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We are starting a new ministry of sending Bibles to Kenya for the work of God there. In Kenya , Muslims hand out free Korans, but many of the Christians there cannot afford Bibles. How we need to RIVAL Muslim zeal and giving in the land of Kenya with the Good News of Jesus Christ contained in the scriptures. There is a work of God in Kenya that is such a thing of beauty and glory! Recently, there was a meeting of ten simple-church planters who met to discuss a strategy for spreading the gospel in Kenya and the good news of simple church gatherings, and they covenanted to start at least one house church a month.
So, what is "simple church," "house church," or "organic church" as some call it. In the NT, the saints met in their homes in simple fellowships of knowing and pursuing Christ together and becoming family. In one passage to the Romans, Paul said, "I am confident that you are able to teach and admonish one another" (Rom. 15:14). And in Hebrews 10:25, one of the only passages in the NT that speaks expressly of assembling together, we read this: "Do not forsake the assembly of yourselves together but encourage one another."
Watchman Nee, in his classic work "The Normal Christian Church Life" also speaks of this "mutual ministry" as being the central feature of the NT church. He even states that apart from this mutual ministry, we really can't call it a "church meeting" in the NT sense. We tend to think of church meetings as a group of auditors listening to a sermon, while the NT practice was more like a "round table." When I mention this, some people often say to me, "Well, what about Paul's sermon in Acts? (Acts 20:7-12). This is the one you will remember where Paul spoke for such a long time and the fellow fell so asleep that he fell out the window. In this meeting they gathered to "break bread," which was a family activity at a table, probably much life a pot-luck where everyone brought a little something for the meeting. And then some translations say that Paul began to "preach to them...until midnight." But this is very misleading because it reinforces our idea
of a "Protestant Service." The actual Greek word for 'preach' is the same word from which we get 'dialogue'. Isn't that fascinating? It wasn't a monologue where Paul did all the talking and the rest sat stone silent. It was a conversation. My translation says exactly that: "Paul conversed with them..."
Now while we have grown up with the Protestant "order of service" with its formality to such a rigid structure that everything is pretty much scripted, the early church knew no such thing and followed no set pattern. In fact, so many people functioned in these meetings that we see Paul having to set some guidelines for such meetings in I Corinthians 14. But one thing he never did was to hand them a structure that limited their meetings to one (and the same) person talking week after week while the rest were consigned as his audience. Now while such NT teaching as mutual teaching and ministry seems strange and impractical to the modern-day church goer in the West, in Kenya, and other parts of Africa , these concepts of simple gatherings around the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, through the mutual teaching and singing is spreading like spiritual wildfire! In such meetings, God truly has the freedom to give a manifestation of the Spirit to each
person, for the common good" (I Cor. 12:7).
I have been in communication with Jimmy for some three years and have watched the progress of this simple-church revival in Kenya from its inception in this young mans life. It is a story of pain and glory, trial and triumph in the eternal purposes of God for His church--where Christ is experienced as the actual Head and Attraction of the assembly. In such a meeting, these humble saints in Kenya, are learning what it means to gather together to “encourage one another” as joint participants rather than passive spectators.
Now, about those Bibles! In some of the pictures Jimmy sent me, I noticed the absence of Bibles in the hands of the worshippers.
"Here, a young girl, Betty, reads the Bible to keen listeners. People here lack Bibles because they are too poor to afford a Bible, and have been told to carry a paper and a pen to write down scriptures as the pastor dictates them. Nobody ever asks how they will read those presentations while at home given their lack in Bibles. This is a sad scenario."
This is such a powerful picture. As I looked at the gathering of these dear people around this little girl, I felt as though they were listening to one of the finest sermons ever spoken by men. And yet, it's just a little girl with a Bible. It spoke volumes to me of the preciousness of the scriptures in Kenya and of a hunger for the Word of God that we can hardly understand in the country of America that has so many Bibles. I think, I myself, have at least 17 translations of the New Testament alone and probably at least ten other Bibles which include study Bibles, Devotional bibles, Chronological bibles, and the list goes on.
I believe we need to nurture and support this obvious move of God in Kenya with our prayers and the giving of Bibles for these apostolic workers. We have found a Bible store in Kenya where you will be able to order Bibles direct so that people like Jimmy, and other workers, can just walk in and pick them up and disperse them to these little flocks of hungry souls. I believe that handing out the word of God in this fashion will be like casting gasoline on the fire of the Gospel in the land of Kenya . I also believe that if we nurture and support this work there, that it will spread far beyond the borders of Kenya into the Congo, Tanzania and may even spread to America . Now wouldn’t that be something?
If you are interested and would like to be put on our update list regarding how you can help, please subscribe to this blog and you will be notified of things that you can personally do to support this vital ministry. We are in the planning stages of developing this website and will be adding a lot more of the stories of God's grace and power in Kenya that will thrill your hearts. And you will be able to order Bibles from a store in Kenya that will directly to the people of Kenya.
In Christ our Lord,
Clark Wade, Crescent City,
CA Jimmy Nduruchi, Nairobi, Kenya
P.S. And certainly feel free to forward this letter to your friends. We would love to hear from them too.
When you assemble, let EACH PERSON be ready to contribute a song, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation.." I Cor. 14:26
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