COURTESY PHOTO.
Apostle Alex Mitala may be celebrating his 70th birthday this week, but he’s not done spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and planting churches in every conner of the country. The well known church planter, Bible teacher, educationalist and community transformer got a surprise birthday party, with arrangements spearheaded by his beloved wife, Catherine Mitala.
Considered among the pioneers and elders of the pentecostal Church in Uganda, Apostle Mitala has preached in person in almost all districts of Uganda, and beyond the boarders, during his more than 50 years of ministry. He is the founding President of Back to the Bible Truth (BBT) Evangelistic Mission organization started in 1979.
The Untold Story
At the time Apostle Alex Mitala embraced Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, Ugandan Dictator Idi Amin was persecuting Christians, and trying to force them to convert to Islam. When Mitala and other believers in the country refused to renounce Christianity, Amin closed churches and dispersed missionaries.
During the period, many people Apostle Mitala worked with were killed and imprisoned as a result of the persecution and the church was forced underground, conducting its meetings and activities in secret.
In 1974, Apostle Mitala joined the underground preaching missionaries in an effort to encourage the underground churches. In 1978, Mitala began smuggling Christian literature from Kenya into Uganda for the underground church which led to his arrest but his life was spared and he was released shortly thereafter.
Apostle Mitala stayed in Kenya until 1979 when Idi Amin was overthrown after which he returned to Uganda to start a ministry of evangelizing and planting churches while attending Bible school in Nairobi, Kenya through correspondence courses.
