There is a moment of paradigm shift when the work we are called to do changes from monotony to excitement. The DNA’s training in biblical worldview has helped many Christians understand that the work God has given them is their calling to serve Him. This principle was revolutionary to educator Godfrey Kyazze and is having a growing impact on the nation of Uganda.
Godfrey taught in Uganda for two years after completing his undergrad in secondary education. He was questioning his purpose in life and struggling in the field of education. Even though he was a teacher, he recounts having a negative attitude toward education. He spent all the time he could spare away from education to serve in Christian ministries. It was during this season that he attended his first DNA vision conference. Here is how he describes his experience:
It was the first I heard a discussion about worldview…and how the Bible can actually be applicable in every aspect of life. And I took some time in prayer asking God what my purpose in life could be and God had used different circumstances to point me to education. [At the vision conference] I started to see that God is concerned about every aspect of life. That’s when God started to direct my heart toward education as one of the places where I could disciple the nation from this perspective. At that time it became exciting. Even being a teacher became exciting.
Godfrey grew up as the second youngest of a large family with a single mother. He became a Christian in the last years of high school and went on to study secondary education at university. After he learned about the biblical worldview for education, he realized that education was his calling and platform to disciple his nation, Uganda.
Since this time, Godfrey has married. He and his wife are raising four children. Through studying the Bible to understand a biblical perspective on education, he became convicted to homeschool his children. He and his wife have created homeschooling curriculum, previously non-existent in Uganda, to train their children in Christian principles from the African perspective. This new curriculum includes training in African history and economics from a biblical worldview.
After creating these materials, Godfrey learned that many other Christian schools desired to teach from this perspective and use the curriculum. Since not every parent has the ability to homeschool their children, this opportunity excited Godfrey, as he could help more children and teachers learn from a biblical worldview. Godfrey characterized his perspective on education as a system which incorporates biblical principles, biblical thinking, and biblical reasoning into training of any kind.
Besides creating this curriculum, Godfrey began to question how could he further use education to disciple his nation. He decided to launch the Master’s Institute for Education (MIE) as the platform for a new university, now under construction on a 13-acre piece of land. MIE has a vision to offer degree programs in education, political science, and business from a biblical worldview. Students trained in these three disciplines will be equipped to engage the nation of Uganda in education, law, politics, policy, and business, through the perspective of a biblical worldview, and work towards the transformation of the nation.
Exciting to hear for Uganda. (Tell Shawn and Amy Carson.)
I have also had the privilege of working with Godfrey and Olga, along with several others in their network of influence, through a graduate-level distance-learning course in Christian education we teach. Godfrey and Olga are a great gift to Uganda, “for such a time as this.”
I’ve had the privilege of working with Godfrey from here in Seattle where I have hosted him in my home several times, and I endorse his work 100%. It is a herculean task to change the mindset of an entire country, but Godfrey was willing to stick his neck out and exchange a secure job for an unpredictable income to launch this mission for the good of his country. May God grant him and MIE a success as they strive to integrate a biblical worldview into the Ugandan education system and convince more parents to take ownership of their children’s education.