My great-grandfather was a murderer

Do you know who was the first Christian in your family tree? My great-grandfather was a murderer. Shocking, and even today many traditional cattle herders in Northern Kenya kill and are killed in violent cattle raids.

After some time in prison, this murderer started attending church and was baptised with the name Noah. His son, Laban, walked 60km to find a school where he could learn to read and write. He was sent away, being too old for school, but found a mission station where he learnt to read the Bible. Laban was sent back home to start a school and a church, and he was the first in his family to reject the practice of polygamy.

Nowadays, 85% of Kenya’s population identifies as Christian. Amazing, and yet many who claim the name of Jesus do not live according to His ways. Many of the children in our Sunday School come from broken homes, some with multiple siblings from different fathers. Corruption, though disliked, is seen as a necessity to get what you need in life. Public hospitals are failing as staff take short cuts so that they can get back to their more lucrative private practices. Where has the church gone wrong?

Sadly, one of the failings of the Kenyan church is that it has become diseased with the “prosperity gospel”. Recently, for example, a pastor taught on John 3v16 emphasising that God gave His best, and so we should give our best. This was followed by emotional music and the opportunity to give generously to the church offering.

Please pray that the true gospel, the amazing, good news that Christ died for our sins to make us right with God, would once more be preached in Kenya and in Africa.