[4] He was the oldest of ten children and enjoyed a happy childhood in his small village where he often hunted and played cricket.
In his senior year, he was enrolled into the officer cadet training camp of the Tank Corp as a result of World War I.
[1] The war ended soon after this and through the British Army, he obtained a grant to attend Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge to study medicine.
In preparation for practicing medicine abroad, he pursued further training as a house surgeon and casualty officer at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.
[1] After eight years, he felt called to full time ministerial missions in Rwanda and Uganda and his younger brother, Dr. Bill Church, took over for him at Gahini Hospital.
Aside from training future ministry workers, he also led many mission trips and held many conferences for the Anglican Church in Rwanda and Uganda.
[1] In 1947, he and his family officially moved back to Gahini, Rwanda where he served as a doctor and helped pastor the 300 village churches.
He worked with leaders including Festo Kivengere, Erica Sabiti, Blasio Kigozi, Yosiya Kinuka, Simeoni Nsibambi and William Nagenda.
On his retirement in 1965, the Churchs lived on the shores of Lake Victoria; they left Africa for England in 1972 during Idi Amin’s regime.
[1] Dr. Joe and Dr. Decie were recognized for their work by King Baudouin of Belgium and were awarded the ‘medaille d’ or de l’ordre royal du Lion’.