The Tate Family has served the Lord in Kitale, Kenya since January 2008. Their main ministry is indigenous church planting.

December 29, 2016 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Happy New Year! I wish to briefly look ahead to the coming new year and express what I would like to see happening here in Kitale, the place where we are ministering. These are not New Year’s resolutions. It is simply my desire and my prayer for the year 2017. At this point next year I would like to look back and see that these things did indeed occur.

·    I would like to pray more. Prayer on the mission field is vital. But prayer in a Christian’s personal life is vital as well. Anemic prayer life leads to anemic Christian life and anemic ministry.

·       I would like to know God more. I want to know His ways more, I want to know His mind more. I want my mind to be like His mind. I want to grow in my relationship with Him.

·       I would like to do more of what Jesus says to do. There is so much that He said and did and taught us to do that I neglect or avoid or ignore. In 2017 I want to focus on Jesus and do all that he wants me to do.

Those are the top things I would like to see in 2017. Note that they are much more personal than they are ministry related.  Here are some things I would like to see in regards to ministry:

·       I would like to see more Kenyan people trusting in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  That means the people I come into contact with on a day-by-day basis. It means the people I evangelize with the gospel. It means lost friends that I show the love of Christ to every day. It means the Pokot people living out in the bush.

·       I would like to see more Kenyan people truly growing in their relationship with Jesus. I don’t want them to follow Jesus because of what material things they think they will get from Him. I don’t want them to follow Jesus because they want Him to heal them. I don’t want them to follow Jesus for a good luck charm. These are all typical reasons for following Jesus. I want them to follow Jesus, to love Him, to learn from Him, to submit to Him, to live for Him. In essence, I want them to be true disciples of Jesus and not fair weather disciples.

·       I would like to see new Baptist churches started:  Churches that are on fire for Jesus, churches fulfilling the great commission, churches loving each other, churches worshiping God in Spirit and truth, churches that are functioning as the body of Christ on earth.

Again, these are not resolutions. They are not “goals”. They are my desires. They are my prayers for the next year. They are how I would like to see God glorified in my life and in my ministry.  Grant it, oh Lord.

Until next month, beloved.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in East Africa,
Roger & Julie Tate (and Amy, Josiah & Chloe)

rojuta[at]gmail.com
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