AsOne Ministries — Q3 in Review

Oct 9

Continued Expansion, Continued Improvement

Continued Expansion, Continued Improvement

Looking back over the last three months, I’m humbled by our Ugandan team members’ dedication to the work of transforming their communities and their increased capacity to manage a larger volume of work. As an organization, we’ve made progress towards what Les McKeown calls “predictable success” – a state where we can set bold goals for ourselves and reliably achieve them. It’s fun to watch this movement of Ugandans Empowering Ugandans, as they continue to refine systems and develop leaders to prepare for expanded impact. As I reflect on Q3, the phrase that encapsulates it for me is “continued expansion, continued improvement.”

Continued Expansion

We’ve seen great progress toward our expansion goals in the last three months, moving us closer to our goal of ten communities by 2027. We are putting the finishing touches on our two newest Nursery & Primary Schools in Serere and Luuka communities. We also broke ground on two vocational High Schools in these communities! In Serere, we are preparing to open a Tailoring Center this October, which starting in 2026 will offer local youth vocational skills training. In Namayemba, we are expanding our High School campus in order to provide enrollment opportunities for our nearby Primary School students. Finally, we acquired land for a Nursery and Primary School as well as a Health Center in Community Nine: Namutumba.

Continued Improvement

As we continue to grow, our program management teams have been hard at work strengthening our systems and enhancing the quality of services we provide to our beneficiaries. This quarter, we rolled out a more comprehensive tool to track and review program outcomes, and launched regular “roundtable” discussions with our teams to analyze data, share insights, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. We also hosted a three-day Leadership Training Retreat, giving young leaders across the organization the space to sharpen their leadership skills. Finally for Culture Week 2025, our entire staff dedicated a full week to coming together—learning more about AsOne’s organizational culture, building stronger teams, and listening closely to our beneficiaries to explore ways we can further elevate the quality of our services.

Across all of our communities, we see Ugandans eager to drive meaningful change. It’s inspiring to witness resources being used not just effectively, but in ways that activate the potential of young, emerging leaders. Observing this process reminds me of the significance of life in God’s Kingdom—when God’s people live in genuine relationship with one another and bring their diverse resources and talents together, God blesses the work and brings about transformation. Despite the many challenges our teams face, seeing young leaders flourish gives me deep hope for the impact of our work together.

Mike Sandgren

Chief Programs Officer

What and How We’re Learning

1) This past quarter, we surveyed farmers who have been part of our agricultural training programs through our annual endline survey. Each year, this survey helps us see how families are doing after six growing seasons of putting new skills and tools into practice. By comparing this year’s results with where farmers started, we’re able to see the difference the program is making in their harvests, their income, and their daily lives. Here’s what we’re learning about the impact:

Continued Improvement in Outcomes:

Improved Harvests: Nearly 100% of farmers who have been in the program for six seasons reported higher yields than the year before. For comparison, only 6% of farmers saw this kind of increase in their very first season.
More Income: After six seasons, almost every participant had a rise in household income. After just two seasons, about 1 in 4 families (24%) experienced this growth.
Meals every day: At the beginning, almost no families ate three meals a day. By six seasons in, nearly all families are eating three full meals daily.
Livestock Ownership: After four seasons, 95–100% of participants owned livestock—a vital household asset—compared to just 42% after their first season.

Opportunities for Growth:

Income Stability: While income does rise, it doesn’t grow as steadily as farm yields. We’re exploring new ways to help families build more consistent, year-round income.
Spiritual Impact: We see opportunities to more intentionally share the hope of the gospel, including among participants from Muslim backgrounds.

2) Here’s what we’re learning from this year’s Student Survey:

Students are sticking with us: Since many of our schools have only been open for 2–3 years, most students have been with us for about two years on average. Even so, 86% of students say they plan to return—a strong sign of commitment.
Continuity is growing: We’re beginning to see students move from our Nursery & Primary Schools into our High Schools. Already, 1 in 10 high school students started their journey with AsOne back in Nursery & Primary.
Opportunities for ministry: About 12% of our students are Muslim, reminding us of the unique opportunity to share Christ’s love with them through both word and action.
Faith is taking root: Our discipleship programs are bearing fruit:

83% of students practice spiritual disciplines at least twice a day.
97% attend weekly worship.
91% say AsOne is directly helping them grow in their relationship with Christ.

3) We’re continually working to enhance the “how” our teams can learn and improve as a result of our Monitoring and Evaluation data. This past quarter, we built out a more comprehensive dashboard to track impact across our Theory of Change, began leveraging AI to help our teams analyze large datasets, and dedicated LM&E staff capacity to hold regular review meetings for teams to review reports, discuss implications, and identify improvements.

Expansion Updates

1) Pallisa - Community #8

Our team is working diligently to build out our Nursery and Primary School and our Health Center in community #8 - Pallisa. We’re on-track to open these new programs in January of 2026. This past quarter saw roofs installed, painting started, furniture built, and medical equipment ordered. We’re excited to watch these programs come to life in the next few months!

2) Namutumba - Community #9

This past quarter also marked a big expansion milestone for us with the acquisition of land in our 9th community - Namutumba. Our team was able to negotiate the purchase of land to host a Nursery and Primary School and a Health Center. Throughout Q4, we will be doing all necessary planning work to hit the ground running with building the infrastructure for these programs early in 2026.

Leadership Retreat 2025: Serving Ugandans, Building Uganda

At the beginning of September, we hosted the 2025 Leadership Retreat, bringing together US staff, US and Ugandan board members, and leadership staff from across Uganda. Over three days, participants explored a wide range of leadership topics, attended breakout sessions, worshipped together, and connected with peers. This retreat created a rich environment for growth for young, emerging leaders in our organization.

This year’s theme, “Serving Ugandans, Building Uganda,” emphasized the impact of sacrificial leadership and the importance of thinking strategically about community growth. A highlight of the retreat was the final session on “Managing Leadership Anxiety,” where participants discussed the real pressures of leadership and learned strategies from experienced leaders for navigating anxiety and sustaining resilience in their roles.

Meet Susan Davis

We are excited to welcome Susan Davis as the new Managing Director for AsOne Ministries!

Susan grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Wheaton College with a B.A. in Economics. She spent eight years living and working in Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda with Amani ya Juu and Samaritan’s Purse International Relief. Following her time in East Africa, she worked in the IT and Security industry in sales, operations, and finance roles.

Susan is passionate about AsOne’s mission and its emphasis on local ownership, which align closely with her love for the Lord and her heart for the global Church. She and her husband, Brian (also a Wheaton graduate), live in La Quinta, California. Susan is actively involved in her local church, enjoys studying the Bible, and loves hiking and being outdoors.

Looking Ahead to Q4

As we enter the final quarter of 2025, we are committed to closing the year strong in alignment with our strategic plan. Focuses for this quarter include:

Pallisa (Community #8) - We will be finishing up construction at our Nursery and Primary School and Clinic in Pallisa! We’ll also be hiring team members for these new programs and getting out into the community to market and promote them.
Marketing - Our teams have set ambitious goals for school and vocational training enrollment next year. We’ll be implementing marketing strategies across multiple communities to set ourselves up for success in reaching these goals.
People Development - We’re excited to expand our Emerging Leaders program, welcome new team members, and develop a plan to continue strengthening our organizational culture while investing in leadership growth through 2026.

A Decade of Impact

This fall, we’re marking 10 years of impact in Uganda! What started in 2015 with Andrew DeVaney and Henry Iwumbwe has grown into a movement of hope and transformation. We invite you to celebrate with us and give thanks for all that God has done through AsOne—and through your partnership—to make it possible.

DENVER EVENT

Tuesday, October 21 // 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Thomas Garage

1500 W Thomas Ave. Englewood, CO 80110

Learn more