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

March 28, 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I mentioned in my previous newsletter that I wanted Julie to write the next report.  Since writing that I have heard that Baptist Faith Missions wants to hear from the missionary wives for the May issue of the newsletters.  Thus, I will be writing this one and Julie will be writing the next one.

Julie’s newsletter will probably be more exciting to read than mine because the best I could say right now is “things are going on”.  That isn’t very exciting but it describes the ministry I am doing right now.  I’m preparing for messages, practicing new songs, telling people about the Chapel, teaching, teaching, teaching and lots of stuff, stuff, stuff.  I think most pastors would probably relate to me saying “I just keep on grinding”.  I’m not just “going through the motions” and I’m not burned out or anything.  I’m just in a weekly grind.  But I do try and break out of this grind as much as possible.  And Kenya allows this to happen too.  Take today, for example.  My car was at the mechanic and my motorcycle developed a flat tire.  I pumped air into the tire and limped the motorcycle to town to get the tire fixed.  While the mechanic was fixing it I saw three old guys sitting on a bench doing nothing.  I walked over and sat next to them.  The conversation went something like this.  Me:  Is this your guys’ job sitting here doing nothing but watch people walk by?  Them:  Yes, but at least it is interesting.  Me:  Have you been doing it long?  Them:  Pretty much.  Them:  What do you do here?  Me:  I’m trying to start a church here in town just over there in that building on the third floor.  Them:  Are you like the other pastors in town, do you teach what they teach?  Me:  I can’t say what they teach but as for me I teach what’s in the Bible.  Them:  Really?  That’s not what the other pastors here teach.  But you don’t teach the whole Bible do you?  Me:  If it’s in the Bible I teach it and if it isn’t in the Bible I don’t teach it.  I want people to know what God has said so that they can follow Jesus.  Them:  Do you teach from the Old Testament too?  Me:  I try to show that the Old Testament points to Jesus, prepared God’s people for the coming of Jesus and in every way brings us to Jesus.  Them:  And now Jesus has come.  Me:  Exactly, Jesus has come just as the Old Testament teaches, and he has died on the cross for us so that we can live in his kingdom and have eternal life.  Followers of Jesus live under a new covenant that Jesus started.  That’s why I focus on the New Testament because it teaches us more about Jesus.  Them:  This is very interesting.  How many people come to hear you teach this?  Me:  Not many, about 15 per week.  Them:  That’s not very many.  Me:  Not yet.    Maybe you would like to come and hear the teaching.  We meet right over there in that building on the third floor at 10am every Sunday.  Them:  Hem, Haw, Hem, Haw, well, we’ll see.  But when you need your motorcycle fixed again, you know where to find us.  Me:  But you just sit here doing nothing but watch people walk by.  Them:  Yes, but at least it is interesting.

At this point in the conversation my tire was fixed so I paid the mechanic and left to finish my business in town.  Pray for these three old guys.  None of them made any commitment to come so I don’t expect to see them on Sunday (not that commitments to come to church make any difference in whether people come or not, do they?).  If they come they will hear me as I preach and teach through the book of Colossians.  As I preach through the book of Colossians I love this epistle more and more.  In it we see the grandness and awesomeness of Jesus, we see the mystery of Christ is in us, we see that Jesus is sufficient for everything and that we are complete in him, and we see that Christ is all in all.  Those 15 or so that come each week are also enjoying the teachings of Colossians.  I’m pretty sure none of them have ever been taught through a book of the Bible in this way before.  May God bless these 15 who come every week and if God wants to bless us with more who want to hear Biblical teaching, we will be ever more thankful for that too.

Until next month, beloved.
May God’s peace and joy be with you.
For the glory of God in Kenya,
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.