LATEST NEWS ON KENYA TRIP: Due to funding issues the trip has been postponed to April. The new dates are April 17-28. Pastor George Murguro (Principle of the Manna Bible Institute) and I discussed the financial shortfalls and decided it would be best to postpone it, which would allow more time to raise the additional $4,000 that is needed.
Gifts that have been given, which were designated for Kenya, among others, we have moved into a special account to guard against other uses. And though we are disappointed over the postponement, we are already seeing God’s hand at work. For we are trusting in God’s plans, not our own. For it is written, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding . . .” (Prov. 3:5).
We did have the funds to purchase an airline ticket for the April trip, which we did a few days ago. We are hoping to raise the additional $4,000 by December 31 and have it all taken care of four months in advance of the trip. This will allow plenty of time to organize the evangelistic outreaches.
The information below contains updated content from the original post.
“If demography is destiny, then Christianity’s future lies in Africa. By 2060, a plurality of Christians – more than four-in-ten – will call sub-Saharan Africa home, up from 26% in 2015” (Pew Research). Wow! Those numbers reflect a move of God in the continent of Africa that has come through
the blood, sweat and tears of saints who were faithful to God’s call to go and preach the gospel.
I am excited to share in more detail about my upcoming return trip to Kenya and how you can help. Friday, April 17, I will lift off the runway in Kansas and endure a long 24-hour trip to Nairobi. Then I will return again, 11 days later, on Wednesday, April 28.
Monday morning, April 20, I will begin teaching students in The Evangelism Class at Manna Bible Institute (MBI) and School of Missions (SM). I will teach Tuesday through Thursday as well along with other local Pastor-Teachers. The class will have between 25 and 70 students ranging from ages 30s to 60s. They will be men and women who have traveled from around Kenya and other bordering African nations. They will be active evangelists, regularly proclaiming Christ, winning souls and planting churches in rural and remote areas. (R-previous class)
These are the four lessons I will be teaching – The Essentials of the Gospel Message. The Office and Work of the Evangelist. How to Preach an Effective Evangelistic Message. The Essentials for a Life of Holiness and Integrity as a Minister of the Gospel.
Bishop George Muguro is the Principle of MBI (Pictured left). He invited me to come and says his goal for the students is to “provide the highest training so [they] can reach people in a variety of settings.” His hope as well is for these students to get around fellow evangelists and to be strengthened and encouraged in their labors. The Apostle Paul wrote, “And he gave . . . evangelists . . . to equip the saints for the work of the ministry” (Eph. 4:11). This is what we will be doing. Evangelists will be equipping other evangelists and building up the body of Christ.
Since 1984 MBI and SM have trained over 12,000 students in East Africa. The Evangelism Class was launched in 2015 under Bishop Muguro. Each student goes through three sessions in a year, then receives a certificate of completion. Since 2015, over 200 have finished the program.
Teaching is one element of The Evangelism Classes, the other is practicums. Students take what they are learning in the classroom and use it through actual evangelistic outreaches. We are organizing three. (R-Previous Evangelism Class)
Outdoor citywide evangelistic festival.
Friday through Sunday evening will be the festival events. Preaching, testimonies, music and more will be part of the nightly program. I will preach one evening, but some of the students will preach the others.
Door to door/person to person outreach.
During some of the other evenings and afternoons we will conduct personal evangelism on the streets and going to houses and businesses. This will teach students to engage in conversation with others, listen to their needs and explain the gospel to them.
The location for these outreaches will be in a small section of Ongata Rongai, Kenya, which is about 30 minutes southwest of Nairobi. This also is where the Institute is located. Bishop Muguro anticipates thousands of people being impacted.
We are seeking to raise $6,000 above and beyond our regular expenses for our other outreaches and operations. Here is the breakdown of some of our larger costs we still need to raise and for which we postponed the trip for.
$1,000: Donation to MBI.- $1,400: Airline ticket. God has already provided the funds to purchase this through generous donors.
- $3,000: Costs for festival and personal evangelism outreaches.
MBI does not charge any of its students because they are so poor. They incur $1,000 to $2,000 in expenses for each session of the Evangelism Class. Great Awakenings would like to donate $1,000 to help the Institute’s costs. (L-Graduation at MBI)
Would you be willing to pray over these needs to see if God would have you join with us in training rural African evangelists? If you have questions about the needs or how you can give, feel free to call or email us.
Slave of Christ,
Clint Decker
President & Evangelist
Great Awakenings, Inc
HOW YOU CAN PRAY
Lesson preparation: Pray for me as I prayerfully and diligently work to prepare my four lessons as well as my gospel message for the festival.
Students: Pray for the students who have signed up to come. Pray for the preparation of their hearts, safety in their travels and peace on their families in their time of separation.
Outreaches: Pray for the organization and preparation of the festival meetings and the personal evangelism work. May there be a sense of unity, wisdom and direction in all our labors
