Two Conferences with the Theme: “The Kingdom of God”
Greetings to all! Some of you have heard a partial update from Dan about the two conferences just completed in the Migori area of Southwest Kenya. This area is mostly poor, but the people are warm and receptive. Above all, the Lord has opened a door for the gospel of the Kingdom to people to that area, and we want to be faithful in our response.
Just a note: Dan and I, together with Joshua Rozario, originally visited the area in 2019, and Dan and I returned in 2020. Our host minister, and fellow laborer, was Julius Midodo, who is a leader in the PEFA (Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa) denomination. Then COVID hit, and I was the only one of us available for travel when restrictions lifted. Visits are generally limited to February/March and July/August because those are the dry seasons. We usually schedule two conferences during a visit to maximize our efforts. We do conferences rather than meetings at local churches because that allows us the opportunity for a more comprehensive message. Going alone is not ideal, both for support and confirmation of the message (by two or more), but it was clear that God was opening this door.
The ministry on this trip was provided by Dan Devitis (Pennsylvania), Joseph Rozario (Bangalore, India), and me (South Carolina), together with much appreciated traveling and logistical support from Joseph’s son, Joshua (Texas). Julius Midodo acted as host minister and translator, as well as opening up his home for two weeks to our ragtag group. Each conference consisted of 10 to 12 meetings over a period of three or four days. Dan, Joseph and I have different speaking styles and backgrounds, but we deliver the same message and we flowed well together. And Julius offered much more than simple, faithful translation: he was able to expand/clarify in areas where the message was not easily understandable in the culture of that part of Africa. And you can never underestimate the importance of good and faithful translation.
The first conference was for the regional leadership of PEFA. About 230 pastors, deacons, and other leaders were in attendance. Some had heard us speak during the past four years, but for most of them, this was a new subject to them. They understood the gospel of salvation, but had no idea about how to help a church grow in any way but bringing in more people. The gospel of the kingdom, where the character and person of Jesus Christ is revealed to his people so that the Body of Christ grows “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph 4.13). As a group, the people were bound up in religious rules and didn’t know why they were saved. As I said above, the people were mostly poor, and life is hard: they needed to know God would provide for them and that heaven waited for them, but they didn’t see any real purpose to their lives beyond that.
All of that changed for many of them during the conference. They began to understand better the life of Christ within us; what God’s original purpose for man was (and still is); what God wants to in this age and how He intends to use the church to accomplish this; how and why we can seek and understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God; and how giving our lives to Him in fulness (through seeking first the kingdom) brings them heaven on earth now. This was received with gladness by many. But as usual, some of the leaders were only cautiously open because the vision (as Dan said) impacted their religious positions the most.
The second conference was local, at a church led by a man named Tobias (who had attended the leadership conference the week before. Dan and Joshua left after the leadership conference, so Joseph and I spoke at all the meetings, together with Julius to translate and amplify the messages. We had a wonderful time there, and the message was fully received by the church leaders. We also had a few of the other leaders from the first conference for a few of the messages. There were upwards of 100 at this conference (with seemingly at least as many children). During the conference I had something of a revelation. As Dan said during a previous update, the challenge of preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to all nations (Mt 24.14) is beyond our group of USFM elders, as well as 100 other such groups. But during the conference I realized that these folks, in this little backwoods church near Lake Victoria, could carry this gospel themselves to other parts of East Africa and beyond. As it says in Isa 40.15, “the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.” Nothing is going to withstand God’s people in God’s purpose. I shared this with that precious group, to a response of cheering.
To those that have prayed for these (and other) ministry trips: Thank You! Now that we have a scattering of churches and current (and future) leaders, there will be more trips to support them in their growth. In addition, the messages from both conferences will be made available to them to review and renew their purpose. Please continue to support this effort in prayer.
Gary Simmons
