“The Iniquity of the Fathers …”

“The Iniquity of the Fathers …”
Diocese of Northwest Ankole, Uganda

By Scott Thompson

I was feeling a bit rusty. It had been over three years since my last mission trip, and a lot had happened in that time: Covid, new responsibilities at work and church, a life-threatening illness in the family, moving into a new house needing improvement work—all of which had me wondering if I was still called to short-term missions. Was I clearly hearing God telling me to go, or was I relying on past patterns of how He had led me? I needn’t have worried; those concerns were just the enemy trying to sow doubt. My wife and my intercessor team shared several words they had received as they prayed. Buoyed by those encouragements, I committed to joining the SOMA team in Uganda. 

A few days after we arrived in Ibanda, the town with the diocesan headquarters for Northwest Ankole, we learned that it had an interesting history. The name “Ibanda” is a derivative of the original town name, which meant "witchcraft is practiced here," a likely explanation for the disturbing dreams that a couple of team members had experienced. 

The night before I was to give a talk on Spiritual Warfare, I felt led to focus on the bondage arising from generational iniquity. The Hebrew words for sin and iniquity are different, with iniquity almost always referring to sins committed by our ancestors. God notes that iniquity affects children to the 3rd and 4th generations (Exodus 20:5-6, Exodus 34:4-8), but He also promises to forgive both iniquity and sin. I recounted how, in my own life, I experienced freedom from iniquity when I confessed and renounced the sin of idolatry in the Freemasonry that my great-grandfather had practiced. My great-grandfather is responsible for his sin, and only he could confess and receive forgiveness. But I was set free from the spiritual heritage of his rebellion when I agreed with God that it was sin and confessed it (see Nehemiah 9:2), asking that the blood of Jesus cleanse me from that iniquity.

After this talk, the Bishop led the conference attendees in a confession and renunciation of the witchcraft that had been practiced in the area, with the Bishop exercising his authority over the Diocese and the clergy over their parishes. The next 20 minutes was an intense outpouring of the Holy Spirit akin to what is described at Pentecost in Acts 2. Afterwards, it was a completely different conference: attendees were much more open to sharing ministry challenges and engaging with conference topics and practicums. Something in the spiritual realm had changed, and it was apparent in what was happening in the physical realm.

I ask you to join me in praying that the work the Lord initiated at this conference would spread throughout the Diocese of Northwest Ankole, and that it becomes a regional beacon of the Holy Spirit’s power to heal and be transformed into Jesus’ likeness.