Assemblies of God started with five people who were hungry for bible study and people who were praying the country that had just suffered ethnicism, and political regimes. Their intentions were not initially to establish a church but people’s doctrines were so full of ignorance and a diluted gospel, leading people astray this created a need within this couple and a hunger of the Word within people hence starting a bible study. From a few neighbor’s they went to their local church with; and because cells had not been started by the church, people really wanted to be free, to grasp spiritually. Their local church kept having leadership issues and they believed the major reason was because there was no discipleship, so the people just like Paul addressed the Corinthian church telling them that He does not speak with them as mature children, but as enfants because there is much sin in the congregation.

They kept growing rapidly because people would invite others and tell them to join. They continued with our local church while also helping in their own home and neighborhood. Eventually they had people who were so thirsty and hungry for the word of God, some started getting born again, others invited their families and friends then later something that started as a prayer meeting and bible study grew up into a move of evangelism and outreach so they would have Wednesday bible study and then went to evangelize after the service. After all this growth it still wasn’t in their dreams or intentions to start another church they just wanted to help and reach out to their friends and neighbors who needed Jesus and the discipleship classes.

Their first discipleship class was on the fundamental biblical truths of Salvation. This was the first class they taught because the church was full of legalism there was no life in it. Soon enough a word went to the leadership of the church and they realized that this couple were doing a bible study at home and that they were evangelizing but because they did not know the couple’s intentions they approached them and the couple explained that they were just helping people and not keeping them and that starting a church is not the goal at all. In fact, there was even no way to a start a church in that period of time because the government had released an order that the churches that were already establish in the land were enough and no one will be granted the legal right to start a new one. They knew that but they also had a passion and a zeal to see that the believers get the right food so that their faith will be strengthened but most importantly that they may be transformed more and more into the image and likeness of Jesus and attain spiritual maturity.

Pastor John and Christine Gatabazi started in 1989 and in 1990 God started opening doors and people started coming in multitude to listen to the preaching of the good news and then they would send them to their local church to be baptized because it was a Pentecostal church the only thing that was lacking is that they didn’t have discipleship and to make it worse they did not want them to help with it either and rejected the woman and her husband because they had different priorities. They ended up refusing to baptize those they took to them just because they knew that they were coming from their home, rejected those who wanted to be married and whenever they heard that a choir member or other people who have other responsibilities in the church have stepped in their home to pray, they would completely cut them off, and all the while this couple remained faithful and loyal to them, gave their tithes and offerings, attended all their church programs and kept serving them diligently.

As much as they could have wished to disciple and evangelize under or within the structure of the church they couldn’t because they were rejected and they stayed faithful and committed to the church but they had to continue to help people in our home and neighborhood. And no matter how they tried to spot any another blemish on them, they couldn’t find it so they finally started forming false accusations saying they don’t believe in tithes they called them false teachers and rebels but did not have proof whatsoever. Pastor Gatabazi had a bachelor’s degree in theology same as his wife who they were doing the ministry together she was an employed teacher at the assemblies of God bible school in Tanzania and because of all they knew they felt it was mandatory for them to give out what they were given to teach others what they’ve been taught as well. They could not just wait and cross their hands and sit while people perished yet there was a calling upon their lives that God had also equipped them to execute; so they volunteer to help from their neighborhood and it grew to the extent they would have crusades right there in the streets and people would be healed and delivered on the streets.