By John Habarurema, 29th March 2026.

First got to know Pastor John Ekudu as a student at Makerere University Kampala when he was Dean of Students at Kabanyolo in the early eighties.
As a young and inquisitive university student with so many questions about faith, getting grounded in salvation under the teachings of many of his friends, like Mzei Kabaza, Bishop Kawuma, and Pastor Laban Jumba, Bishop Muhima, Bishop Zac Nyiringiye, to mention but a few, one evening after a very long discussion on predestination with Bishop Zac, who was then with FOCUS, he recommended that I should look out for Pr. John Ekudu’s Bible studies. So when eventually Pr. John Ekudu & his family graciously accepted to come to Entebbe in 1995 to help us with Entebbe Baptist Church (EBC) & Entebbe Christian School (ECS), I was over delighted.

Here are a few highlights of his / family ministry in Entebbe.

Coming to Entebbe

In 1994, the Pastor of EBC, then Mr. Augustine Okiror, who is now long rested, was transferred from Entebbe to Soroti, as he worked with the meteorological department, leaving a struggling young church without a pastor.
So in 1995, at the invitation of three elders, Hannington Buyinza, John Ssemugooma & John Habarurema, after two other elders, Isaiah Mwalye & Nobert Jjiga had also just left the church, Pr. John Ekudu graciously accepted in spite of his many other responsibilities with the BUU, Makerere University, as Dean of Students and member of many other Boards. Before coming, he encouraged us to institute a pastoral team.

When he and his family came, they found us in a semi-permanent structure, roofed but with no windows, a local drum & a couple of shakers!! Immediately, he sought out Pr. Isaac Mukisa and brought him along to help us improve our praise, worship, prayer and evangelism.
Not long after, Hannington Buyinza & John Ssemugooma also left the church. These elders were leaving the church due to their work-related changes, leaving a lone chairman without members, a rudimentary constitution on one piece of paper, no formal registration, no written history & strategic plan!

Transformation Story

Pr. John Ekudu, immediately with Aunt Grace Ekudu, his wife, always by his side, embarked on the transformation of both Entebbe Baptist Church & Entebbe Christian School for the best we could ever dream of.
The Eldership grew with Edward Ssebuwufu and Steve Abiar coming on board, then, pragmatic as ever, he encouraged us to have the first-ever female Elders stand in the gap. Joyce Okiror, the wife of the outgoing pastor and Edith Buyinza, the wife of Hannington Buyinza, joined the Eldership. This was so that they could help with the requirements of the registration of Entebbe Christian School.

Writing the history

He tasked us to do all that was possible, to research and consult those who had left, including the missionaries that had come from Kampala Baptist Church to start Entebbe Baptist Church so that I could piece together the history of the church. We took up the challenge and were able to produce the history of the church before the year ended.

Strategic Planning

Not long after, he told us that he had requested Aunt Grace to help us with the strategic plan, to which she had graciously accepted at no cost save for the facilitation of those invited to help her, like Mr David Kabiswa, Mrs Edith Byanyima, among others. They worked so hard, teaching, guiding and engaging us in several sessions to come up with a wonderful SWOT strategic plan that we are still following to date.

Registering the church and school

With the pastor’s guidance, we made our first recognizable church constitution, registered the church as an NGO, acquired the church land title and streamlined Entebbe Christian School with excellent performance in the country. He challenged us to improve the school so that parents from all corners of Uganda, including diplomats and UN staff, would look for the school and bring their children.
We expanded by buying neighbouring plots and improved the children’s welfare greatly. His vision was to grow the school into a secondary school and later into a university.

A Man of Numerous Responsibilities

With all his other responsibilities with MUK, BUU and elsewhere, like building a local Baptist Church back home at Kaberamaido, Pr. John Ekudu was a pastor of a local church, school patron and attended all the meetings of the school as an ex officio, all the meetings of the church, all these for over 20 years, with the help of Aunt Grace, all the time at his side and as his driver.

Other Achievements

He believed and taught us to believe in achieving big things from a big God without necessarily getting donor money. He left us with a big, dignified permanent church, a baptistery and a wonderful school. He found us with a local big drum and a couple of shakers, but left us with modern musical instruments and a public address system, and he brought their personal generator to help the church/school during power cuts.

Legacy

He would say, “Aim at something big, and if you fail, then the fall will also be big!“
His passion was for the best. He was foresighted, highly experienced, loved God and God’s people. A humble servant with humility unimaginable.
He always told our youth to be ready to sing “It is well with my soul…” at his funeral.
Fare thee well, a man of a big God, Pastor John Ekudu – Adoku.