Brethren in Christ: We had another wonderful time of ministry in Kenya in February and March. Two conferences, one of which was a leadership conference in the PEFA Central South Nyanza Region, and the second in one of the local churches in that region.
The ministry there is evolving in a few key ways. One of them is that we have concentrated our efforts in this region, where Julius Midodo is now what they refer to as a regional bishop. All of the 50+ churches and 6000+ members look to Julius for leadership. In the past, some of the regional leadership have supported our message but not all, and there was always an undercurrent that might have wanted to go in a different (read: more denominational) direction. In this region, with Brother Midodo and his new leadership team, there is much more unity.
The second key change is that, by concentrating in one region, we are able to move from the foundational messages (concerning life in Christ and the mysteries of the Kingdom of God) to ministry that promotes true function within the body of Christ.
Leadership Conference, 19-Feb thru 22-Feb (Dan DeVitis, Joshua Rozario, Gary Simmons)
The first conference was a leadership conference attended by about 50 pastors and other leaders. Dan DeVitis and I came armed with a fairly detailed ministry plan and message outlines which we left with them that they could review after we left. In addition, we had sessions each day with a few key brothers where Joshua Rozario, together with Dan, could teach them how to download the podcast messages that Dan is putting on the UFSM website. I can tell you that the three of us and Julius were busy. The messages and access to the podcast materials were extremely well received. We (meaning Joshua) are also working on making the conference audio messages available. As always, there were some changes to our original ministry plans; and, as always, the planning itself was crucial to our success.
General Conference, 26-Feb thru 1-Mar (James Koser, Gary Simmons)
The second conference was in a local church within the region. James Koser and I shared the bulk of the messages, but the evening messages were presented by leaders who attended the first conference. Once again, we were very excited to see the response from the local church and others who were able to travel farther to attend. A first for me: I was asked to preach at an open-air evangelical meeting, and a number of folks were saved. This was outside of my usual comfort zone. Julius asked me to speak at a second evangelical meeting the next day, and a few more folks came to salvation. This conference was James Koser’s first time in Africa, and the people loved him.
Just a few more comments. I’m very grateful that I no longer have to do conferences alone. In terms of ministry styles, and to a certain extent message content, we are very different. The same is true with Joseph Rozario and Dr. Mike Kelly, who ministered with me in the conferences in August, 2024. And yet, the meetings flowed together to provide a unified message. This was not our doing. The meetings also had a few supernatural events; we never want to pursue those, but we’re always grateful when they happen. And all of us learned a lot from ministering together and with Julius.
Next opportunity for ministry there will be in July/August. Pray for us in this work. There are third-world type problems there that we can’t fix (although we can help as led by the Spirit). Yet we’re called to speak to them concerning the only real solution: Jesus Christ our Lord, and the overcoming gospel of the kingdom of God.
Finally, a few pictures.
Joshua Rozario and a friend:
Dan:
James:
Gary and Julius:
And Julius, cutting a caper with the kids at the front of the church:
