April 3, 2000
Kenyan people group so responsive
to gospel, no missionaries needed
___MALINDI, Kenya (BP)--The 14-year-old boy spotted a group of strangers walking down the country path. His curiosity was piqued when they stopped to talk to a man. He hid behind a mud-packed home and listened as the visitors spoke of God's love.
___As Kenyan pastor Samuel Katana explained that sin separated man from God, the teenager hung his head in shame. When Jesus' sacrifice on the cross entered the picture, he stepped from his hiding place and quietly took a seat next to the pastor.
___"I am a sinner. I need to be forgiven," he said as tears streamed down his face. "I believe. You must tell my mother."
___The teenager led Katana by the hand to his home. In his excitement, he blurted out the "good news" before the pastor even had a chance to speak. His mother professed faith in Christ on the spot.
___As Katana was leaving, the teenager's father came running after him, yelling, "I am ready." The mother had been so excited that she had gone to tell him about Christ's love.
___This family became the first members of Bethany Baptist Church, which meets under a mango tree outside Malindi, Kenya. Katana may be only 33, but he has helped start five churches among his own people group, the Giriama.
___"It feels good to work doing what God commanded Christians to do," the pastor said. "The Giriama are open and receptive to the gospel right now. Our goal is to start enough churches so that everyone is within walking distance of a church."
___While that may sound like a hefty goal, it has, in fact, become reality.
___When International Mission Board missionaries Clay and Pat Coursey began working in the Malindi area 25 years ago, they envisioned a time when the Giriama would be self-starters --planting seeds of the gospel among their own people. That time has now come.
___Pastors like Katana and local Christians have caught the vision and taken over the work of starting new churches and discipling believers. With their work complete, the Courseys will retire in August with no IMB missionaries replacing them.
___The idea is to use local churches and their members to plant new churches. The main goal is to disciple local believers to take over the ministry of the missionaries.
___Thirty years ago, 87 percent of the Giriama practiced traditional African religions such as ancestor worship and black magic. Most had never heard of Jesus Christ, let alone seen a Bible.
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