Pastor Training in Kenya
Kenya is a country of 32 million people, and half of this population is Protestant Christians. With an average income of $460.00 per year, there are very few resources for the average Pastor or church leader to have any opportunity to go to school or seminary. Responding to the need in their community for church leadership, or a Pastoral calling, they can only draw from what little they have learned from their limited church experience, usually with untrained leadership, where a great majority of church leaders have no formal training, and often little education beyond primary or middle school. In major cities, it’s not uncommon to find preaching and teaching to be highly derivative of preachers and teachers who are prominent in the media or have their own television programs.

African Leadership’s Director National Director in Kenya is Benson Mutisya. Benson is also the Director of our Eastern Region of Africa, and Jackson Atsango is the Assistant Regional Director. African Leadership is currently training over 320 pastors and church leaders in 25 classes, at 19 training centers throughout Kenya. Most of the classes have been greatly disrupted though, following the controversial December ’07 elections.

In the first months of ’08, rioting, violence, and the burning of businesses and homes, has left Kenya in shambles with over a half-million people displaced, and more than 1000 dead. Even with new government strategies that appease opposing parties, it will be a very long time before life can return to normal, as homes, businesses, and families, slowly begin the rebuilding process. Kenya, and Nairobi in particular, serve as central distribution for much of greater southeast Africa, so the upheaval has cut off supply systems to many other countries in the region. Facing this turmoil, Benson and his staff have refocused their efforts to importing food and relief supplies, and facilitating deliveries and distribution, as their students have no food, and sometimes no homes, and must postpone their training until some normalcy returns. With the already disturbing national trend of the prevalence of AIDS/HIV, where an estimated 15% of adults between the ages of 15–49 are living with HIV/AIDS, a constant need for orphan care also occupies much of Benson’s ongoing ministry.

As African Leadership equips National Directors like Benson to make a lasting impact in churches and communities throughout Kenya, we are grateful for the support of our donors who make this national transformation possible. As we travel to visit our Directors and attend graduation ceremonies in Africa, we are amazed at the dedication of these pastors and leaders. They usually work full time jobs in addition to their pastoral workload, and go to school 2-4 days a week. Their desire to be better teachers and preachers for their congregations is reflected in their joyful completion of the 2-year program, which provides comprehensive training in all phases of church leadership equivalent to a foundational-level seminary or Bible College degree, utilizing a 10-course, 2,500-page Bible centered curriculum, developed and translated by African Leadership.

With such immeasurable need for training of pastors and church leaders, African Leadership is working to bring available training to Kenyans of limited means, for the vitality and health of their Church. Please pray for Benson, his family, and his staff, as they labor to bring hope to the communities of Kenya, by increasing the impact of the Gospel through training of pastors and church leaders.