The word actually has its origins in the Bantu languages of southern Africa. For some of our Underground network, it’s where they come together in community. Desmond Tutu gave the word some definition by saying, “A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when other are humiliated or diminished, when others are torture or oppressed.”
The philosophy of Ubunutu is community at it’s best, and that’s why the core team of this house church chose this name for their gathering. In 2006, a group of six people began to meet as a church. At the time, they were all maintaing their separate ministries, but they were able to come together to meet and experience life together. In 2007 as Underground was beginning to form, they decided it was time for a name and found Ubuntu as the perfect word to describe what was happening in their home church.
For Ubuntu, it’s not just about getting together once a week for bible study and dinner. It’s about experiencing life together. For some, it’s been their community for years and for others, it was just a season. The growth of Ubuntu cannot be measured by their weekly meeting, but by the ministries its people have created. The same mission that brought them together as a community is the mission that inspires and drives them to expand the kingdom. We were not meant to live life alone, and Ubuntu is a perfect example of the change that can occur when we choose to live life together with others.
Ubuntu meets Sundays at 6:00 p.m. If you would like to visit, contact Wil at 813.765.9166 or wsekajipo@yahoo.com
