Watoto founders Pastor Gary and Marilyn Skinner together with their successors Pastor Julius and Vernita Rwotlonyo. (Image: Screen Grab)
The visionary and passionate team leaders of Watoto Church, which was founded in 1984 in the heart of Uganda’s capital, Kampala have officially announced plans of passing on the mantle to the next generation.
Pastor Gary and Marilyn Skinner founded the cell-based, english speaking, community church during the Ugandan civil war, however, today, they have over 34,000 people gathering every week to celebrate the life and hope they’ve found in Jesus Christ.
“There comes a time for all of us when we need to pass the baton on, and that time has come,” Pastor Gary Skinner said on Sunday.
“It is not just that God has helped us to see a great church planted with multiple campuses all across the nation, and up till South Sudan. But also rescuing the most vulnerable orphaned children and the women who are single, struggling to raise their families; putting choirs together and sending them around the world, and Watoto becoming known around the world. It has been an incredible journey,” he went on.
The ministry leaders explained that they are ready to pass on the baton to Pastor Julius and Vernita Rwotlonyo, and that the official transition and hand-over ceremony will be held in February, 2023.
“We have been walking together for a long time. They have grown up in Watoto Church. Amazing people. Amazing gifts on their lives, good looking – but most of all; a heart for Jesus: a passion for Jesus,” Pastor Gary Skinner spoke of his successors, Pastor Julius and Vernita Rwotlonyo.
Gary passionately believes it is the responsibility of the local church to solve community problems. Watoto Church cares for community holistically through over 2,300 small groups (cells) that meet weekly.
The 70-year-old was born in Zimbabwe to missionary parents and is a fourth-generation preacher. He has pastored in Canada, Zambia and Uganda. Marilyn on the other hand, has lived in Kampala, Uganda for over 32 years with the love of her life, her husband Gary. She hails from Canada. They have three children and six grandchildren.
“We are so excited to see the vision that God planted in our hearts carried on into the next generation,” Pastor Gary Skinner said.
“This is the good news, the God of Abraham, was the God of Moses, the God of Moses was the God of David. And the God of David was the God of the Apostle Paul. And the God of the Apostle Paul has been our God, and I want to encourage you Watoto Church, that that same God is the God of Julius and Vernita Rwotlonyo. And we are believing of phenomenal fantastic great things ahead,” he went on.
Marilyn Skinner said: “I remember driving into Kampala for the first time, 40 years ago. I must say, Kampala was not a city people were running to back then. It was a city people were running away from because it was so dangerous – in the middle of a civil war. But over the past 40 years we have seen nothing, but the faithfulness of Jesus. We have literally seen the transformation of tens of thousands of people. But, we have also seen the transformation of an entire city and nation.”
“A Jesus culture has taken root in every sphere of influence. As I look back over my life, 67 years, I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams that God could do something so significant with a simple little Canadian Pastor’s daughter. I want to say to Watoto Church family, it has been a privilege to serve you the past 40 years. I often say, “Jesus, thank you so much for counting me worthy that you called me to Kampala, Uganda to share your love, and share your light into people who desperately needed it.” I just feel so honored,” she said.
