What Difference Can We Make?

The Miracle of Multiplication

In Mark 6, a large crowd followed Jesus and his disciples to a desolate place.  Having compassion on them, Jesus begins to teach them.  As the day moves to a close, the disciples encourage Jesus to send the people home, as there was nowhere to eat nearby.  Instead, Jesus tells the disciples to give the people something to eat.  How could they possibly do this?  They are too few, and the crowd far too great.  Jesus asks them to see how much food was brought with the crowd.  All they are able to gather are five loaves of bread and two fish.  Jesus takes this meager offering, blesses it, and begins to break it apart and distribute it to the crowd.  When all is said and done, everyone has eaten their fill, and there were twelve baskets of leftovers!  Mark says that the crowd consisted of 5,000 men, which easily puts the crowd over 10,000 people.  It’s an incredible miracle that demonstrates we follow a God of ridiculous abundance and provision.  He takes the little we have to offer and works miracles.

We have often see God do this through our support of Daystar Junior School in the Makindye division of Kampala, Uganda.  What is little to us becomes abundance for them.  A few years ago, we raised around $2,000 for the school, and they were able to install a full commercial kitchen so they could feed the students. Last year, the school was able to purchase farmland with funds we raised so they can begin growing their own food.  Earlier this year, the school was able to purchase wood for new desks.  In each of these cases, God has taken the little bit we’ve been able to provide and done much more than we could have imagined or hoped.  We are expectantly anticipating seeing God turn the little bit of bread we are able to offer into buildings for the school.

About Daystar Junior School

Daystar Junior School was founded in 2015 by Jude Nyanzi.  Jude was moved by the Lord to provide an educational opportunity to the children of the slums, knowing that a strong Christian education is crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty these children and their families are living in. The school opened in 2015 with 197 students.  Our relationship with Jude began when he visited our church in the fall of 2017.  When Jude visited us in 2017, they had 395.  This year, 2023, Daystar has 923 registered students — all squeezed into a mere 15 classes.  To say the school is operating at capacity is an understatement.  They are in desperate need of new facilities.

Turning Bread into Buildings

We are a small church, but we believe strongly in the work Daystar and Jude are doing in their community.  So much so, that we are seeking to raise $100,000 for Daystar by December 31, 2023.  An anonymous donor has generously offered to match any funds donated through Northminster for Daystar, up to that $100,000 by the end of the year.  If we are able to reach our goal, Daystar will have enough for the first floor of the new education building and most of what is needed for the second.

Please take the time to watch the videos, particularly the first one, to learn about Daystar and the project they are embarking on to improve their facilities for their students.  If the Lord moves you to contribute to this project, you can do so by clicking the online giving button to the right, or by sending your donation to:

Madison Heights, VA 24572

Please designate your giving to “Daystar.”  100% of the funds we receive will be passed along to the school.

Thank you, in advance, for joining us as we turn our “bread” into buildings for Daystar Junior School!

• Daystar Junior School Website
• Daystar Junior School Facebook
• Daystar’s “BoSS” Project Page (while you are welcome to donate directly to Daystar, only funds sent through Northminster will be matched)