Gary Skinner is the visionary and team Leader of Watoto Ministries, which includes Watoto Church. (Courtesy Photo.)
It was during the well-known ‘Power, Sex and Money’ gathering at Watoto Church in Kampala when Pastor Gary Skinner encouraged Christians to learn from previous mistakes and make failure a stepping stone by taking a bigger stride towards achieving their goals.
Running under the theme ‘Built to last,’ other speakers at the program showcased live every Friday and shared on various media channels included Brent Cantelon and Ron Michalski, both pastors in Canada for over 30 years.
Gary Skinner in his submission urged the congregation not to confuse carnal accomplishments with spiritual fruitfulness, adding that success is being in the middle of what God wants you to do.
“You can be in the most magnificent city on the planet, you can marry the most beautiful woman, but she’s the wrong person. You can be doing a job, where you’re making a lot of money, yet in compromise. You can have all those things and be a complete failure. So, success is to be where God wants you to be,” Pastor Gary said.
“Success is being a great human being who was created in the image of God, and is totally satisfied being what God called you to be. It’s not whether you’re a pastor, of a big church, or a small church, it’s not whether you’re a businessman, with millions of dollars,” He continued. “Success is knowing that where you are in life is not because of how smart you were, or what your education level was, or what your heritage was, but that you simply know you are a child of God, loved by Jesus.”
According to Pastor Gary Skinner, many Christians are quick to jump into conclusion when something doesn’t work out as they planned. He stated that many lose hope and stop trying thereby missing an opportunity.
“You need to look at failures as opportunities to learn. If you fail, you may have to take note of some stupid things that you are doing, and then stop doing them… Don’t see your failures as stumbling blocks, see them as stepping stones,” he said.
“God doesn’t see your flaws and failures. He sees your potential and opportunities. All you have to do is trust Him. His love is never going to stop chasing you…God has already made a commitment to you. He says, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you. I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a future. Plans to give you a hope. Believe God to turn that situation around, so that what appeared to be bad can actually turn out to be good,” he said.
Pastor Gary told the audience the most important decision one has to make in life is deciding, ‘who will I serve?’
“The choice must be to serve God. If you get that one right, the rest falls into place. The second is, ‘who will I marry?’ The third is, ‘where will I work?’ So, just be faithful, plug in. It doesn’t always happen now. David was a simple ordinary boy, doing the least important tasks, when he had a call from God. And it took him 20 years of running and difficulties. But he eventually became the king,” he said.
Together with his wife, Pastor Gary noted that they have been in Uganda for 36 years. He explained that one of the things they prayed for is for God to give them the right friends and partners “who will come alongside us and make us better,” he said.
Pastor Gary highlighted the importance of Godly character, accountability, humility and also emphasized that true friendship is one of the most important things in life.
“You can’t do enough good to earn God’s love; and you can’t do enough evil to get rid of God’s love. His love is never going to stop chasing you.” he said. “You may think you need to have all kinds of special prayers, sermons and altar calls. What you need to do right now is to make up your mind.”
