Salama, friends.
I’ve just returned from southern Kenya where I launched a new training network in Bissil, about halfway between Nairobi and the Tanzania border. It is mostly Maasai who are in this area, and we had a blast studying God’s Word together for the past week. I was joined by pastors Steve Lovellette and Dan Stoddard, and they both did an excellent job working with these pastors. Over the course of the training, we had about 25 pastors show up, but the core group of trainers was about 14 who will then take this training to others. Although the concepts of the training were new and they struggled a bit at first, we were so very pleased with the progress they made as they began preaching the Word, for many of them for the first time ever!
We were also able to have a pastor from Congo named Roger Ibengi join us for the training. He is planning to move to Burundi and we are hoping he will be a key trainer of Pathways throughout that country. He soaked up the training and blossomed as he was exposed to expository preaching.
Rather than me just talking about the training, let me share with you what several of those we trained had to say:
Pastor Joshua – The teaching of the book of Jonah (workshop 1) has turned my life upside down!
Pastor Jeremiah A – The teaching challenged me to go deep into Scripture. I was taught to develop a main preaching statement from the passage, and to speak the Word clearly, to say what it means and apply it to our lives. I am so blessed!
Pastor Alex – This is my first time ever in a training like this. I had no knowledge of Scripture. Now I can stand before others and give them what I’ve received.
Pastor Jeremiah B – I have studied homiletics for three years in the past but i never knew things like this. Now I can study and understand Scripture like never before. Now my wife and I are hungry to study the Word together. I have found that our people in our church easily condemn others, but from studying Jonah I see that we cannot condemn others but must share in God’s heart.
Pastor Abel – This workshop is unique from all other trainings in the way it has changed my preaching and ministry. We will never be the same.
Pastor Nelly – Thank you for leaving your comfort zones to come to us. Every day has been sweet, and I’ve enjoyed it deeply. It has been easy for us to condemn others, but now I realize this is not what God would have me do.
Pastor Jacob – Our lives have been changed. I prayed God would help us improve in our preaching, but I didn’t think it possible. Then you came, and I praise God! Last Sunday I was preaching and thought it was so good, but now I see it was so bad – verses out of context, randomly choses from all over, no central message theme or organization. Next Sunday, my preaching will be very different!
Pastor Jemima – I confess that many times I have gone against God’s Word. I didn’t want to obey Him, just like Jonah. Now I’ve changed.
Pastor Daniel – It is easy for us to think we know better than others. This workshop opened my eyes. I have never received a revelation like this, even from great men of God. I’ve never before heard preaching of the Word like this. Now I have a plan for preaching, verse by verse. I can start in Genesis and end in Revelation. I have learned so much. This was God’s training. Every person in Maasailand needs this training, and we will take it to them!
Pastor Ibengi – I studied homiletics in the university, but I never learned this. Staying in the Bible is so very important – I see that now. I learned I cannot just preach only on the verse I want. Instead I must preach all of God’s message in context from first to last. In Africa, we choose one verse and say what we want to say. Pathways teaches us to stay in God’s Word.
Praise God for the wonderful opportunity to guide these dear pastors, and to reach many others through them. Pressing on, Eric