Mount Zion
Ruth Johnson

The following is an eyewitness account of our week on Mt. Elgon by a pastor  from the mountain.

When the pastors of Mt. Elgon went to Hope Church in Sipi Village, we thought we were coming to attend an ordinary seminar and then we would just go home. We didn't know we were going to meet with destiny.

Almost immediately Mama Ruth came over to me and spoke a prophetic word. What she said was so specifically accurate that everyone in the room thought she knew me personally.

Then she prophesied about Mt. Elgon. Her words were spoken with such passionate authority and conviction, we all knew it was God.

This is what Mama Ruth said…

The Lord of Hosts is saying to this mountain…

Arise, oh people of Mt. Elgon and shine! Be filled with new joy! Your light has come. And the glory of the Lord is rising upon you. For behold! Deep darkness and terrible evil are covering this mountain. But this day I AM rising upon you and My glory is appearing on you. Many will come to this light for it is the brightness of My glory that is coming upon you (Isaiah 60:1).

The Lamb of Glory is speaking to all the dark places and to all those who are tormented by evil. For He has heard the cries of your heart and He is declaring over this mountain, "Because of My tender mercy toward you, a light from heaven is coming upon this mountain to give light to those who are in darkness. This light from heaven will drive away all the evil. It will lead the people on this mountain to the path of peace. For this light is the consuming fire of My glory. It is the visitation of your God" (Luke 1:78). And it will spread like a wildfire that is burning very dry grass. And it will be spoken of by the people on this mountain for generations and generations to come.

At that very moment I realized, and so did all the leaders in the room…

This is not just a prophecy. We have already heard many prophecies about our mountain. But this is a declaration of what God is doing now!

Many of us pastors have struggled so much on this mountain. We have often felt, "Will anything good come from this place?" Yet, suddenly all that changed. When that session ended, everyone on the whole mountain began to talk about what had happened. Even the pastors who came to that meeting so discouraged were saying, "We will never be the same!"

No one will ever forget the last day of the seminar.

We were all on our knees with our eyes looking up to heaven as we dedicated the whole mountain to the Lord. Never had we done such a thing.

 At that moment of consecration, Mama Ruth boldly said…

This mountain has belonged to the devil long enough. The demons have tormented the people with horrible evil long enough. Now this mountain belongs to the Lord. And the God of all the universe is changing its name to Mt. Zion, the Mountain Where The Glory of God Dwells.

We were all stunned.

There never has been anyone who has come up against the demons on this mountain in that way.

How we all wished that everyone on the mountain had been there that day. Even the unsaved were saying that. Everyone knew that a visitation from God was now among us.

The impact of this visitation from God will be explosive because a new revelation of worship from the heart and a new understanding of love and unity are spreading all over this mountain. Surely the testimonies of what God did that week on the mountain have not even begun to come forth. They will be told for years and years to come.

The work that Mama Ruth and Papa Barry are doing here will affect not only all of Uganda. It will spread far and wide and affect many distant places. Clearly God has sent them to Africa to birth a new season in the church. It is a season of a longing and hunger and awareness of the glory of God. The magnitude of what they are doing will not stop with Mt. Elgon. God's glory that they are called to carry and birth forth will spread like fire from place to place and a revival will be birthed that will impact nations."

With awe in their voices, our ministry team added these comments …

Throughout the week of the seminar, there was a great awakening among the people on this mountain who have suffered from such terrible bondages by the powers of evil. We talk about the revivals of the past that took place many years ago.

But there is no doubt that God is still moving in that same way today.

During the Azusa Street Revival, even people who were driving in their cars or who were just walking down the street were suddenly drawn into the meetings. And when they came in, they fell down before God in worship.

That is exactly what took place on Mt. Elgon.

Unsaved villagers in their vehicles who were just driving by and people on the pathways, who had not planned at all to come to the meetings, were drawn into what was happening and ended up on their faces weeping and worshipping God.

God brought this revival to a remote mountain and a small and lowly place.

It all began in a humble church with walls made of mud and bamboo and a floor that was made of cow dung.

He came to this humble place just as He did when His Son was born in a lowly stable ages and ages ago.

Barry and I went to bed that last night on Mt. Elgon knowing that somehow everything was different for us.

We later learned that the overwhelming visitation of God left everyone on the team feeling this way.

Life and ministry would never look the same again.

The week had changed each of us forever.