our ministry trip to Kenya (2025)

Broadly, the goal of HAI is to develop a vision and strategies for “ministry multiplication”: Don’t just start something; prepare others to start in the future as well. More specifically, we train on discipleship and developing lay-leaders—while other experts provide training to start schools and other businesses, learn skills such as mechanics and video production, operate medical and dental clinics, etc. 

So, FSM (through our training and DC/GE curricula) and HAI both emphasize empowerment and multiplication. We often describe it in light of a popular metaphor: don’t give a man a fish; teach him how to fish. But our goals are grander: we want to teach the man how to teach others to fish. In discipleship terms, we would point to the four generations of II Tim 2:2 (Paul, Timothy, faithful people, who can teach others; see also: Joel 1:3). Addition is ok, but we’re aiming for multiplication which is far more powerful. 

How did this trip compare to our others?

On every other trip, our team has led one module among many in the final two years of a three-year HAI process to train church leaders in a given country. This time, we were part of HAI’s “Discipleship Training Academy” (DTA) near HAI’s headquarters outside of Nairobi. While focused on those sprinkled throughout Kenya, they also recruit from other countries where they have contacts. (This time, Mali, South Sudan, and Madagascar were represented.) In addition to the 33 DTA’ers, we also trained many of Francis’ 27 staff, interns, and key volunteers. We were training in the 12th of their 13 week process. (Afterwards, we thought about Francis’ desire for us to be in the 13th week, but we think the 12th was probably optimal– vs. the distractions that would come with being in the final week.) This was an average training in terms of size—about 60 people involved. They were younger than our previous groups– as young as 18 and only a handful in their 30s.

Third, Kurt and I want to take different people on each trip—particularly those who haven’t taken an international ministry trip in the past. We want them to see God move in radically different ways and empower them to go “further still”—to do a range of other things, from everyday life to international missions. And we want the locals to be inspired by laypeople doing ministry. This time, it was powerful for me and Kurt to see them experiencing Africa for the first time, reminding us of things that are now easy for us to take for granted.  

Our team this year: Bruce, Jenny, Curt, and my wife Tonia. (Bruce is an airline mechanic; Jenny is a homemaker and music teacher; Curt is a lawyer; and Tonia is a homemaker.) They were arguably the strongest group we’ve taken (along with the first Ghana trip)—working hard before and during the trip, adapting on the ground, teaching well, and leading small groups effectively. (We had teams of 6 and 5 in Ghana—and then 4 in BF and Malawi.) We needed more people this time and wanted women on this trip—with more people to train and the prevalence of women among the trainees (roughly 50/50).  

All of our team members are “grads” of DC: Thoroughly Equipped and former DC co-leaders. As such, I’m extremely confident that they can teach and run really good small groups, even with the challenges at hand. We do a handful of meetings (with modest training) before we go. But to a large extent, given their background in DC, I can just “roll them out there” and know that it’s going to be really good. (We use our lighter/shorter curriculum, Getting Equipped [GE], in Africa.)  

The Training 

The “DC” training was our usual– with two exceptions. First, Francis ran a tighter, longer clock, with training 8:30-5:00, with four breaks (two 10-minute; one 30-minute for tea; and an hour for lunch). Second, they do prayer and fasting every Tuesday, so we only trained 1-3 that day. On Monday AM, Bruce and Jenny led off with “Identity in Christ”. And then, Tonia and Kurt taught sessions on Spiritual Warfare. On Tuesday, Kurt and I did our version of “four chairs” and other models of making disciple-makers. On Wednesday AM, Tonia and Kurt led the group through Neil Anderson’s “Steps to Freedom in Christ” booklet. (For the third consecutive trip, we finished with an exciting ceremony to burn lists of sins that had been confessed.) On Thursday AM, Curt taught on how to read the Bible effectively and I taught through Genesis 3. On Friday AM, we added some other brief sessions: Curt sharing his Sunday mini-sermon and me talking through some details in Joshua 1-10.  

The rest of the time (Wed/Thurs/Fri afternoons) was small group discussions. In terms of material, we use GE (or DC) material/questions on unity/conflict/fellowship, leadership, marriage, and stewardship. The plan is always to model an effective small group with avid participation, facilitating more than teaching, striving to empower rather than teach at folks. We handed off leadership to chosen people in the group on Friday (Dimitrious and Joy in my case)—to model empowerment. As with all the other countries except Malawi, the Zambians were comfortable in the small groups. The groups went really well. (We wrestled with starting the small groups earlier in the week, but worried that it might lead us to narrow our focus on our small group too soon.)

The cultural aspects of the discussions were not as interesting/unique as some of the previous years. They didn’t have big trouble with “leave/cleave” or significant issues with church discipline (compared to some wild stories we had heard before). Inside the church, there was modest trouble with fathers sacrificially loving their wives and the usual problems with temptations for financial debt. More broadly, the tribal-cultural influences seemed to be something of a factor (less than Ghana, but more than the other countries we’ve visited). And the Muslim influence was again limited (as in Malawi and Zambia vs. Ghana and BF). For the second time, we didn’t hear a mosque with loudspeakers to do regular prayers on this trip.  

Aside from the training… 

We opened the time there with a visit to a Masai home. It was very interesting to meet Grandma Lesol and her two grandkids (13-year old Tiffany and a 5-year old boy named Deron or somesuch). Father Gilbert and mom were working, etc., so we didn’t meet them until the next day at church. They had a lot of cows and goats (big wealth) along with a few chickens. Their diet is big on milk and meat. The women make the huts (out of sticks and manure).

Then, we split the team and visited two churches on Sunday AM: Kurt, Bruce, and Jenny to Francis’ home church; and Curt, Tonia, and I to a Masai church. All of us delivered sermons or mini-sermons / testimonies. Tonia talked about fear (ironically, a hornet was striking some fear in me during her talk) and gave part of her testimony along with the relevant Scripture. Bruce spoke on living like an orphan or adoptee. Curt talked about being loved by God first– before and after salvation. (Not sure about Jenny and Kurt.) In the Masai church, the one first-time guest came up front to introduce himself. (In Kenya, it’s mostly believers who attend church.) Kurt & Co. were impressed by the speed with which their tech guy brought up Scriptures on the screen.

A month before we left, I felt led to speak on Colossians 4:2– and then, the night before we left to start the trip, Francis sent me the promo for our church on social media. It included a picture of Francis and the bishop– and a 20-year-old picture of me in a suit. The bishop had chosen Leviticus 6:12-13, which tied into my sermon amazingly well– what a providence!)

As before, I’ve liked to open with a church service as a warm-up to the training—rather than to open with training and then close with a church service. The hospitality and fellowship at the Masai church– before and after the service, with food both times, including fresh milk in the tea (in the equivalent of a “green room”)– was really nice.

Most of the sessions started with some worship/singing and occasional dancing. A lot of repetition in the singing– both in church and in the pre-training worship. Tradeoffs? Repetitive is, well…repetitive. But it also allows one to focus more on the (fewer) words. Bottom line: Whatever worship looks like, you have to avoid its regular elements devolving into ritual/routine or performance. Our team enjoyed the out-loud praying on occasion; instead of having leaders pray every time, all of us would pray at the same time, moving from spectator to participant. 

Perhaps because I‘ve visited Africa six times now, I tend to take all of these things for granted. So, this time, I was struck by the perceptions of those on our team—for whom all of this was novel and fresh. Yet another reason to bring new people every time we come to Africa! 

Miscellany 

The Kenyans were light on dancing and the music was modest (keyboard and a lead singer or two). Still, worship was inspiring. A bit of harmony. (Only Malawi has used extensive harmony when singing.) Dress ranged quite a bit from Masai to moderate and casual Western/modern (but conservative).

Travel was really easy: no delays/hassles with airplanes. Longer layovers, but really a net gain, with no concerns about making connections. I had few productive conversations with strangers on the flights. (For one thing, I usually sat next to Tonia!) Good food on the planes and I was able to sleep a bit. Along with my penchant for irregular sleep, the sleep turmoil seems to mean that one good night of sleep allows me to catch up with little jet lag (none going, but coming back seems like it impacts me a bit).  

The accommodations at Francis’ compound on Sifa Road were terrific—roughly equivalent to Zambia for the best lodging we’ve had in Africa. No A/C, but no need. Hot showers with modest flow. Firm beds. Electricity 24-7 (vs. generally off in Zambia 8-6ish). Really, it was far nicer than one could reasonably expect. And the food was terrific, prepared by Rebecca, with some help from Michelle. (Lunch during the training was solid.) A lot of meat and rice, but good sauces. Fresh mango, pineapple, oranges, and small bananas. Breakfast was peanut butter with bread, yogurt, and most mornings, sausage or bacon with eggs. No crazy foods this time.  

After dinner and the debrief sessions, people mostly headed to their rooms (or headed home in the case of Frank, Pamella, and daughter Joan). We played more games than the Zambia trip, but less than the others: Quixx, No Thanks, Just One, and The Mind. It was also a time to mostly fast from phone, text, email, and current events. (I forgot my notes for the Gen 3 talk and needed my notes for Joshua. So, I had a burst of texts back home to have Zach send me the files.) So, it was good to get solitude (quiet time and reading for an hour or two after others had headed to their rooms).  

We did some walking, although not as much as in Zambia. It was more difficult to walk here with the schedule and the dirt roads. But we had a memorable hour-long trek outside “the neighborhood”, including a visit to a farm/vineyard. We were later told there had been a lioness citing, so I’m not sure whether we would have taken that walk with that knowledge!)  

On the trip, I read Robert Sirico’s Economics of the Parables and a collection of essays by David McCullough (Brave Companions). On the longer flights, I watched some movies: Gattaca (good), Juror #2 (good/solid), Live/Die/Repeat (excellent, but I’ve seen it before), half of Watchers (too slow to stick with), and Bohemian Rhapsody (really strong on the creative genius behind Queen as a band and really sad on Mercury making terrible choices that lead to separation from one who is portrayed as a wonderful wife). 

The weather was beautiful: sunny or partly cloudy with highs in the 70s and lows in the lower 50s—and no threat of rain. (They have a wet season and it does get 100+-degree hot in their summer.) Accordingly, the mosquitoes were only a non-issue again—in general and in particular, with the preventative measures we take. No significant trouble with illness, thankfully. (Likewise, I was thankful to be given the strength to teach on Tuesday, despite the prayer/fasting.)  It was really dry and dusty there, leading me to allergic responses. I used Zyrtec to moderate symptoms. Plastic bags are illegal and there was less pollution than we’re used to seeing.  

We’re super-excited to see what the Lord does through HAI and our work in Zambia. We’re optimistic that the work will spread to other countries in the area. As for us, our next trips to Africa are tentative– maybe Kenya for another DTA in 2026 or Cameroon in 2027. Stay tuned!