Preaching Under Banana Trees, Gifted with a Chicken
June 10, 2025
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ,
I do have some new things to report, but before I do I want to touch briefly on some items and situations that I have written about in previous reports, so that you all can be updated on some of the serious issues I spoke about previously.
First, regarding the student “Solomon” who had been threatened by the violent gang and was being extorted for money. As I reported earlier, Solomon stood his ground and refused to pay or to stand down to these thugs. As of now, a couple of months later, there has been no action taken in this situation. We are presuming one of three options is happening: 1) It was a hoax made by a non-gang member simply trying to get some money, 2) The gang doesn’t want to escalate matters and has moved on since Solomon stood up to them, or, 3) They are biding their time. At this time, since a couple of months have passed since the initial threats, we are trusting that God is protecting him and that maybe things will settle down and the situation will “pass away” without further trouble.
Second, since the death of Chloe’s teacher, things have settled down a bit. We have been able to find a new teacher for Chloe and both Chloe and the new teacher are getting along well, and we pray the new teacher will be a long-term fixture in our home and in Chloe’s life.
Third, Julie has recovered very well from her fall and subsequent serious concussion. She was pretty much holed-up for a couple of weeks in a dark, quiet, and secluded room. Her progress for the first two to three weeks was pretty slow and we were a little concerned that her recovery was going to be a very long and arduous process, but after about three weeks of slow progress she made rapid advances, and it seemed like in just a couple of days’ time she recovered to almost 100% very quickly. Although she may disagree with my analysis, I do not see any lingering symptoms of her concussion. We are very thankful to God for this ultimate recovery.
With all that has been going on I haven’t been able to relate to you all my week’s trip to Meru county, the hometown of one of my students who will be graduating in July. This student, Mark, has kind of “adopted” me, calling me “Dad” and jokingly accusing me of being “lost” if I haven’t seen him in a day or two. We wanted to take this trip to his home before he graduates because after he graduates and leaves school I will be “lost” for a long time. We went with two other students, one from India and one from Indonesia. So, this trip and my car were very international as we had one person from America, one from Kenya, one from India, and one from Indonesia. This obviously led to some very interesting discussions as these four cultures are very diverse. It was a long road trip but very worth the time in getting to our destination. We were able to preach, teach, sing, and share the gospel in many “official” and “unofficial” settings. I enjoyed teaching and preaching in a couple of churches, but my favorite time came when we walked a couple of hours through the forests, hills, and banana trees to get to Mark’s grandmother’s house. When we got there, grandmother had collected the entire family and small village at her house set within her banana orchard. We sang, prayed, and taught the Word of God there in the banana orchard with American accented English, Indian accented English, and Indonesian accented English being faithfully translated into Kimeru for the sake of grandmother and the villagers. Singing and teaching the gospel in multiple languages in the middle of a banana orchard in the heart of Kenya is really pretty cool. What a special privilege and honor it was to talk to these beloved people about our Savior Jesus and the salvation offered through His death on the cross and resurrection. To be welcomed with opened arms into such a place to share the gospel is quite awesome and we thank our God for such an opportunity. I was even ceremoniously gifted a chicken, live and kicking, from grandmother for having come. However, I made Mark carry it home.
Thank You, God, for such an amazing opportunity to meet some of Your Meru people and be able to share the good news of Your Son with them. May You bless Your Word and send Your Spirit amongst 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
Funny (and Frustrating) Experiences on the Mission Field
April 9, 2025
Greetings in the Name of Jesus Christ,
We are currently in between terms here in Kijabe and so there is not a whole lot going on. I am currently preparing for my next set of classes, but the students are all on break and back home (except for the international ones) and so things are a bit quiet. That gives me a little time to get my classes prepared and my heart prepared for the return of the students later this month.
Since there is not a whole lot going on currently, I will relate a funny (I mean, frustrating) situation I went through this month. So, here in Kenya we have many government documents that we need to keep up to date in order to remain in the country. When I say many, I mean MANY. One of those documents is an Alien ID card (I think the name has recently changed to the more innocuous Foreign National ID). Once you get it renewed it is good for two years. So, two years ago when my ID expired, I applied for a new one, jumping through all the required hoops and payments and trips to Nairobi to accomplish the task. I was supposed to receive my new card within three weeks. After a month went by and I still had not received my card I started inquiring to see where it might have escaped to. I was told there was no problem but that I just needed to wait, and it would come. I kept checking every month after that in order to try and get my new card. I kept on being told the same thing for about a year until someone finally admitted to me that it might have gotten lost and that I should file a formal inquiry into the situation, which I did. A month later I checked to see what had become of my formal inquiry. I was told it never made it into the system and was probably lost. I filed another one. The next time I inquired as to its status I was told to be patient because it was being looked into. Finally, last month, I was told that my card was officially lost and that I would need to re-apply for a new one (I would have to make a new application and pay the fee all over again because the fee I paid for the last one, that I never received, couldn’t be used for the new application). Thus, I reapplied, repaid, and made the necessary trip to Nairobi with my filled-out documents in hand so that I could go to the seventeenth story of Nyayo House (where the immigration department is housed), get fingerprinted, and submit my application. When I took my documents into the office and sat down in front of the immigration officer, she typed some things into her computer and then she asked me why I was applying for a new ID before picking up my previous one. I told her that it had been lost in their system for almost two years and that this is what I was told to do. She told me to wait and got up from her desk and left the office. I waited. Three minutes later she returned, with my lost Alien ID card in hand and handed it over to me, looking very smug. Here was my card that had been lost in the system for almost two years, and she had found it in under three minutes. I couldn’t believe it. However, when I looked closely at my card that she had just retrieved for me I noticed that it was going to expire in ten days. That’s right. It had been renewed two years ago, sat inside someone’s office for two years, and now would expire in ten days. I asked the immigration lady if I could just go ahead and apply for my new card seeing that this one was going to expire in ten days, I already had the renewal application documents in my hand right now, I had already paid (again) for the new application and was already in Nairobi at the immigration office. She promptly told me that I couldn’t apply for the new card until my previous card (the one she just gave me) was expired because the computer wouldn’t allow her to do it. So, I left her office with my card ready to expire in ten days and waited until it expired. Once it expired, I drove back to Nairobi to reapply. Arriving at the office I was told that the system was down and not functioning because the government had not paid their fees to the outsourced company that wrote the program. The outsourced company had shut down the system and was holding it hostage until such time as they would get paid. As of yet it hasn’t gotten paid. I now have an expired card in my pocket with no way to renew it. At least I had a valid card for ten days!
If you wish to minister the gospel of Jesus in Kenya, these are some of the things you have to learn to put up with.
For the glory of God in Kenya.
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
Faith & Fortitude in the Face of Persecution
March 10, 2025
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I had somber news last month when I talked about the wars and conflicts in Congo and our students who are living and ministering there. I guess I will have to follow up last month’s somber news with some additional somber news for this month. I’m not being somber on purpose, folks, believe me. Some things just strike me hard and those are sometimes the things I feel like I should report so that you all can know what life here in Kenya is really like and what it means to be a follower of Christ in other places of the world.
Here at the school, we have small groups where faculty have a number of students that they can meet with multiple times per week and they can mentor and disciple the students in life, ministry, and other practical areas. I have ten great guys in my group and we meet a couple of times every week to talk about…well…life, ministry, and other practical things. It is a good time for the guys to talk, ask questions, pray, and on occasion, eat. One of our past meetings was spent allowing just one of our guys to talk, express his fears and anxieties, and for us to advise him and pray for him. I will refer to him with a pseudonym (Solomon) in order to keep him safe. Solomon is one of our few “older” students who is already married with some children. He is already a pastor of a church and is attending school here to learn how to better minister the Word of God to God’s people.
After last Sunday’s service, Solomon received a phone call, a call no one ever wants to receive. The call was from a local gang of thugs, the name of which I will also omit from this report. After a few pleasantries, the gang leader informed Solomon that he knew all about him, that he knew Solomon’s wife (which he named), his children (which he named and the names of their schools), his church (which he named), and his house (which location he gave). The gang leader then informed Solomon of the amount of money Solomon was going to give him. The gang leader then threatened Solomon, telling him that if he did not pay the required money that the gang would burn his church to the ground, kill his wife and children, and then kill Solomon. Beloved, this is no idle or empty threat. This is a real threat and the danger is very real. All the students in my small group verified that these gangs exist and their threats can and often are carried out. Solomon was obviously distraught. He fears for the safety of his family. He fears for his own life. I told Solomon that his fear was legitimate and understandable, and all the students agreed. Solomon went to the police and reported the threat, but you can believe that this does not give him any comfort.
Our group spent a great amount of time praying for Solomon and his family, but we all feel helpless to know what else we can do for him, besides prayer and advice. I remain impressed by Solomon’s faith and fortitude in this situation. He himself says that we serve a mighty God and that like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, God can protect him from the threats of the evil gang. While Solomon does not want to be afraid, he is still afraid. I would be too (terrified would be a better word to describe my feelings if I were in the same circumstances). He also does not want to die but says he is willing to die if that is the outcome that God wants and will bring Him the most glory. Solomon is determined to not pay the gang (he couldn’t pay their exorbitant extortion fee anyway) and to continue ministering to his people in Jesus’ name.
Father God, I pray that you would continue to protect this good and godly man, Solomon. I pray that you would protect his family and keep them safe from harm. Make the threats of the gang empty. Remove any power that this gang has to threaten or harm Solomon or anyone else. Protect his church and his people so that they might be able to continue to proclaim the gospel and spread the love of Jesus in their community. Oh God, do this for your glory and for the good of your people in Kenya. 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.
Read more
Praying for the Persecuted in the Congo
February 10, 2025
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
How up are you on African current events? Probably not so much if you are anything like me. But because I live here and love Africa and the people of Africa, I may hear more about current events than y’all back in the States. So, what do you hear about the conflicts in Congo? Congo is “near” to Kenya, and although the conflict, fighting, and violence that is going on there does not affect us here in Kenya at all, we are still concerned about the people that live there and that are having to face the extreme hardships that surround them.
The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, especially in the eastern region, has escalated significantly recently. I don’t know what they should be called, rebels or terrorists or what, but the group called M23, supported by the Rwandan government, has been on a rampage, causing widespread displacement of people and a severe humanitarian crisis. Over 700,000 thousand people have been displaced along with widespread reports of violence, executions and murders, sexual assault, and the burning of villages and crops. There are also concerns that the fighting will extend to surrounding countries like Burundi and Uganda (neighboring countries of Kenya).
I can’t pretend to say I understand any of the political, military, economic, or religious reasons behind the tragedies going on in Congo. Most assuredly they are fueled by decades of ethnic tensions, political rivalries, and probably corruption. But stripping all that stuff away, which I don’t understand, there are thousands, if not millions, of people and families that are being adversely and harmfully affected by the violence and viciousness of the uncaring and callous fighters/rebels/terrorists.
So, why am I telling you all of this? Well, first of all, because I want you to pray for the people and the country of Congo. Precious people and families are being destroyed, and we need to lift them up to our loving and powerful God. But, second, because I know people who are there in the midst of the suffering, doing the work of God and of the Kingdom, right in the center of the violence. You may recall that we had four students from Congo at our school who graduated just back in July of last year.
Our four students were Steven, David, Jiresse, and Asifiwe. After graduation back in July, Steven and David remained in Kenya to continue their education but Jiresse and Asifiwe returned to Congo to begin ministering to their beloved Congolese people. As I write this, Jiresse and Asifiwe find themselves right in the mist of these conflicts and directly in the line of fire of the violence and aggression. We have been able to hear from them when they get a chance to communicate. They are part of the displaced people who are struggling to obtain food and water for themselves and their people. They have no electricity or amenities and basically no shelter. But they have not abandoned their training or their calling, even in the midst of suffering and distress. They are determined to continue to proclaim and teach the gospel message of Jesus to the refugees and broken families of Congo. They are seeing people being saved and entering the Kingdom of Christ even in the midst of tragedy. They are trying to help desperate people find food, water, and shelter, all in the name of our Savior. They are being true ministers and servants of our precious Lord, doing the same thing Jesus did when he came to minister to hurting people: “Proclaiming good news to the poor; Proclaiming liberty to the captives; Setting at liberty those who are oppressed; and Proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor.”
It is impossible to know how you might touch someone’s life who will then go on to touch someone else’s life, and so on and so on. I know that we have been able to touch the lives of Jiresse and Asifiwe in significant ways, for which we are thankful and blessed. Now, they are touching others with the love of Jesus in a place where we cannot reach. Please be in prayer for Jiresse and Asifiwe. Pray that God would watch over them and protect them from harm. Pray that they would have effective ministries to their beloved Congolese people. Pray that many Congolese people would know and experience the love of Jesus through their lives and service.
Thank you, beloved, for your prayers.
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
Recovering from Surgery; New Term Started
January 10, 2025
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
First, let me give you all an update on Julie and her health. If you remember, Julie had to be rushed to the emergency room last month and, after being admitted to the hospital, ended up having surgery to remove her gall bladder. She came home a couple days later and spent the majority of December recovering from her surgery and from having an organ removed. She is recovering nicely, although with Chloe around she wasn’t able to rest as much as we would have liked (Chloe can be a little demanding). Anyway, Julie is mostly recovered from her surgery. I don’t think she is experiencing any more pain, but she still is getting tired quickly so she’s not quite at 100%. But we thank God for watching over her and that she is almost back to full strength. Thank you all for your prayers.
In other news, we have started a new term at the school. I am still the Finance Manager of the school. I find this position challenging because most students constantly struggle to pay their fees. To a westerner, their fees are small, but to them, their fees are large and overwhelming. As Finance Manager I have to balance helping these beloved students stay in school and continue their Bible education with also ensuring that they pay their fees. It is definitely stressful for both them and me. To date, I have never made a student leave the school because they couldn’t pay their fees. God has always helped us to together come up with a plan to cover their fees. This term has been a bit different, though.
Way too many students are not able to pay and it is causing me a lot of grief and heartache. I stress over and over to them that my goal for them is to mightily serve the Kingdom of Christ and God’s people. How can they do that if they drop out of school because of finances? God, please help us.
In Class news, I am teaching Pauline Epistles and Basic Theology 1. Pauline Epistles is a new class for me to teach but what a joy and privilege to teach these beloved students the things that Paul taught his first century churches and believers. Basic Theology is a course I have taught before. Why teach these students theology? It is not just to fill their young minds with information even though Peter did say to “grow in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) and Paul instructed Titus to “teach sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).
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
More Important than Grades; Surgery & Prayers Needed
December 10, 2024
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I’m trying to get this newsletter out at the latest possible date. I usually do get my newsletters out late but this month I have a legitimate excuse. Last Wednesday evening Julie became very sick. I ended up taking her to the emergency room where we spent the night. By the next morning, she was admitted to the hospital with suspicions about her gall bladder. After extensive tests and a couple of days in the hospital the doctors decided it was indeed her gall bladder and that it needed to be removed.
She underwent some kind of surgery, the technical/medical name of which I cannot remember. The bottom line is that she had her gall bladder removed and spent the next couple of days in the hospital. When the doctors saw her gall bladder they knew they had made the right decision to remove it. It was severely inflamed, contained many stones, and was fraying/flaying/fileting (I can’t remember what the doctor said or how he pronounced it but the bottom line was that the tissue was very soft and beginning to come apart). It definitely needed to come out before it became very dangerous. I was able to bring Julie back home from the hospital yesterday and she is now home slowly recovering. Four nights in hospital in Kenya is no fun, let me tell you. Hopefully removing her gall bladder will help with some stomach issues she has been having lately. We shall see. Please pray for a full recovery and a future better health condition for my wife. Julie’s surgery occurred during term break, which I suppose is a blessing.
This past term I began to learn something very important about my students. I learned that to many of them, the grade they will get in my class is too important. For many of them, getting a good grade is of utmost importance. To me, however, the grade is just an assessment of whether they are possibly learning the material or not. Many of my students become obsessed with grades. I suppose that is typical among students worldwide. I tell them that the grade is important, but not all important. I have been telling them that the learning of the Bible is important. I stress that their learning of how to minister to God’s people and God’s churches and God’s Kingdom is really what is important. That is what they are here at this school to learn and the grade is more my way of telling whether they are importing and processing the information in the best possible way. I want them all to get a good grade. However, more than that, I want them to learn how to minister the message of the Bible, the gospel, and the love of Jesus to God’s people. I tell them that when they are done and “out there” ministering the gospel to God’s people that nobody is going to ask them what grade they received in Mr. Tate’s hermeneutics and interpretation class. It will be important, however, for them to interpret and teach the Bible correctly, which Mr. Tate’s hermeneutics and interpretation class will help them do. Nobody is going to care if they got an “A” in Mr. Tate’s General Epistles class. However, they will care that these students and future pastors can help them in their suffering the way Peter teaches in his letters, or help them work out their faith in action the way James teaches in his epistle, or help them love one another in word and in deed the way John teaches in his letters. My beloved students, keep your eyes on the prize – not a grade, but the ability to minister to God’s people and glorify God in doing so.
Please pray for me, beloved. I am really struggling with Chloe right now. Her whining, screaming, and throwing things is really starting to wear me down and I feel anger rising up within me that I need God’s help to control. Even in the middle of writing this newsletter I had to stop because Chloe was mad and threw a big container of powdered, pink paint on the dining room floor. I don’t know where she got it, but it exploded and powdered, pink paint was everywhere. To add to the problem, before she threw the paint, she threw a full bottle of shampoo, which also exploded. The powdered, pink paint mixed with the shampoo to make an extremely hard to clean, pink sloppy mess. I spent the next hour on my hands and knees trying to clean it up (all while fuming in my heart and muttering under my breath). God, please help Roger to have patience and to care more about Chloe than he does about himself.
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
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
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.
Read more
