Praying for Graduated Students
July 10, 2024
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
We graduated some beloved students this past week. It was a crazy, hectic week that left me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, not to mention that I had to take Julie to the airport and was thus left alone with Chloe (more on this later). But graduation is so much more than just walking down the aisle in fancy regalia and receiving a diploma…and much more than the week leading up to it…and much more than the big celebrations following it. No, graduation is the culmination of years of Biblical, theological, and practical study and work put in by both student and teacher. It is so awesome to see the change in students from when they arrive to when they graduate, and they all change so much. They don’t leave perfect, but I pray they leave better. They still don’t know everything (neither do I), they still aren’t the best preachers (neither am I, and most are better than me), they still make mistakes (so do I), and they still have a long way to go (and, yes, so do I). It is very satisfying to see their growth and to know how appreciative they all are when they leave for what they have learned. For me, I have only one goal for these students. OK, it’s one goal that leads to one result (is that really two goals?). I want them to know and love Jesus more, and as a result that they might minister the gospel better to believers and unbelievers. My goal for them is not more Biblical knowledge (although I do want this for them and they do get it), nor is it better theological understanding (although I also desire this for them and they do get it), nor is it more education (and, yes, they obviously leave with that). No, my goal is that they know and love Jesus better and can minister the gospel to people better because of it. I remind my students of that goal in every class whether it is hermeneutics, basic theology, or financial management. And now this graduating class is moving on to other things and my prayer remains the same: Lord, make them better ministers of Jesus, for the glory of Your name and for the good of Your people. I am sad to see this class go because I will miss spending time with them, but I am happy that better ministers of Jesus have graduated. I ask youto pray for these beloved students by name: Simon Wakaba, Stephen Kamau, Rachel Gatobu, John Victor Okawa, Kanaiyo Arem, Yoyce Wangari, Margaret Ngeiryo, John Gitonga, Gideon Kithuka, Augustus Mwanthi, Asifiwe Precieux, Jiresse Kabala, Rachael Mbithe, Steven Kasereka, David Mundeke, Christine Njoki, Joshua Mutuku, Joel Mwongela, Winrose Echelel, Samuel Mwangi, David Ndungu, Robert Amisi, and Abednego Muluki.
Julie is in the States for a month visiting our children and parents. Oh, no, what am I going to do without her? Chloe and I are left here alone in her absence. I’m sure Chloe will be getting very tired of me very soon. Every day she asks me, “Is mommy coming home tomorrow?” I keep telling her, “No, it’s going to feel like a very long time and then, all of a sudden, she’ll be back.” You all can pray for Chloe and me as we face the long month together and you can pray for Julie as she faces the rigors and strangeness (yes, after being away for sixteen years it can feel strange to us now) of the United States without us.
You know, after reading back through this newsletter, I realize I am the King of Parentheses (something should go here but I cannot think of what).
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Students Knowing, Loving, & Following Jesus
June 14, 2024
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ,
I was reading over my newsletter from last month entitled “Is this Place Cursed?” I hope I did not come across too pessimistically because this place is definitely NOT cursed. Yes, I have come to the conclusion that it is a much more dangerous place to live than what I am used to in the United States. There are more natural disasters, the roads are much more dangerous, we face drought and floods, and even the smallest insects seem to be much more deadly. But God loves this place and God loves the people and we want to see them all knowing, loving, and following Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And, praise be to God, many of them ARE knowing, loving, and following Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And, praise be to God, some of them I get to work with and teach on a daily basis and get to see their growth and progress in the Kingdom of Christ.
Case in point: I am currently teaching our first-year students in a class called Basic Theology (Part 2). These are mostly young and inexperienced students desiring to enter the ministry and serve the Lord in the expansion of His kingdom (make sure to read “inexperienced” and not “stupid” because they are all, in fact, very bright and intelligent). We were talking about Salvation (Soteriology), and I wanted them to be aware that historically and also in the modern Christian world there are often vast differences in the way Christians have taught about Salvation – from Calvinism to Arminianism, from God choosing to man choosing, from sovereignty to free will, from determinism to Open Theism. My goal was to make sure they understood some of these differences, to look at the Scriptures to try and determine the answers, and to critically think about what God has revealed to us in His Word. The debates in this arena of theology have been hot for centuries and I wished them to be aware of the concepts, the terminology, and the approaches. It was a difficult conversation for many of them as they were not all aware of the differences or the terminology. Some of them struggled because they had never heard there was “another viewpoint” than the one they had always been taught and they were seeing things in the Scriptures that they were having to wrestle with. I wasn’t purposefully trying to confuse anyone, but it is good for future pastors and church leaders to be familiar with these concepts, and to be able to critically think about the Scripture’s teaching so that they are not swayed by every “wind of doctrine” that comes along. After long discussions I wanted to bring them back around to the Biblical teaching that salvation is by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide), in Christ alone (solus Christus), to the glory of God alone (soli Deo gloria). One of my students, named Reuben, gave an illustration that showed confusion in some areas but great understanding in the important areas. He said: “Mwalimu (teacher), when the thief on the cross next to Jesus died and then appeared before the gates of heaven, they probably asked him, ‘Are you a Calvinist or an Arminian? How did you get here?’ The thief probably looked around and said, ‘I don’t know who Calvin is, and I don’t know anything about Arminianism, but I asked that guy on the middle cross to remember me and he told me that I would be with him in paradise. I’m with that guy on the middle cross.’” OK, there may not be perfect theology in Reuben’s illustration, but I agree with Reuben, I’m with that guy on the middle cross. Lord, bless these beloved students, followers of Jesus, and future church leaders and pastors. Help them above all things to cling to the man on the middle cross and to lead all the Kenyan people to cling to that man on the middle cross.
Another case in point: I also serve as the finance manager of the college. In that role I deal daily with the struggles and challenges of students to find the necessary money to pay their school fees. Paying school fees is probably the biggest challenge my beloved students face. We have policies in place at the school, but I have to be as gracious and merciful as I can be to my financially struggling students. I would rather be gracious and give them extensions than to lose a future church leader because he cannot pay his school fees and complete his Biblical education. I was working with one particular student over the span of a couple of weeks, her name is Faith, that was facing great challenges in paying her fees. In the end, I helped her complete her fees by paying the balance of 4000 shillings. This is only $31, but she was overjoyed. Like as if I was a king of old and in her tears of joy, she prayed that the Lord would bless me with long life, with peace and happiness, and with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Lord, in return, would you bless Faith with the necessary funds for her school fees and may she all of her life direct and bring her Kenyan people to King Jesus.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie, & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Is this Place Cursed?
May 10, 2024
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Is this place cursed?
Yes, I have actually been asking myself that question this month. You may recall that just last year around this time I was asking for prayers because the area was plagued by drought, we had no water, and all the crops were drying and dying. We even had forest fires that I saw from my kitchen window and wondered how long before I would have to evacuate. We prayed to God for months for rain and it finally came, but not in time to save all the crops. Once the rain started last year, it hasn’t really stopped raining. And now? Well, now we have so much everyday, heavy rain that the country is flooding. And I don’t mean just a little flooding here and there. I mean so much flooding that it has reached international news (you may have seen it). If you have watched any international news in the last few weeks, you may have heard of a place called Mai Mahiu. Mai Mahiu is a town down in the Rift Valley. I see this town down in the valley every time I look out my back porch. Early last week, in the middle of the night, a temporary dam caused by downed trees and debris broke and the backed-up water rushed like a torrent down the escarpment. This dam was only about one mile north of our house and a few hundred meters up the escarpment. I say this because it did not miss us by very much. It was very close. Anyway, the escaped water tore down the escarpment, wiping out everything in its path. It hit the valley floor, almost like a bomb, and the water continued to pour into the valley floor all night long. It destroyed everything – EVERYTHING – in its path and wiped out an entire square kilometer of land on the valley floor before it ran across the valley and disappeared somewhere on the other side. All the trees were uprooted, all the houses it hit were destroyed, and hundreds of sleeping people were buried in mud before they even knew what hit them. Over a hundred people were killed and many more were and are still missing. Now, when I look out over the valley from my back porch, I am no longer seeing forest fires, but I see the wiped-out area where the flood hit and the ugly brown path of mud the water traversed after it hit the valley floor. I can look through binoculars and see destroyed houses, half-buried and overturned cars and buses, and rescue workers looking for survivors. It is a terrible tragedy and most everybody from up here in Kijabe knows somebody who was affected, including Julie and me. And, the rain still didn’t stop. Water is running down all the streets, the ground is saturated to the point where crops cannot be planted, and the water in our tank is muddy-brown and not drinkable. Now we are pleading with God that the rain would stop before more devastation occurs. The following scenario is very strange it is difficult to accept: Pray to God for rain; pray for rain; pray for rain; pray for rain; pray for rain; finally get some rain; thank God for the rain; get more rain; get more rain; get more rain; flooding; flooding; flooding; pray to God to stop giving us rain. Are you getting the idea of why I’m asking myself if this place is cursed?
So, this place is NOT cursed. However, the people of Kenya DO live lives that are much more difficult than I can imagine. If it is frustrating for me to see and experience, I cannot begin to imagine how frustrating it must be for them. Despite tragedy, the faith of the believers here remains strong, though, and I am encouraged that the Christians here are leading the way by sharing and showing the love of Jesus. On the morning of the flood and mudslide in the valley, I was in a prayer meeting with some of my students at the college. We were praying for the victims of the mudslide in the valley when one of my students was overcome with grief and said: “I’ve prayed enough. I need to go down there and help those people. Why am I still up here when I can look down there and see that area covered in mud?” His comment left us all speechless. In a couple of days, these beloved students, these pastors and church leaders in training DID mobilize themselves into action. They got up early on their weekend day off, prepared food and clothing for flood victims, and hiked down into the valley to pray and help. I have provided a picture of a group of my students. They are gathered in a circle praying, kneeling in the mud, with downed trees and devastation all around them. Thank you, God, for this great group of people who love Jesus, love their fellow humans and neighbors, and want to show the love of Jesus to them. May they be an inspiration to all of us to do the same: love and trust You, love our neighbor, and share the love of Jesus with them in word and action.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Growth in the Last Year
April 10, 2024
Greetings to you all from me all the way over here in Kenya. As I do every year, I went back to read my letter from last year and was so excited to see that we are in a very different place this year! Last year, we were coming off more years than I want to count of severe stress, trauma, and struggle. We were learning how to lean hard into God’s grace and be okay with holding our joy in Christ in one hand while simultaneously holding struggle and grief in the other.
Though I won’t pretend we don’t still struggle (a lot) from day-to-day, the struggle has been different this year. God has given us a chance to take deeper breaths as the seasons of trauma seem fewer and farther between. Having said that, the seasons of trauma are still intense, and I often pray to see more spiritual and mental growth in our precious Chloe. When I take a step back, though, I see the tremendous growth that actually has occurred – not just in Chloe, but also in Roger and me. And I am so thankful.
Speaking of growth, there has also been a lot of physical growth in Chloe. She’s only nine years old, and she’s over five feet tall! That’s over six inches taller than the average girl her age! Her shoe size is even bigger than mine! LOL!
There have been other exciting changes for me personally this year. Last year I began teaching the elementary computer classes at RVA (Rift Valley Academy, for those who are unfamiliar). Over the course of the past 12 months, I’ve gone from teaching all the elementary computer classes…to actually rewriting the curriculum…to adding teaching 4th-6th grade Swahili to my job description…to actually writing a brand new children’s Swahili curriculum complete with books, activities, songs, interactive PowerPoint games, picture playing cards, and assessments! And having fun doing it! This is all while still doing the computer classes and getting my teaching certificate from Bob Jones University.
It hasn’t all been roses, however. God has had to really stretch me into these roles. I remember clearly the day I walked into my principal’s office in tears after my Swahili students had mostly failed a pretty big assessment using the original curriculum. I sat down and said, “Katy, I don’t think I’m the right person for this job.” She looked at me and said, in her wonderfully Scottish, straightforward manner, “You are exactly the right person for this job. Nobody else has the skills you bring to the table. You’ll figure it out.” That was it. There was no more discussion on the matter other than she was available to bounce ideas off of. Forty-eight hours later, an entirely new and mostly complete curriculum was in my head.
This has been a theme from God in my life this past year. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to Him with the heart cry of, “I’m not the right person for this job! I can’t do this!” And every time, He reminds me of two things. First, He reminds me that He chose me for this. Sure, there are probably reasons, but anything I bring to the table are things He built into me. I can’t take the credit for any of it – all the glory goes to Him. Second, he reminds me that His strength is made perfect in my weakness. I don’t have to pretend I have it all together. I don’t have to “fake-it-‘til-I-make-it,” I don’t have to give in to toxic positivity that totally ignores the entire book of the Psalms, of Lamentations, of Jeremiah…and so many others. Because it’s when I am most broken that I am most aware He must provide the strength for me to put one foot in front of the other. And when He does (which He always does) it’s so obviously Him, that I must praise Him!
Some quick prayer requests from my mother’s (and daughter’s) heart. 1. Pray for my parents. They are really struggling with their health. My older brother Jim and his wife were helping to care for them, but Jim suddenly lost his sight last summer. So, you can pray for him, too, please. 2. Pray for my adult children. Life isn’t always easy, but God is good. Pray that they will taste and see. 3. Pray for Chloe. The support worker who has been with her for two years suddenly quit (long story), and she has a new one who is learning the ropes. In some ways we’ve taken ten steps backward. Lynn leaving has left Chloe feeling like she’s trash – like she ruins everything. She often tells me how badly she feels about herself and that I should just throw her away. This absolutely breaks my heart. 4. Pray for a Western teacher for Chloe. I know that sounds terrible, but the educational system here simply isn’t great, and the mindset of educators is very harsh. I truly believe this would be a game changer for her.
Thank you for all your prayers and support! My love to you all!
Julie Tate
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Life Can Be Strange
March 10, 2024
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
Life can be strange, can’t it? How often do you stop and think to yourself, “how in the world did I end up here, doing this, at this point in my life?” If you’re anything like me, then you do this often. When I was eighteen and going to college for the first time, I never would have thought that at fifty-four I would be in Africa, teaching at a Bible college, and pouring my life into Bible students and future Kenyan ministers. Maybe you are where I was thirty-six years ago – not thinking about ministry work, not thinking about missions, not thinking about Africa – only thinking about finishing school, making money, and girls. Maybe the Lord will lead you in strange ways too. Maybe He will lead you to the mission field where you will be doing strange things as well.
I really do get to pour my life into future pastors and ministers. Lots of teaching, lots of mentoring and modeling, lots of counseling and guiding. But pouring into future ministers isn’t all study, teaching, and heavy theology. It also means some fun too. Last week I invited my mentoring-group of students to my house for the evening (see the picture I provided). This is a small group of students that I get together with a couple times every week to talk about their lives, their spiritual walk, practical ministry, and stuff. But the evening at my house was just for fun. You know – eat, play games, be goofy, relax, and get to know each other better on a personal level. Yes, missionaries and pastors can be goofy too. We ate a lot, laughed a lot, and played some games. We played a game called Snorta – a rowdy, raucous game involving quickly remembering another player’s animal and making their animal sound before they can make your animal sound. Sounds dumb, and it is, but it’s fun. I thought it would be easy, however, there was something about Kenyan guys that I didn’t know – they don’t have cutesy animal noises for animals. In America, we all know the cute animal sounds for various animals. Pigs say, “oink, oink.” Dogs say, “bow wow.” Ducks say, “quack, quack.” Frogs say, “ribbit, ribbit.” Mice say, “squeak, squeak.” You recognize all those, right? Well, in Kenya, as I found out, animals don’t say those cutesy sounds. So, my Kenyan men could only try and make the sounds that they actually hear the animal say. And, as I found out, they all sound the same. Kenya pigs say, “hurrrumph.” Kenyan dogs say, “harrumph.” Kenyan ducks say, “karrrumph.” Kenyan frogs say, “gggurrrumph.” And Kenyan mice say, “hurrrumph”…only at a little higher pitch. OK, it was crazy, it was fun, and we laughed at each other a lot. In the end I think God was pleased with our little get-together as He was probably laughing at us too. These are good men that I have the honor to spend time with and help shape them for their future ministry of spreading the gospel and expanding the kingdom of Jesus. Life is strange. Who knew part of my ministry in this world would involve sitting around a table with eight Kenyan guys making strange and funny animals sounds.
Not so strange is the activity I will be involved in tomorrow (Sunday). I will be taking another group of students (different from my mentoring-group) to a town about an hour from here, called Kinoo. We will be preaching and ministering there in Kinoo for the day. I will be preaching and one of my students who will be graduating in July will also be preaching. He has the great, Biblical name of Abednego. He is the only “Abednego” I have ever met in my life. You can’t pray for us for tomorrow as you will not get this newsletter until much later, but you can pray that the results of the gospel message and the proclaiming of the Word of God would be far-reaching and enduring for all those who hear it.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
The Love of a Father
February 8, 2024
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ,
Kijabe is currently covered in thousands of little, white butterflies. I look out and in every direction I see little, white butterflies. They are all flying in the same direction, so they can’t just be the same butterflies flitting about. This has been going on for two weeks. I cannot even begin to imagine the number of butterflies that have flown by. At times it almost looks like it is snowing.
I am currently in the midst of this new term, and I am very much enjoying the classes and I think the students are as well. In Basic Theology class we have some awesome discussions on our various theological topics. These are my first-year students, but they are already good, deep thinkers. I know I have asked them a tough question, though, when the only response I get is silence. My other class is Biblical Financial Management with my last-year students who will graduate in July. We are having a good time and having deep discussions in this class as well, even though you might think it hard to have deep discussions over financial management. But my goal in the class, as I keep reminding my students over and over, is not to help them become rich (I could care less whether ever are or not) but that they might honor and glorify God with their money and in the way they manage the finances of their churches. The financial principles I focus on more are about integrity, stewardship, and honoring God rather than just budgeting, planning, reporting, and other financial stuff (although I do teach them budgeting, planning, reporting, and other financial stuff). These are critical issues for my Kenyan students. Pastoral and church ministry can actually be a trapping for unsuspecting ministers. It is so acceptable among many pastors to mismanage and even steal funds from the church that this generation of future pastors and church leaders need to learn these lessons before heading into the ministry of the kingdom of Christ.
It is not all just classes, classes, classes for me though. Some of my best moments for discipleship come in the everyday times of spending time with my students. I was sitting at lunch with some students, both male and female, and the discussion we had really hit me hard and made me realize just how much love and discipleship my beloved students need. Having finished our food, one of the female students said, “Mwalimu (teacher), I want to marry your son” (don’t worry, Josiah, I haven’t committed you to anyone). I have actually been told this from Kenyan women many times before and the reason has ALWAYS been the same. So, when I asked her why she wanted to marry my son I expected the usual answer – Because he is a rich American and I want to marry a rich American and not be poor. So, I was quite surprised when the dialogue went like the following. Student: You love your wife, right? Roger: Yes. Student: You show her that and tell her that right? Roger: Yes. Student: You love your daughters, right? Roger: Yes. Student: You show them that and tell them that right? Roger: Yes, all the time. Student: My father has never told me he loves me. He never calls me or talks with me. The only time I talk to him is when I call him to ask him for school fees. I want to marry your son because he will love me and love my daughters and they will know that they are loved. Roger: I’m sorry that your father doesn’t know how to communicate his love to you but I’m sure that he really does love you. Student: Mwalimu, I really don’t know that is true. I really don’t know that my father loves me. He has never said it or shown it to me.
At this point in the conversation the other female student spoke up and confirmed that this was the exact same relationship she had with her own father. Then all the male students that were sitting around the table piped up and said all of their relationships with their fathers were also the same. I felt very sad for my students and tried very hard to convince them that their fathers truly did love them but none of them were convinced. I am not a perfect man, husband, father, son, brother, teacher, missionary, or Christian by any means. At least I can try and model, as best I can, Christian love to these beloved students. I told them all, “I can’t promise you that your father loves you, but your Heavenly Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and I love you too.” It may have been the first time they had ever heard a father figure say that to them.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
The Importance of Biblical Financial Management
December 10, 2023
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ,
Julie and I are both currently on break from teaching duties as our students have all returned home for the Christmas break. This makes me say “boo” and “yea” at the same time. “Boo,” because I enjoy teaching and helping students to know the Bible better and to become better ministers for the Kingdom. “Yea,” because with the students all gone on break it makes my duties a little bit lighter for the month. I say a little bit lighter because now that the students are gone, I still have to spend the month preparing for my two classes next term. Next term I will be teaching Basic Theology 1 to our first-year students and Biblical Financial Management to our students who will be graduating in July. I have taught the Basic Theology course before so it will not take much time to prepare, and also, I know how much I enjoy the class. What a pleasure to teach and talk about Bible Theology with our new students, all of whom are so eager to learn and grow in the grace of God. I have not taught Biblical Financial Management at Moffat before so this is the class that will take up my free time in the month of December. It would probably be stretching the truth a little to tell my students that Biblical Financial Management is the most important course they will take at Moffat, but I will probably say it to them on their first day of class anyway (I have also said it to my Hermeneutics class, my Basic Theology class, my New Testament Survey class, and my Church Planting class). Yeah, it may not be their most important class, but for these students it is a very important class. These students need to know what the Bible says about money and the Biblical principles for handling money. They need to know that the way they use their money reflects the status of their hearts and their relationship with God. They need to know how to Biblically manage the financial resources of their churches in order to better fulfill their mission and to bring glory to God. Money is a really big issue in Kenyan churches. Church members fight over it, and most pastors are not trusted by their church members. Transparency is unheard of, but what is often heard of is the pastor taking money out of the offering plate and putting it into his pocket when he thinks he needs it more than the church does. And with the Prosperity gospel and the Health and Wealth gospel being so ubiquitous in Kenya, these students really need this class. All around them and on TV they see “pastors” fleecing the members of the church and getting rich. They need to know that these are not true ministers of Jesus, and they need to stand strong when the same temptation comes their way. There is even a book by an African author I may have them read called “Pastor, Stop Fleecing your Flock”. It really is that common of an occurrence. So, yes, we will be looking at budgets and income/expense worksheets, and bank reconciliations, and all that stuff. But the real purpose is not for them to get rich but for them to honor and glorify God in the way they conduct their personal finances and the financial management of their church resources. It is a good class. I am looking forward to it.
I am also looking forward to the Christmas season. I cannot believe it, but all my adult children and their spouses will be here with us for Christmas this year, the first two arriving in just two days from the writing of this letter. All my children (including Chloe) being together with us for Christmas has not happened in a very long time, so this event is very unique. Those of you who have been following my newsletters know that our first Christmas in Kenya was fifteen years ago: Emily was thirteen, Amy was eight, and Josiah was seven that year. Now Emily is twenty-eight and has been married for seven years, Amy is twenty-three and has been married for almost two years, and Josiah is twenty-two. In just a few days they will all be here, sitting on the porch, drinking my coffee, and looking out over the Rift Valley. How time flies.
I will make a missionary confession here: the sacrifice of time with my children is NOT a sacrifice I like making. I know I am supposed to be strong and to be able to say, like other missionaries of old, “I never made a sacrifice, and it was all worth it.” But being so far away from my kids is hard, and I don’t even have grandkids yet. You all can pray for me in this area. You can also pray for Chloe for the next two weeks. She is going to be overwhelmed, over-sensitized, out of sorts, and out of her routine. Pray that she might somehow not be anxious and that she somehow would be able to go with the flow and enjoy the season.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
Read more
Students Taking the Gospel to the Masai People on Break
November 9, 2023
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
In addition to all the additional responsibilities and tasks I have this month, I was also privileged by being asked by a group of students to conduct an evangelism seminar for their missions group. There is a missions club at the school called Antioch. They get their name from the first city and church in the New Testament that purposefully sent out foreign and cross-cultural missionaries. The church in Antioch on the Orontes, or Antioch Syria, commissioned and sent out Barnabas and Paul to take the gospel to the Roman empire and the Gentiles nations. It was a great, mission-minded church and second in importance in the New Testament only to the church in Jerusalem. But even the church in Jerusalem didn’t accomplish what the church in Antioch did, in sending out the first cross-cultural, foreign missionaries.
Anyway, the group gets its name from this great church. What impresses me about the Antioch group is their own mission-minded attitudes. This is a group of eighteen students who have a focus on missions, on sharing the gospel with people who have not heard it or are resistant to it. On November 24th all the students in the school will complete their last final exam for the term. Most of them will take their break from school and go home to rest and be with their families until January. But these eighteen students of Antioch will not be going home right away. They have decided instead to spend ten days of their break going to Samburu in central Kenya. They want to minister to a large group of Masai people that live in that area. They will be going door-to-door (or more likely, boma-to-boma – translated hut-to-hut), holding an evangelistic crusade, and hoping to share the gospel with many of the Masai living in this area. (What do you do when you are going door-to-door and the house doesn’t have a door, only a sheet hanging over the doorway? You can’t knock, you have to call out “Hodi” – translated “hello, I’m here”). And get this: This is not a vacation for these students – they actually have to pay money to be in this group. I’ve heard of Kenyan missionaries being willing to go preach the gospel when they are being paid by western missionaries to do it. But to hear of a group of students who are willing to pay to be members of a missions club so that they can be involved with missions work in Kenya is rare indeed. I am so impressed with this group of students.
In the seminar, my main goal was to encourage them. Going to unfamiliar places and preaching the gospel to unfamiliar faces with unfamiliar cultures can be a frightening endeavor (this is something I know). I wanted to encourage them that God is with them, and His Word will not return to Him void but will accomplish what He sends it out to do. I also gave them some general tips to remember when going out to do this work: Pray, genuinely love and care for the people you will be ministering to, make your goal their good and not a conversion notch on your belt, be willing to listen as much as you are to talk, don’t argue and debate, depend upon the Holy Spirit who will do the work, remember that all you really have to offer them is Jesus, and pray. I taught them some simple methods of presenting the gospel and then gave them some time to practice and get familiar with sharing it. Did I mention how impressed I am with this group of students?
Lord, God, I pray and ask that You would bless this group of students in the Antioch club. They are giving up part of their term break and expending their time, energy, and money to bring the gospel to a group of Masai living in Samburu land. I ask that You bless them and their efforts. I ask that You empower them with Your Spirit and that Your Word would proceed from them with power and effectiveness. I ask that through them You would bless the Masai people they are going to minister to. I pray that many of the Masai people would hear the gospel message of Jesus and some of them would believe. I ask that as a result of these students’ ministry that Your Kingdom would grow and expand and that Your name would be glorified and Jesus exalted. Amen.
Blessings to all,
Roger, Julie & Chloe
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
Moffat Bible College
P.O. Box 70
Kijabe, Kenya 00220
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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