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Pentecostal Church History in Uganda cannot be mentioned without mentioning a missionary pastor Hugh Layzel, who traveled with his wife and three children to Africa with a mission to spread the gospel to unreachable places in 1955.
While at that time, only Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries were the only allowed missionaries in Uganda, pastor Hugh risked his life when he traveled to Uganda to establish the first ever pentecostal church in Uganda.
Many pentecostal churches may not say they have roots in the Full Gospel church, but there was someone who paved the way and made the gospel known and accepted to many Ugandans and this was Pr. Hugh Layzell.
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.
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 1600 full gospel churches in Uganda with Makerere full gospel church standing as the main church under the leadership of Pastor Fred Wantaate.
Sadly, in September 2021 Pastor Hugh Layzel passed on at the age of 93 but his impact on Uganda’s church history cannot be forgotten. At the time of his death, the world was experiencing COVID 19 pandemic and with the various travel restrictions, his family could not hold a celebration service for him in Uganda.
One year later the family has chosen to hold a celebration service at Makerere full gospel church on Friday 26th August 2022 from 9:00 am to 12 pm and later treat guests to a lunch at Kampala Serena Hotel at 1:00 pm.
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