Forty-one graduates from the Class of 2025 were honored during the Lancaster Bible College Commencement ceremony on May 17, 2025, in Kampala, Uganda. Through a partnership with the Pastors Discipleship Network (PDN), LBC aims to equip ministry leaders across Africa to proclaim the gospel and to better serve their churches and communities.

For the ninth Commencement ceremony in Uganda, Dr. Richmond Wandera (’20), PDN founder and President and a graduate of LBC’s PhD in Leadership program, inspired the graduates with these words: “Class of 2025, your years at LBC have been a time of intellectual exploration, remarkable accomplishment, and extraordinary hard work and dedication. We honor your achievement, and we celebrate you as you embark on the next stage of your journey.”

2025 Uganda Commencement Speaker Bishop Henry Luke Orombi

Providing the Commencement address was Bishop Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop (Emeritus) of the Anglican Church of Uganda. Bishop Orombi earned a Diploma in Theology from Bishop Tucker Theological College in Mukono, Uganda, and advanced his studies at St. John’s College, Nottingham, England, where he obtained a Bachelor of Divinity degree. Following his ordination in 1979, Orombi served as the Diocesan Youth Officer in the Mayo and Adjumani districts until 1986, after which he became the Archdeacon of Gali in Nebbi District, serving from 1987-1993. In 1993, Orombi was consecrated as the inaugural Bishop of the newly established Nebbi Diocese, a role he fulfilled until 2003. In 2004, he was elected as the seventh Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, a position he held until his retirement in December 2012. After retiring, Orombi continued his ministry, focusing on preaching, mentoring and leadership development. In 2022, he was appointed Chancellor of Muni University in the Arua District of Uganda, reflecting his enduring commitment to education and community development. Also that year, he published “His Grace: The Autobiography of Bishop Henry Luke Orombi,” offering an in-depth look at his life and ministry.

Also representing LBC at the ceremony were Executive Vice President Jael K.D.L.V. Chambers, who provided the Charge to the Graduates, as well as Robert Blanks, LBC-PDN Liaison. Presenting the Servant’s Towels was Dr. Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza, Justice and Professor at Makerere University.

The presentation of the Servant’s Towel has been a longstanding tradition at Lancaster Bible College. Since 1933, servant leadership has been the culture of LBC, reminding all that on the night He was betrayed, Jesus put a towel around His waist and washed His disciples’ feet. In so doing, He offered them a profound and radically counter-culture demonstration of the very heart of God. The joy-filled life in which He invites His followers to participate involves taking up the towel with Him. The servant’s towel is more than a symbol at LBC. It is a tangible expression of our mission, reminding each graduate that everything they have accomplished and will accomplish comes by participating in the servant ministry of Jesus Christ.

Musical selections were provided by the Beyond Worship Choir.

Check out a Video and Photo Gallery of the 2025 Uganda Graduation!

To learn more about LBC’s partnership in Uganda through the Pastors Discipleship Network and how to sponsor a pastor for $250 a month for 24 months, visit lbc.edu/uganda or email Robert Blanks at rblanks@lbc.edu. 

Learn More About the Pastors Discipleship Network

The Pastors Discipleship Network (PDN) is a ministry that equips pastors and strengthens the African church. PDN was established in 2008 to train and equip pastors and their wives with critical ministry and life skills to help them lead and teach their congregations while fostering personal development.

PDN’s vision is “The Church in Africa ROOTED, READY and ABLE to bring the TRUE Gospel to its nations and the world.” Its mission is “to bring training to untrained church leaders in Africa in order to deepen the church and to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ through healthy churches.”

PDN was founded and is led by Dr. Richmond Wandera (’20), who grew up in extreme poverty in the Naguru slum near Kampala, Uganda, and battled malaria more than 10 times. When Richmond’s father was murdered, he was left to help care for his six siblings. He entered the Compassion-assisted child development center at his local church when he was eight; then his life and his family changed dramatically.

On completing his early education, he was accepted into Compassion’s Leadership Development Program and was able to attend college. Upon graduation with a CPA and Accountant’s degree, he was invited to join the accounting faculty at Uganda Christian University. Richmond also served as pastor at Nakawa Baptist Church, the very church he joined as a Compassion child. He has been involved with two church plants and community leadership.

As Richmond continued to serve the local church, he realized that his fellow pastors were equally struggling in ministry due to lack of theological training. Determined to receive Bible training, Richmond pursued a very select opportunity and received a Compassion Wess Stafford Scholarship to attend Moody Graduate School in Chicago (USA). During his time at seminary, Richmond often summarized his education for pastors. After his graduate studies, he returned to his country Uganda to begin training pastors in Africa as well as participate in reaching professional accountants for the Lord. He has since been leading the ministry of the Pastors Discipleship Network, which is now training over 4,000 pastors across five countries in East Africa.

In March of 2015, Lancaster Bible College then-President Dr. Peter Teague and Wandera joined together in an initiative that resulted in an LBC partnership with PDN to offer an online Master of Arts degree for African pastors and church leaders. That first group of students, Cohort 1, who started on March 30, 2015, graduated on May 27, 2017. Consisting of 14 ministry classes, this degree is an accredited LBC degree.

These LBC graduates then in turn pass on what they have learned in the Master of Arts program to other African pastors and church leaders, helping them minister to those in their sphere of influence. This training-the-trainer model helps fulfill PDN’s mission in equipping and training untrained church leaders.