A Bit Excited

I usually don’t get excited about my trips overseas. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do and so grateful each time God gives me opportunity to disciple people in how to communicate the Good News of Christ cross-culturally. But excited? It’s hard to get excited about being on a plane 18 hours of a 26-hour trip. I don’t get the giggles when I think about being away from my wife for three weeks, the long hours of alone time after the classes are done for the day. But, as I sit here, two days from going to Kenya and teaching at the Africa Theological Seminary I have to admit, I’m a bit excited. Why?

First, because I just heard that 20 people from outside the seminary will be attending the cross-cultural church planting class, including 5 from Sudan and 3 from Uganda. All of these people are either in cross-cultural missions or want to learn more how they can cross cultural boundaries in presenting the Good News. These 20 people are all a by-product (if that is a proper term) of our 14 years of ministry in Kenya. The churches we planted continue to reproduce other congregations, now over 200. The training school we established 20 years ago, Makutano Baptist Bible Institute, continues to equip pastors, church workers and now missionaries. Yes, it’s exciting to see how God continues to grow that ministry and obviously we feel a sense of humble pride (oxymoron) knowing that we had a part in what He is doing.

I’m excited, secondly, because I get an opportunity to “influence” the national church on equipping and sending missionaries. One glaring failure of my time in Kenya was I didn’t understand the importance of challenging and equipping people to serve the unreached as most church planting in Kenya is mono-cultural. The local churches we established have never really been challenged to be a part of the Great Commission. Most of the students at the seminary I will be teaching at have never even heard about missions or cross-cultural ministries. The church of Kenya has always been on the receiving end of missions, but seldom, if ever, been challenged in sending their own to people different countries in Africa and beyond. I am encouraged; yes even excited, that missions is catching on, slowly but surely. The 5 people from Sudan are a result of one of the graduates from Makutano who went to Sudan and attended my class last year.

I am excited, also, because I will be speaking at the first church we established in Kenya in 1976. After 34 years, Paul Gichuki, one of the first converts in Pokot, not only is still pastor of that great church but also has emerged as the leader of the on-going church planting effort in many parts of Kenya and surrounding countries.

Five years ago we were able to raise $25K to replace the old mud classroom buildings with brick. They need more classrooms, beds, a library and a borehole, which will cost $75K. I’m excited about being able to take over $15,000 to the Makutano Bible Institute. We have a long way to go to reach that goal, but I am very grateful for the churches and individuals who have given to this project and I’m ecstatic that we can help this school as they have a proven track record stewardship and effectiveness in training. (To learn more about MBI project, click here)

Finally, I’m excited that my wife and eldest daughter, Becky, will be along on this trip. Kenya “marked” our family for life. Sandy and I cherish our days in Kenya, the friends and relationships that were formed all those years ago come flooding back the moment we step on African soil. Our girls were formed in Kenya and hold strong identities of being TCK’s. Missions is kind-of-a Lewis family business and we are all apart of the Great Commission task in one-way or another (our other daughter is serving in Senegal, West Africa).

So, as I begin gathering lessons, packing and cutting the lawn one more time before we leave Monday, I’m really getting excited about this trip, though still not thrilled about the flights ahead.

RGL
www.Lewis-Training.com/Training.htm

Christians in Northeast India

Most people, when they think of India, come to the conclusion that it is primarily Hindu and the second largest Muslim nation in the world. That’s all true. Statistics vary but, but generally speaking 75% of the country are Hindu, 15% are Muslims, 5% Christian, 2% Sikh and various other religions. But there is, in this vast country, a “Christian corridor,” which is in the northeast. Hovering and surrounding Bangladesh is a group of states that are predominantly Christian. With roots that go back to William Carey, the states of Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, the early pioneer missionaries from England and America established Baptist and Presbyterian churches that are still strong today. Though not the most unreached areas of India, the church in the northeast faces the common problems of Christian nominalism that is often associated with established churches of over 150 years.



This past month I was in Meghalaya to conduct a cross-cultural communication seminar with missionaries working in the northeast. Most of these good people work with various churches and organizations but they received training also from TENT, a bi-vocational one-year program located outside of Hyderabad. I have been working with for nearly six years now, and it is always my privilege to be associated with their projects and ministries.

One of the unique things about Meghalaya are the Khasi people, which is the largest tribe in the state. The Khasi’s are a matrilineal tribe where the lineage is traced through the female. All the children take their mother’s surname and they hold most of the economic power.

Center for Advanced Missions Studies

Someone asked me recently about how much time I spend "on the business," rather than "in the business." Some people spend MOST of the time on their business, but, sadly I spend little time promoting our work. Like many practitioners, I am more interested in being on the field and in the classroom. Making more people aware of training that is available is something I need to do more of, when I am not on the road.

Click on the this link to learn more about CAMS.

History of Missions and Pioneer Church Planters

This past week I have been in the northeast state of India called Meghalaya. One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was to visit the place where the first Welsh missionaries served, a place called Cherrapunji. Thomas Jones, a Calvinistic-Methodist, came to work among the Khasi people in 1841 and established the first Christian church in the northeast. Jones, and his wife Mary, who passed away a few years later, was joined in ministry in 1843 by Rev. and Mrs. William Lewis and Dr. Owen Richards. It was not until 1846 that they saw their first converts. Now over 150 years, it continues to be the largest church in the area. They say there are more Christians in this area than in Wales today.

I had the opportunity to speak at the Saturday night prayer meeting and afterwards spoke to the students who attend the Thomas Jones School of Missions.

The history of missions is interesting. As a pioneer church planter in Kenya, I have a certain affinity to guys like Jones, though in no way did I suffer the hardships of those who served 100 years ago. I don’t care about a plaque on the wall or a monument in the front of the church, but I do hope that, if the Lord tarries His return, that after another 100 years the works we established among the Pokot and Turkana would be just as strong as the church the church among the Khasi’s.