God is supreme in the affairs of men. He sets times and seasons. A few months ago, Tharaka District in the Eastern province of Kenya had its fate sealed as drought and famine ravaged its villages and small town centres. It was at the height of it all that the GOA, together with an American couple, Jeff and Rebecca, responded and moved in with foods and a massive evangelism programme that was spearheaded by the GOA's Sports Evangelism Department. The people of Tharaka and especially the GOA congregations now remembers with thankfulness that small act of mercy and says it went along way in helping them keep moving on as they waited and expected what God had prepared for them in the coming days.
And God did not disappoint them. The once dry rivers, trees and other vegetation are alive and babbling with life. Maize, beans, peas, mangoes, millet and sorghum are some of the crops that are doing well and it will soon be a bumper harvest for all those who took time to plant. As the rains continued pounding the land, resurrecting what once looked dead and buried, people could be seen on the fields tendering their crops as others continued putting more seeds into the ground.
Discipleship and follow-up mission
The sports evangelism co-ordinator, dispatched by the head office to follow up and report on the situation on the ground, began his mission at the Marimanti GOA church. Here over 85 believers from the local churches and community sat for some two sessions of teaching that majored on the person, nature and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Hungry and thirsty for the word, the believers heard that it’s the Holy spirit who gives life and that without Him, every Christian or ministry was as dry and hopeless as their land was before the onset of the rains. The spirit-filled life, they learned, is what empowers the believer in his or her daily Christian life, during trial and temptations and during difficult periods of our life. At the Kamatungu GOA church, pastured by Pastor Damiciano Muriungi, the fully packed church sat attentively for long hours as they learned that they can rely on the Holy Spirit power within them to overcome all opposition to their lives. They found out, to their joy, that the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence in their lives is meant to last eternally and its only them who can choose to walk away from Him. At the Mlamba Uturi Goa church, pastored by Pastor Lawrence, the believers, some of them new members who participated in the earlier sports Evangelism outreach, and that heard that we need to guard our lives, words and actions according to the scriptures in order to avoid grieving, quenching or sinning against the Holy Spirit. Probably the people who left that church praising God more than the others were the many intercessors who sat through the lesson on waiting on the Holy Spirit in prayers. The revelation of God’s plan on prayers in His will according to the scriptures opened their eyes to the limitless opportunities and blessings that are accessible by those who are courageous enough to wait on God in prayer.
At the Mwanyani GOA church, Pastored by Pastor Samson, the believers, among other things, learned that they can rely on the holy spirit to reproduce the character of Christ in their lives, for spiritual gifts and their ministries individually and corporately and that their ministries can be made far more effective if they allowed God’s Holy spirit to live and work through them. Our last lesson on a rainy Sunday evening when all the rivers were overflowing moved some believes to tears as they realized how much they had missed to receive from God, not because they were not good, but because they could not rely on the Holy Spirit for Daily guidance. Many recalled instances when God was distinctly speaking things to them but could not discern it. The believers learned that God desired them to “hear a voice behind them saying, this is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21)
Speaking after this memorable moment of their lives, the pastors, leaders and other Christians revealed that they had not previously heard such deep and timely teachings and requested the Goa head office to consider sending them teachers and other speakers who will empower them to keep growing in their walk with the lord.
By the end of it all, over 300 believers and other visitors had managed to hear and be edified through this follow-up and discipleship inreaches. Evidence of transformation was present in that many said they had graduated from praying for two minutes. Others committed to become more disciplined in bible study groups and fellowships. One elderly man gave his life to Christ as other inquirers started following on the pastors.
Tharaka churches desires to grow both spiritually and physically; the Mwanyani Goa church targets to raise over 200,000 shillings to purchase a two acre plot for putting up a modern permanent church structure. They are appealing for financial and prayers partnership to accomplish this. The Marimanti churches have a burden of reaching the lost especially in their area which recently saw the establishment of a mosque. The Muslims are making inroads and many gullible youths and others, lured by money, have started embracing the Madrasa lessons at the mosque. These churches looks forward on discipleship and evangelistic empowerment in order to conduct outreaches in areas that surround their churches. Continued mentoring and training in all aspects will empower these churches for more effectiveness in all areas on ministry.
As I boarded a Land Rover at around six in the morning of 30th November to return to Nairobi, God laid it on my heart that our mission at Tharaka, to fulfill the great commission, was oncourse and that many surprises and blessings lays ahead for those new churches whose members, like the Ephesians, craved to be transformed daily into the image of the son of God. Towards this end, every single Christian has a role to play. Each can pray, give or undertake to go and do whatever God lays on their hearts. I returned from Tharaka with a new multi-dimensional revelation of the power available to us all through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The resounding success of this mission largely came about through the gallant prayers of fellow believers at the GOA Head office, the Nairobi church and many others who we may never know. May God bless and enjoin them all to the blessings that He is releasing at Tharaka.
For further information or involvement in future Tharaka and other outreaches or inreaches, you can contact us through:
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or the GOA Kenya Address.
S.N Njuguna - GOA Sports Evangelism
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