July 2026

Dear Friend,

Many blessings to you and your families this summer! July was not only the 250th anniversary of the United States, it was also the halfway point of the year and the beginning of our financial year.  So with this newsletter we want to take a pause to evaluate and praise God for His goodness in this year so far.

I’m so grateful to the Lord for continually providing for this ministry, for the incredible servants God is allowing me to serve alongside, and for the army of faithful supporters enabling this ministry to happen each month. God has been so good to us, and we praise Him for His lovingkindness! The following mid-year updates are due, in large part, to your prayers and generosity. Thank you!

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MID YEAR EVALUATION

As a sports fan we are now used to grades for everything - Grades for team performance, individual performances, and trades. So after a half year, how would I grade SOS’s performance? I will give us an A-! Everyone is working so hard and is so focused. This includes the missionaries - the students - the teachers - the support staff - and everyone is finding great joy in their service. There is an overall pride in working for SOS. Furthermore, visitors feel loved and are experiencing the ministry’s impact. In many ways it is a glimpse of heaven, an oasis in the midst of a parched land. God is so good.

Why not an A+? Ebola! Sadly, many of our friends from the US were not able to come and visit. This drop of team energy and support was felt throughout our summer months. The first 6 months also involved some long absences from some of our key missionary families: The Slone and May families. These families were greatly missed. The May family went back to have their 6th child (fifth biological) and to take care of their dad who has terminal cancer. The Slones went home for a furlough. The good news is that Uganda is declared Ebola-free, the Mays have returned, and the Slones are about to return.  

Nonetheless, fruit is everywhere. We are about to have over 30 baptisms on August 16, our first STC degree graduation in November, and we are getting ready to have our first Legacy graduation in 2027. The ministry is thriving. Growth is everywhere. Lives are being transformed.

Here is a quick report of our six ministries:

Community Bible Church of Kubamitwe - Our 2025 Grand Opening has caused an influx of people and a renewed excitement. Our local church has become preeminent within SOS. We have not achieved our desired maturity as a local church, but the growth of our members is evident and the passion for our local church is felt. We have many being saved. And we are seeing many people becoming ministers. But we still have a long way to go.

Legacy Christian Academy - Legacy is so fun and so exciting. Everyone can't wait until 2027. This will be the year of Legacy’s first ever graduation. Legacy will have reached its full completion from K1-S6. It will be a benchmark year and will end with a climactic graduation event. Stay tuned…

Legacy is the greatest school around. The teachers and students love their school. They are so proud to be a part of it. The environment breeds a strong academic atmosphere, a sweet loving family feeling, and a joyful and fun environment. There is a pressure to grow spiritually and an internal push to be serious about spiritual matters. There are minimal cliques or boy/girlfriend sagas. It truly is an incredible Christian school. We need to continue to grow the teachers to be ministers, but the administration is solid, committed, and striving towards excellence.  

Watch below LCA's Building Update:

SOS Medical Center - SOS’s medical center is a massive blessing. For the communities around, this ministry serves as a nucleus to draw people toward our ministry. Caring for 100 patients a day, the center is bustling with activity. And patients are feeling loved by the staff and grateful for the high quality treatment. Our patients are walking away happy and satisfied. The medical staff are giving their best and are serving tirelessly. Our biggest challenge is that this ministry needs its own home. Right now it is stationed next to our local church, but our plan is to relocate to its own location in 2027.

Joni and Friends: - This ministry is outstanding! Joni and Friends is giving practical love to many hurting people. The work being done is astonishing. The staff are very committed, very faithful, and very professional. This ministry is completely funded by Joni and Friends USA and is transforming thousands of lives in very personal ways.

Church Strengthening - This ministry is slow right now, but it is being restructured to make an even greater impact. Right now we are primarily carrying out conferences for the Baptist Union and working closely with the Baptist leadership to strategize the impact of its churches. In May we hosted 700 young people, and the national youth conference was very well received. We have a women's conference in a few weeks and a pastors’ conference in November.

Shepherds Training College - This ministry is at its height. With our first degree students set to graduate, we now have an honest evaluation of what the program is going to produce. We can’t be more pleased. God has blessed STC. The students are committed and coming out biblically solid. Our biggest challenge is funding! Thank you to all of you who have sponsored a pastor and who have given love gifts to make this happen. If you are able, please consider sponsoring a student for pastoral ministry.

Please take a moment to thank God for all that He is doing at STC and to pray for each of these ministries. See the prayer requests below.

Watch STC's Mid-Year Building Update:

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EXTRA: SOS MISSIONARY TEAM GROWS

THE PINCE FAMILY

I want to introduce two new families that are joining our missionary team. First, The Pince Family will be moving to Uganda sometime this fall and will join our Shepherds Training College team. Jason will assist administratively. We can’t wait to have Jason’s immense skills in Uganda with us.

Meet the Pince Family

THE MUBIRU FAMILY

The second family is the Mubiru Family. The Mubirus will be moving to Uganda in fall 2027 and will be joining our Shepherds Training College team as a professor and our Community Bible Church of Kubamitwe pastoral team.  John is Ugandan and is from a neighboring village to Kubamitwe.

Meet the Mubiriu Family

FINISHING THE 2026 RACE

God has been so good to SOS. These last 6 months have been thrilling. As we turn our attention towards the second half of the year, many people ask me, “What burdens are you carrying as you look toward the end of the year?” My response is five-fold.

1. Capital: Biggest Burden ~ $350,000 - Bridge Program’s Conference housing. We need $350,000 before the end of the year for the purpose of building housing for our Bridge Program. Our Bridge Program is a 6 month interdenominational college preparatory discipleship program for our Legacy students and Scripture Union students. This program will prepare future college students spiritually, academically, and socially. It will also equip young people to reach their campuses for Jesus Christ. This conference housing will accommodate 200 students at a time.
2. Capital: Finish Legacy Campaign ~ $350,000 - We want to put in the final two classrooms and a Cafeteria/Meeting Hall for students. This will allow us to finish all the major Legacy building projects, allowing us to focus more attention on church planting.
3. Capital: Church Planting ~ $300,000 - This will provide land for 7 pastors, houses for 2 pastors, and a church building for 1 pastor. Now that we will have 30 trained men graduating, we want to see 10 of them planting churches. We don't want our best students preaching under mango trees.
4. Operational: My biggest operational need is sponsorship of Shepherds Training College pastors. If we can get all our pastors sponsored before the end of the year, I would be so grateful. Our current deficit is concerning.
5. Operational: Lastly, we need more sponsors for Legacy students. We are meeting the budget, but the school keeps growing, so our sponsorship needs to grow with it.

God has been so faithful, and you all have been so faithful. Please know that my heart is so grateful for all that you do to serve and give to SOS. By God’s grace, we are radically changing lives together. Thank you so much! Please keep praying for us!

WAYS TO PRAY FOR SOS:

10 Specific Ways to Pray for SOS:

• Pray that God will develop a really strong group of godly leaders from within our church as we call everyone the greater devotion to Jesus Christ this year. Update: Keep praying. God is working but it is slow.
• Pray that God will provide the needed funds to help us finish some critical building projects and to help us launch a radical church planting movement. Update: God has provided since the beginning of the year. Pray we will finish strong! There are some big projects ahead.
• Pray that God silences people who slander SOS. Update: It has been a quiet year. To God be the glory!
• Pray that our local church really steps up its game now that it is in its new building. Update: God has answered this prayer, but we still have a long way to go! Keep praying.
• Pray that God will provide Legacy Christian Academy with strong, godly administrators to help Michael lead the kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools. Update: We are still in need of such people. Keep praying.
• Pray that God will bless STC by continuing to provide talented and deeply educated stateside professors to fill the teaching until we are able to build up African staff. Update: God has provided an administrator and a strong relationship with professors in Rwanda who are interested in joining us. Keep praying.
• Pray that God will allow SOS’s impact and reputation to continue to grow in influence and credibility for the sake of extending God’s name. Update: Keep praying. God is answering.
• Pray that God will bless SOS's church planting efforts around its local community.Update: We have chosen 10 graduating pastors to be planted. Now we need the resources and a leader to help us.
• Pray that God will bring salvation in massive waves as CBCK (SOS’s local church) continues to reach out to its community. Update: Keep praying. 36 people are being baptized in August.
• Pray that God will intervene within Uganda’s political system to enable there to be a peaceful transfer of power between Museveni (current president) and the next president. Update: This will be a 5-year prayer. Praise God there is peace right now!

5 Specific Ways to Pray for the Hurley Family:

• Pray that God will help us love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds.
• Pray that God will save our extended family as some of them have hard hearts. Update: We are seeing God really change hearts. We are very encouraged. Please keep praying.
• Pray that God will provide wisdom to Danielle and I regarding how to firmly love and lead the many young people the Lord has entrusted into our home. Update: It is amazing how the Lord grants grace and wisdom regarding how to spend my time. I am balancing a lot. Keep praying.
• Pray that God will help us to walk in wisdom, respond to everyone with graciousness, compassion, and love while still upholding biblical standards.Update: This is by far the biggest area of growth over the last 10 years. Praise God!
• Pray that our home will radiate the love of Jesus Christ and weightiness of God’s abiding presence.

For the King and His Kingdom,

Shannon Hurley

Founder and CEO, SOS Ministries

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