July 9, 2023

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ,

Beloved, as I mentioned in a previous letter, I am currently teaching a Church Planting class to my students. Near the end of the class I asked my students to write a “Church Planting Strategy” in a particular context where they could implement the principles they were learning in the class. For my newsletter this month I want to include one of my students’ Strategy. This is a little longer than I usually put in my newsletter but I truly think you will enjoy it. My student’s name is Paul. He wants to start a church with motorbike taxi riders near his home. His Strategy follows. I have left it completely unedited so it is very “unpolished” and you may have to read some things twice to understand what he is saying. Remember, English is not Paul’s mother tongue. I pray you are edified.

By Paul Mwilu

Introduction

For one and a half years since 2022, I have been having this unending desire to reach out to the motor riders in my village market, Mbuani, Kola Location, Machakos County, Kenya. I have been having jitters, wondering how to go about it; what will I say to them? How will I assemble them? What will I do?… The questions have been endless, with no tangible answer, but the baseline has been that I just have to do it, anyhow. But deep down I knew that I have to have some solid theological base, and actually I had no idea that I was to Join Moffat Bible College. Now that by the grace of God I am in this college, and going through the Bible on a personal level beyond the lectures, and being led by the Holy Spirit, I believe God is readying me for that desire I believe He put in me. And what more! My Lecturer Mr. Tate has indeed equipped me with real great knowledge in the subject of Church Planting. Now my spiritual ammo is loaded in this field, and as my Field Marshall, Mwalimu Roger is giving the order, and the Captain of the LORD’S Hosts, Christ, is empowering me; I shoot!

Why Motor Bike Riders.

“Through God’s grace we have the Word and the Holy Spirit. What more could we want? Our only viable option is to be confident and courageous in spreading His Kingdom through the birth of new churches. Tomorrow is ours because we are His. Let’s begin the journey now.” (Brock, pg. 25). In my village, we have more than thirty young men who ride motorbikes for a living. Not more than 1% of them attend a church, or are born again. Hence I see a great and vital need to sow into them the Word of God. I ask the Holy Spirit to prepare me for this work, as the field belongs to Christ. I then will need to also prepare my soil, the Riders, as to receive the Word of God well. A village that has so many youths without God is more endangered than the Dodo itself, leave alone extinction. Most of these youths only see motorbike riding as the only available form of employment, and more so they admire the debauchery that goes along with it. If such trends are not tamed early, our society as a whole will soon fall, devoid of God. After establishing this church, I will have put a mechanism, together with the new members, so that they can reproduce the same in the nearby markets.

Where Are they to be Reached.

Back in my village, the notion of every Christian and non-Christians alike, including the pastors, generationally believe that a church is a building where “worshippers” go, mostly on Sundays to worship God. With this kind of an ideology, it therefore is not easy to convince folks to start a church under a motorbike shade, contributed by a campaigning local Member of County Assembly. The villagers will hush in small crowds, heaving up their shoulders like in an Afrosinema shoot (clarification from Roger – Kenyan movies), as the clergy too, cross their chests in a bid to ward off the “evil spirit” in me. Probably the question that will be in most heads is: “What became of William’s son? So he went to a Bible School to bring these weird churches here?” But amidst such a situation, I will forge ahead and incept the new church against the traditional backdrop. Actually, under this shade where the riders wait for potential customers, shielding them from the elements, is where I plan to first meet with them. I will first go and see them informally, and chat with them, then ask them how they feel if that following Sunday, or any other day of their choice, we could meet for a short prayer and Bible study. Once we agree on the time and date, I will encourage them to pass the word to their colleagues, so we may achieve a quorum of at least 20 people. Their ages range between 17 to 40 years.

How to Reach, Start and Sustain a Bible Study / Church with Them.

Now, with my initial reconnaissance done satisfactorily, I will go back to my closet and pray for success on the stage. I will review my strategies and commit them to God’s purposeful Word. I will refer(and note so) to Brock’s Good News for You, the Bible study guide, so as to give me an easy and in depth study. In it I will be able to systematically cover the 7 steps, as Brock recommends it for an individual, Counselor guided or even group use. This study is derived from John’s Gospel, hence I will need the Bible or a New Testament. On the material day, I will be brief in my introduction, as most of the riders get calls of duty. I will share to them why it is important to have a Bible study, to get to know more about God, and the purpose he has for us. I will get views from them on how they wish we conduct our meetings, especially the venue. I will suggest to them if we can also meet in one of the eateries, back rooms, and probably have tea at the end, to cover the venue expenses, or even meet in an open undeveloped plot owned by my family. The plan is to meet somewhere neutral and accessible to all and spacious. Concentrating on the organism(members), not the organization (like where to meet) will be my major emphasis. Most do know how to read and write, and as earlier advised, they will have notes and pens. A clear strategy will enable me and my members to stay focused on the right topics, at the right time. As Brock notes in page 96, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” So I will have come up with a normal process in this church planting with my acceptive Riders. These are geared towards establishing a New Testament principled church that is Self-Governing, Self-Supporting, Self-Teaching, Self-Expressing and Self-Propagating. This process aimed at a prolonged exposure to the Word of God, is highlighted below; First for the next seven weeks we will go through the 7 lessons of Brock’s Good News for You, (as earlier stated here, I will use Brock’s material and quote accordingly) and at the end of it, I will be able to invite any member who will be willing to get Christ’s salvation. Once they accept, there will be a class for baptism, so as to prepare them for baptism by water immersion as their outward sign of conversion.

Conclusion

With this summary of my strategy for church planting, powered by the Holy Spirit, I believe we will go far and extend to the nearby markets. The Bible will be the main textbook. Other people like the traders in shops and even bars, will be encouraged to join too. Within a specified time, I will encourage the new converts to take up leadership and even start other Bible Studies, extending to the larger Kenya.

Those are the end of Paul’s words and so I will simply pray: “Lord, bless Paul’s ministry and empower him in the work he wishes to do.”

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.