Reliance on God
TTI church planter Jackson moved to a quaint market town in Kenya in 2012. He sensed God’s calling to lead a small church and share the Gospel with unreached indigenous communities in that region. About 90% of the population adheres to the teachings of the Qur’an and observes elementary Islamic practices.
Ever since his move, he has experienced fierce persecution but remains focused on reaching the Muslims. His most painful memory was the brutal murder of his friend’s son in 2014. The attackers armed with guns, knives, and machetes targeted non-Muslims of various ethnicities in his village. They ordered the women to watch as they stabbed and shot the men.
The 2013 terror attack and subsequent raids in 2014 on villages like his sparked fear. Many Christians, faced with the choice of either submitting to Islamic rule or being executed, fled, leaving churches nearly empty. Amidst the suffering and sadness, Jackson mobilized a few believers to pray day after day, continually being attentive to what God was doing.
Wonderful things happened! Local churches became agents of peace. Sheikhs joined the church’s efforts to improve relations between Christians and Muslims. New believers filled the empty spots left in the churches. And in September 2019, The Timothy Initiative (TTI) partnered with Jackson to train disciple makers and church planters. Up until the pandemic hit in March 2020, 57 local church planters were receiving Biblically balanced training. In just a few months, they had planted 20 home churches and led 506 people to salvation.
The severity of the challenges in this town—the terror attacks, COVID-19, and floods, has only made the church planters cry out to God more. With the training center and churches closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, they prayed for protection and resilience to share Christ with Muslims. They continue to pray for salvation. And, by God’s grace, they have led over 50 people to Christ and planted two churches during the pandemic. Each of the disciple makers believes that it is only through prayer that they will lead everyone in their village to Christ.
TTI Church planters from Jackson’s training center.
Children meeting for fellowship at a Church planted by Johnson Chanzera, a church planter from Jackson’s training center.
Church planted by Jacob Odiaga, a Church planter from Jackson’s Training Center.
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