Rev. Ponsiano Lwakatale was born in 1941 in Uganda. He accepted the Lord in 1965. Ponsiano and his wife Susan got married in 1971 and they had ten biological and 3 adopted children. Together, pastor Ponsiano & Susan Lwakatale founded I AM Family Ministries in 1998.

When the first missionaries of the Evangelical church came to Uganda in the 60’s to preach the gospel, Uganda was still under British rule and many people believed in witchcraft. The Late Ponsiano Lwakatale was among the first converts to join the Evangelical Bible School.

After Bible school, he preached the gospel, taught many Africans and helped plant over 1600 churches. Unfortunately, after Uganda’s Independence, the Evangelical Church suffered terrible persecution during the Muslim reign of Idi Amin. 

In 1978, Idi Amin’s soldiers stormed Pr Ponsiano’s home church, arresting him and other Christians. The church was closed down. Pr Ponsiano was put in prison and was to be executed. The record shows that Idi Amin killed over half a million people during this period of persecuting the church.

By God’s grace, Pr Ponsiano survived the arrest and continued to serve underground despite all the trials and tribulations. After the fall of Idi Amin, the church was restored.

But the war and ten years of Idi Amin devastated so many lives, and many children and women were left desperate, homeless and orphaned. Pr Ponsiano realized that the gospel of words was not enough; compassionate action was needed to help these vulnerable children and widows. When I AM Family Ministries started in 1998, our intention was to take the gospel of Christ outside the 4 walls of the church and reach out to single mothers and the needy and orphaned children.

“I AM Familyis all about giving needy children and widows a new hope. We want to show them that the Lord loves them,He is the father of the fatherless, and He has a plan for their lives. We just want to be His instruments to help them have a future and a hope”. – Pastor Ponsiano Lwakatale.