Kenya

The purpose of our Gospel Festivals is to reach everyone with the message of Jesus Christ. We want to reach the young and old, the rich and poor, the influential and those forgotten by society. From the highest to the lowest, everyone deserves to have the chance to be saved.

In order to accomplish this goal, we plan ministry designed to reach into every level of society. The main vehicle we use for evangelism is the big festival but with each one there are many opportunities to extend the impact.

Jesus called us to be “fishers of men.” If you have ever gone fishing, you know that different types of fish require different kinds of bait. That’s why we do multiple events in a variety of different venues in a city in order to reach all kinds of people for Jesus. Each event is designed to appeal to a different segment of society.

At our recent Love Kenya Festival that we did with the Global Network of Evangelists in the cities of Embu and Murang’a, we were able to minister at many different events in our quest for souls. Here are some testimonies from ten different outreach events.

1. Young Adults – We used bicycle tricks, techno dance music, dancers, and DJ’s in order to attract teens and young adults so we would have the opportunity to share the Gospel with them.
2. Marketplace – We put a sound system and generator on the back of a flatbed truck. We drove the truck to a marketplace where fruit, vegetables, meat, and every other kind of food is sold. We preached about Jesus and right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the marketplace people got saved.
3. Children – We used bouncy houses, games, balloons, and face painting to attract children. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me” and we want to give kids an opportunity to hear about how much Jesus loves them.
4. Prisoners – I was sent to prison. But don’t worry…they let me out! In the men’s prison we preached to 300 inmates and in the women’s prison we ministered to 107. We also held a service for about 80 prison guards. In each service, they listened to the good news about Jesus with rapt attention and then gave their lives to Jesus. When the prisoners prayed with me for salvation, it made me so happy.
5. Prison Guards – Since we were at the prison, we hosted a special meal for the prison guards and talked to them about Jesus.
6. Government Leaders – We visited the governor and the city commissioner. In both offices we had the opportunity to share the Gospel and to pray with these influential officials.
7. Pastors – We always work with and for the local church. The churches are responsible for follow-up after we leave so it is important for us to train and encourage the spiritual leaders. We hosted a pastor’s conference and on Sunday our team split up and ministered in over a dozen local churches.
8. Students – A team of Kenyan young people named Kumbamba visited all the local schools in the area. They danced, performed dramas, and shared their testimonies. As they ministered, they led several thousand students in a prayer of salvation.
9. Businesspeople – Often business leaders feel they are too important to come to an outdoor festival. So in order to reach business people, we rented a banquet room at the nicest hotel in town and sent personalized invitations to influential people. When they arrived, they sat down to eat a feast in an upscale environment. I preached to the businesspeople about Zacchaeus, a rich man whose life was changed when he had the opportunity to eat a meal with Jesus. 37 of them rededicated their lives to Jesus and 51 made a first-time decision to follow Christ.
10. Police Officers – We held a police officer forum. When I gave the altar call, the captain of the police stood up and following his example, all the police officers stood up too.

In addition to these targeted outreaches, we also had thousands attend each night of the Gospel Festival. Every night, a crystal-clear Gospel message was preached, and many people were saved. In the city of Embu, we had 50,591 total attendance at all our events and a total of 5,593 documented decisions were made for Christ.  Through all our efforts in Murang’a, we reached 45,113 people in person. In this second city a total of 5,650 people made first-time decisions for Christ!

On one  trip to Africa I had a brief layover in Kenya. I was invited to preach at a small street meeting in Nairobi. Here’s some raw footage of what God did.

Jessica King lived in Kissi, Kenya for one year. She fell in love with the people of Kenya.