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

July 28, 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are able to thank God for an answered prayer. I have reported in past newsletters that I was looking for a room in town that I could rent and use in order to start up a new church here in Kitale. If you were following my former reports you would know the following: First, before leaving for the States for a month, I had located a room and agreed on a price with the owner, only to have the rate doubled when I went to sign the lease. Second, while I was in the States I had a couple of Kenyan friends who agreed to look for a place for me while I was away. And, now, one of those places my friends found has finally come to fruition and I can finally say we have a room and have signed the lease and everything is official. The room is on the third floor of a building in town, is located in a relatively quiet area, has plenty of natural lighting, good security, and even access to toilets. This may not sound like much to be excited about but finding all these things in one location is quite challenging here in Kitale. The portion of the room which I rented is about 20′ by 25′ and can probably comfortably fit 30 people (and even more uncomfortably). If we are somehow blessed with more people than can fit in the room, then we will be glad to come up with alternative solutions to that problem in the future. Since the time I rented the room I have been preparing it for use. The tile floor needed fixing, the doors and handles needed replacing, and the broken windows needed repairing. Also, the original room was quite large, and I could not afford to rent the entire space but only a section of it. Thus, I had to build a partition wall across the room to block off my section. Other preparatory activities are also ongoing in order to get the room ready for use. Please continue to pray for this ongoing work.

Again, I believe Kitale needs a church that:

• Teaches the truth of God’s Word in a simple, clear, understandable manner
• Worships God in Spirit and truth and simplicity
• Loves, follows and obeys Jesus
• Desires to spread the Kingdom of God

These are such rare qualities in churches here that I felt compelled to start one and pastor it myself.

One example of the reason why a church like this is necessary is a young man named Elphas that I have been meeting with. Elphas and I meet in a dungy, musty, smelly basement of a hotel in town. We get together there to drink tea and talk about the many questions he has about the Bible and about Jesus. This week we spent two hours just talking about what happens to people when they die, what and where is heaven, where do the spirits of believers and unbelievers go after death, and how a person can know he will go to heaven. After every question he asks me I say, “Elphas, I can only tell you what the Bible says about this” and then we go to the Scriptures and investigate what God has said in His Word. I am trying to show Elphas that it matters not what any man might say but only what God’s Word says. This week Elphas told me, “After talking with you I realize all my pastors are lying to me”. I don’t know exactly what he meant by this statement and I didn’t feel like I should follow up on it. However, it did reinforce to me that there are many Kenyans who are starving for the Word of God and wanting to know what it really means to follow Jesus and to know God.

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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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.