A call to return to the cross | BUILD Conference | uganda

From 7 to 9 May 2025, the town of Pallisa in Uganda hosted the BUILD conference in an atmosphere of fellowship and great spiritual thirst. Over a hundred church leaders from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo gathered at Kings Kids Nursery and Primary School for three days of teaching focused on the call to return to the foundation of the cross.

The program, consisting of two or three sessions a day, was punctuated by times of worship led by local youth, sharing of the Word and moments of fellowship. The main speakers, pastors Stephen Gachengo from Kenya and Lazaro Maalim from Tanzania, delivered a clear, uncompromising message: the Gospel must first transform the life of the person responsible before it can touch the Church. Far from conventional speeches, they called on the participants to examine their walk, to reject the false gospels, and to resolutely choose the apostolic path.

The messages highlighted the urgent need for God’s servants to be rooted not in appearances or titles, but in a personal revelation of the cross. Without this revelation, teaching becomes sterile, hearts remain unchanged, and the Church loses its strength. Through the scriptures, Stephen and Lazaro emphasized that God is not looking for numerous or spectacular ministries, but for faithful men, like Timothy and Titus, capable of laying spiritual foundations and nurturing God’s people with integrity.

This event left its mark on people’s hearts through its simplicity, its depth and the clarity of its call. It left a powerful message in its wake: in an increasingly noisy and scattered Christian world, the cross remains the only foundation on which to build for the long term.

All the sessions are available in replay on the YouTube channel: CTMI East Africa