope to support radio evangelism to sustain and expand the radio stations that are already established in Uganda.”
For the leaders of Adventist World Radio from the General Conference, the Uganda convention represented one snapshot of a global ministry. As they prepared to depart, Jim Howard and Pr. Justin Ringstaff carried with them stories of lives transformed: a young woman whose babies live, a warrior who forgave, a former witch doctor who chose to follow Jesus, and hundreds of others whose decisions on that Sabbath will echo through eternity.
The Converts Convention at Bugema University stands as a powerful testament to the reach and effectiveness of media-based evangelism in the 21st century. In an age when many wonder how the gospel can penetrate increasingly isolated and hostile communities, the story of 436 baptisms achieved through the faithful broadcasting of God’s Word offers hope.
As church members returned home and radio listeners continued to tune in to AWR broadcasts, the message was clear: the King is coming, and lives are being transformed in preparation for His arrival. The radio waves that carried Jim Howard’s message to thousands will continue broadcasting the gospel to those who, like John the warrior and Nalongo the desperate mother, are searching for hope in a troubled world.
The harvest continues. The work expands. And through the airways and into the hearts of people across Uganda and Africa, the gospel message persists: there is still time to prepare. There is still time to respond. The King is indeed coming.
The Seventh-Day Adventist Church at Bugema University, in partnership with Adventist World Radio and the Uganda Union Mission, remains committed to reaching souls for Christ through innovative media ministry. For more information about becoming part of God’s family or supporting radio evangelism, contact your local Seventh-day Adventist church or tune in to AWR broadcasts.
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