To Kenya, For the Church
Our CEO at Reformation Heritage Books, David Woollin, recently visited Kenya this past April as the featured speaker at the Passion for Mission Conference hosted by Trinity Baptist Church, Nairobi, Kenya. We asked him a few questions about the experience, and the ultimate purpose of undertaking the trip in the midst of his many duties at RHB, at Grace Immanuel Baptist Church, and at home.
Let’s start with the obvious question—why go to Nairobi when the world is not yet back to normal?
I will admit that it is still somewhat of a challenge to travel internationally, but the world is opening up, albeit slowly. The main problem I found is the number of hurdles to jump, as every country you transit through has different rules, and the many websites giving guidance often contradict each other. Nevertheless, travel is possible and manageable particularly as a solo traveler. I am convinced, however, that I will be caught out eventually and will end up stuck somewhere unpleasant; thankfully that has not happened yet.
Pastor Murungi Igweta from Trinity Baptist Church in Kenya was the pioneer and trend setter in visiting my own church in Grand Rapids recently. He showed that international travel was achievable, and it was he who encouraged me to come visit his church in Nairobi. It was also mostly his hard work in applying for my speaking visa that enabled me to enter Kenya, which was a whole other another administrative headache. Specifically, Murungi asked if I would be willing to be the 2022 speaker at their Passion for Mission Conference on the subject of evangelism. It was an opportunity I could not refuse, as I had not visited the wonderful country of Kenya since my wife Sarah and I traveled there on our honeymoon back in 1999.
What did you do while in Kenya?
God was so good, because in the days before traveling to Kenya I was on a family vacation back “home” to the UK (I’m from Yorkshire, originally). I had prepared for the conference in the weeks previous, but I knew that I had more to do. I finally landed in Nairobi on the Tuesday evening before Easter and the kind people there had all sorts of plans to take me and some other men who had flown in from a variety of African countries around the area. They even wanted to take us on a safari game drive! Although that would have been a wonderful experience, there was an issue that same week with the supply of petrol/gas so the trip was cancelled. Although disappointing, the cancellation was exactly what I needed as it allowed me to do the necessary work on my speaking sessions and to catch up with my CEO and ministry duties.
We did manage during those first days to visit two different homes for hospitality and fellowship. I was well taken care of the entire time: Pastor Murungi’s dear wife, Charity, gave me my favorite breakfast cereal (which I even struggle to find in the USA). In fact, all these weeks later I have kept up with the breakfast habit of drinking sweet Kenyan Chai tea. I am sure it is not good for me, but I am somewhat addicted now.
The conference itself was a flurry of speaking and meeting people. Pastor Murungi gave the opening address of the conference. I gave six talks covering evangelism from a number of biblical perspectives, including: evangelism and the sovereignty of God; the example of Christ and the teaching of Scripture; and various examples of individuals from church history who can motivate us today in spreading the gospel. Alongside this I was asked to take part in a two-hour video panel discussion on “The Call to the Ministry” (see video link below) and I also preached at Trinity Baptist Church on Easter Sunday. Following the preaching, I attended a young adults event where I was grilled on the sermon for a further two hours. The questions they asked were rich and experiential (and challenging!).
I was especially encouraged to once again see how God is working in another part of the world. Despite our large cultural and geographical differences, we had an immediate unity because of our mutual faith, even though many of us had never met before. The Kenya trip was a powerful reminder of the richness and variety of God’s people, both here on the earth and in our future existence in heaven.
How do trips such as this one to Kenya bolster the work of RHB?
Good question! In the publishing industry it is common to be invited to one event and then investigate if it is possible to tie a number of objectives together to make the whole worthwhile, as we try to be good stewards with the resources God entrusts us with as a non-profit organization. There are four specific ways that this trip both benefitted the believers in Kenya and supported the work of RHB worldwide:
Firstly, through the generosity of a donor we were able to print and freely distribute three thousand copies of the evangelistic booklet called The Gospel of Jesus Christ by Paul Washer. Every attendee left the event with ten copies each, with the clear intent of giving them out and engaging in conversations to bring the good news to those they meet. Please pray that God will use these resources, and those distributing them, in the salvation of sinners and edification of believers.
Secondly, at the conference itself there was an excellent selection of books available for purchase. Some attendees went home with armfuls of books, even though they are relatively expensive in Kenya. I spent time at the book tables, which gave me the opportunity to recommend a spread of titles related to evangelism, the subject of the event. For example, one of my very favorite books is the Puritan Paperback by John Bunyan, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ (Banner of Truth). Bunyan shows how God’s sovereignty and human responsibility “kiss” through an exposition of John 6:37. In that passage Jesus says, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” This verse, when understood correctly, answers all of the objections and misunderstandings on election, predestination, and the free offer of the gospel. The book strikes right at the bullseye of the truths we were trying to communicate from God’s Word at the conference.
Thirdly, I was able to make some new connections in a few other English-speaking countries in Africa. In recent years I have traveled to South Africa twice, because it is the obvious place to distribute English books through our partners at Good Neighbours Bookstore, Augustine Bookroom, Christian Book Discounters, and others. However, apart from infrequent shipping containers full of our books going to Ghana, or books regularly being sent to our Puritan Seminary alumni in a variety of countries, we have never been able to get our titles consistently into the remainder of the twenty-two African nations that speak English. During this trip I was able to spend time with Kenyan booksellers such as the ACTS Bookstore representatives from Nairobi, and the Reformation Hub Bookstore. My intent is to get great books into the whole of Eastern Africa through these good people who already have the channels to make that happen in-country.
I also spent time with three dear brothers from Nigeria who want to start bringing more solid Reformed titles into Lagos, and then spread out from there. Similarly, one brother from over the border in Tanzania wants to bring some of our titles into his new church plant, even though many people there do not speak English. Still, I am very encouraged by his enthusiasm! And, after returning to the US, I was contacted by another English Christian bookstore in Zambia. So we wait to see what work the Lord can do through our titles being read throughout the African nations.
Finally, I was able to connect with the representatives for the African Pastors Conferences. I am so excited by this opportunity for partnership. This is a ministry that was formerly led by the late Erroll Hulse who lived close by me in the north of England when he wasn’t traveling back to Africa to preaching. The ministry effort has since been passed on to other men, and what they do day in and day out is amazing. While I was living in luxury in a home in a nice suburb of Nairobi, I watched these men prepare to set off for a number of remote villages to visit up to one hundred pastors attending a number of rural conferences. These men take with them hundreds of books which they sell for less than they paid for them. So for example, they might pay ten dollars for a Reformation Heritage Study Bible and then sell it for a mere two dollars, thanks to donations they receive every year to subsidize the cost, but really due to their love for spreading the message of hope that is the gospel. The African Pastors Conferences ministry hosts more than fifty conferences per year across twelve of the English-speaking African countries, bringing reformed truths to nations where theological and doctrinal error is rampant. These incredible ministry efforts are only possible due to people in the West purchasing our books, plus the support of our partners and donors who put their resources to work in the service of the gospel.
Ultimately, this trip to Kenya served to remind me in very tangible ways that God provides, that he is in control, and that he continues to work and save in nations as far away as Kenya. Please pray for these precious African saints as they press on towards the goal, and thank you for your support of RHB and our mission to impact the whole world with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
Watch the panel discussion David Woollin references above, on “Aspiring to the Gospel Ministry,” at the link below:
