Smitty City

Because my communication with Scott was limited before I arrived in Nairobi, I didn't fully understand the primary need in Kenya. To be honest, I still don't completely understand, but after Scott informed me and I was able to see it first hand...I have a pretty good idea. The primary need in Kenya, similar to a lot of other sub-Saharian countries in Africa, is not the Gospel. Now granted, the literal gospel is needed everywhere in the world, including Kenya. But Kenya is extremely Christianized (by Christianized, I mean that they have heard and know who Christ is and what he has done for mankind). The Democratic Republic of Congo is nearly 99% Christianized. The gospel is nothing new to many Africans.

The primary needs are two-fold.

First, humanitarian work is deperately needed. The don't need your Ray Comfort track...they need your food, they need adaquate living arrangements, they need medicine, they need hope for a future (Matthew 25.31-46). I will address the humanitarian need more in a later post.

Second, they desperately need discipleship. At several of the gatherings that I preached, I asked a crowd full of believers if they knew who Philemon was...far less than a fourth raised their hands. I asked if they had heard of the apostle Paul...a fourth confirmed their knowledge of this man. Scott explained to me how incredibly weak the preaching is in these African countries. Worship is rich and reverent, but the teaching is lacking. Scott said, "They are miles wide and inches deep." In and around Nairobi, there were just as many, if not more, churches than we see in our bible belt. They are on every corner. The gospel is preached and well known by most. Several times during my trip, I thought of how silly and arrogant it is to have so many biblical resources in America that I rarely take advantage of. The leather of my six bibles at home should be worn completely off by now...instead I find myself struggling to choose which version to put in my backpact to carry with me (which usually never gets opened when I am at my various destinations). Our resources are priceless.

Don't get me wrong, there are many who still need to surrender their life to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And ultimately, the story of salvation is the primary need of this dying world. But the Kenyans don't need to hear it anymore...they need to be taught how to live it...and they need to be given the physical resources and opportunities so they can stay alive and healthy to be able to live it.