GOSPELLIFE INTERNATIONAL
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the
power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16
OUR HISTORY
Robert Baker Ministries Gospel & Life International was first registered in 1994. In 2002, the name was changed to RBM-Gospellife International, and in 2013, it was registered with the Charities Commission as G0spellife International.
The organisation has always existed to take God’s Word and humanitarian aid wherever God leads. Robert began with trips to Romania, which continued every year from 1989 until 1996. During each of these years, Robert drove approximately 40 tons of clothes, medicine and provision over the Transylvania Mountains to provide for people in desperate need following the fall of Ceausescu. He and his team were devastated to see orphaned children confined to cots in appalling conditions and other children living in sewers.
Gospellife International took its first trip to Uganda, Africa, in 1996, where Robert established links with pastors, churches, and schools in Kampala through local church missions and leadership seminars. Those connections still exist today and are flourishing as the work in Uganda continues. Robert also ventured to the remote villages of the Sibanga sub-county, Manafwa District, Mbale, Eastern Uganda. To his surprise and delight, the villagers told Robert that he was the first white missionary to preach the Gospel in that district.
In 2002, Rev. Gerri Di Somma of Carmel Ministries International joined Robert on a mission trip to Mbale, Uganda, where many local people accepted Jesus as their Saviour. Through his ongoing connection with Carmel Ministries International, Robert was appointed as the Missions Director of the church and as a lecturer at Carmel Bible College. This started a new season of taking Bible College students on mission trips as part of their diploma course. From 2003 to 2006, Robert returned to Iasi, Romania, with groups of students. The students were shocked to find communities of Romanians living in derelict ex-communist flats and shacks without windows, running water or electricity, as well as barefoot children in worn-out clothes with diseases all around them (as one student from Africa commented, "I have never seen such poverty as this in all my time in Africa"). The teams took provisions for local families and organised fun events for the children, showing them the love of God they desperately needed.
In 2006, Robert took a group of students from Carmel’s Leadership Academy to Philadelphia, working alongside Pastor Jean Claude Lukuso, who had planted a church in a deprived area of the city.
In 2007, Robert took the first group of Bible College students to Uganda for their annual mission trip. Initially, these Ugandan missions were based in Kampala, where the ministry focused on church seminars, leadership training, school outreaches, street evangelism, and open-air Gospel crusades. In 2008, the team’s involvement was an integral part of the establishment of a 2,000-member church.
Ministry in Kampala was successful, but Robert’s involvement in Mbale had become an integral part of the work of Gospellife International in Uganda, and from 2010 to the present day, the Bible College missions have been based in this beautiful area. Robert works alongside the pastors and has strengthened the churches through his ministry. The results speak for themselves: from just one small church in 1996, over 75 vibrant churches exist, whose leaders work together in the local villages.
Every year, a Gospel crusade is held in a different village, supporting the local church. Many people are saved and healed at these crusades. One such healing happened to an old lady whose back had been bent over for a very long time; it was physically impossible for her to stand straight. But after members of the team prayed for her, the lady’s back straightened, and she was able to walk up-right! Two children from the same family, both deaf from birth, were also healed!
Each trip also includes purchasing Bibles, educational resources, food, clothes, and cooking utensils for the local communities. Having identified that the pastors in this area have had no formal training, very little teaching material and very few Bibles, Gospellife International has undertaken a programme to equip pastors into their potential, supplying them with Study Bibles and teaching materials. Equally, congregations of hundreds often share one Bible between them, so the programme also supplies Bibles to the churches.
In 2015, the team expanded into western Uganda, in places such As Hoima and Kabogojera Ibanda, undertaking the same programmes as in Kampala and Mbale.
Robert retired from his position of Missions Director at Carmel Ministries International in 2012 to develop Gospellife International through missions to Uganda and Eastern Europe, particularly to teach pastors in rural areas.
There are currently 5 key workers who assist Robert in Uganda, 3 of whom Robert and Mary encouraged and supported to attend Carmel Bible College. In total, 24 Ugandan students have graduated from Carmel Bible College thanks to the help of Robert and Gospellife International.
In 2014, an exciting new development took place: Gospellife International was established as an NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) in Uganda, giving Robert a recognisable status in the country, thus enabling him to operate independently in his mission for Christ.
More recently, during 2020 and 2021, Gospellife International has provided food for starving people during the COVID-19 pandemic. With businesses closed, jobs lost and no social welfare, many people in Uganda have suffered during this period. Gospellife International has been the link for survival for hundreds of pastors and families. This generosity has been made possible because of the supporters of Gospellife International. From the pastors and families. We thank you.