Kenya (MNN) — Although the radical Muslim terrorist group al Shabaab is based out of Somalia, their attacks continue to bleed into neighboring countries, including Kenya. And it’s affecting ministry work.
FMI supports local pastors, church planters, and evangelists in Kenya. Their Kenya director Elijah* says al Shabaab activity is driving NGOs and educators away from northern parts of the country.
“We have seen a mass exodus of teachers coming out and fearing to serve in those specific areas,” Elijah says. “Most of the teachers are young people. Some of them have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. When they are in those places, they can be the witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in those areas. What we are seeing is discouragement.
“But to the people who have hope in Jesus Christ, even when they are passing through persecution, I know they have inner healing from God.”
(Photo courtesy of FMI)
While FMI is focused on church planting and spreading the Gospel in Kenya, they also want to help the local Church meet the tangible needs in their communities.
Elijah explains, “As we are working alongside our brothers in the northern part of Kenya, we’ll be doing a baseline survey to see the need [and] how we can best approach that instead of using the models which some of the NGOs have been using.”
The FMI strategy also means that the ministers they support are local to their Kenyan communities and can build authentic relationships. “Building relationship here means to be on the ground, understand the culture of the people, understand what they are doing, understand how best we can mitigate the processes to reach our goal and also to create peace and harmony.”
Learn more about FMI here and how you can partner with them as they advance God’s Kingdom!
Also, Elijah asks, “Pray for the church planters [and] the evangelists…to speak to their hearts words which can bring transformation in their life.”
*Last name omitted for security purposes.
Header photo courtesy of FMI.
