(KENYA) Success in Ng’enda. Eight pastors went through Stepping Stones training. As they went through the process, the pastors were able to reflect on their own character, possibly more than any other time in their ministry. One pastor said, “I have been so used to scrutinizing my congregants’ behavior that I forgot I have faults of my own….

Pastor Prayer Partners
Eight pastors went through Stepping Stones training. As they went through the process, the pastors were able to reflect on their own character, possibly more than any other time in their ministry. One pastor said, “I have been so used to scrutinizing my congregants’ behavior that I forgot I have faults of my own. I have never seriously looked at my own life. Stepping Stones has helped me look more deeply into my character. I have seen my faults as well.”
The Stepping Stones curriculum is helping pastors like these reflect on the weaknesses in their own lives that affect their family relations as well as their ministry. Some of the weaknesses they became aware of were poor communication skills, poor listening skills, aggression, judgmentalism, materialism that compromised their ministry, unhealthy competition and jealousy of other pastors, and domestic violence and sexual immorality.
The pastors paired off into prayer partners to pray for each other’s weaknesses, and the partnerships are ongoing.
 
Pastors Fellowship and Partnership
A more robust fellowship between pastors is one of the outcomes of Stepping Stones training. The pastors who participated in the training sessions decided to start a pastor’s fellowship where they meet to share not only the issues that the training is bringing to the surface in their congregations but other issues that affect their ministries as well.
 
Before Stepping Stones, the pastors rarely made time to meet together and as a result, there was little unity between them. After the training, they were more able to relax around each other cooperate in their ministry eIorts. For example, they have started a lunch-hour preaching and prayer session in Kiganjo in which they minister the Word to area residents at lunch time every day.
 
Another area where Stepping Stones training has had good results is in thepartnership between the evangelical and mainstream churches. In Kenya, the mainstream churches include the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, and the Roman Catholic Church. The evangelical churches are the ‘smaller’ churches such Kenya Assemblies of God, Fountain of Hope Church, Christian Fellowship Foundation, Victory Church, and Africa Independent Pentecostal Church. Previously, pastors who were evangelical or mainstream had hardly any contact between them. However, when mainstream and evangelical pastors went through Stepping Stones together (apart from catholic priest who did not receive the training), their relationships improved. All of these pastors have started common prayer days when they meet once a month to pray and share the Word of God.
 

As a testament to their improved relationships, the evangelical and mainstream church leaders have united to fight against alcoholism in their area. They have also made plans to hold joint church services to indicate their new sense of unity to their congregants.

Talking about Sexuality at home  
JANE'S STORY
Jane is taking Stepping Stones training in the YICA women’s group. Jane is 44 years old and the mother of four children. Her husband is 50 years old. The YICA women’s group is a Christian fellowship in the Africa Independent Pentecostal Church. The women meet once a week for prayer, fellowship, and stepping stones training.

Jane says that she had always been anxious about the sexual behavior of her two daughters, ages 18 and 21. Although she could not say with certainty that the daughters are sexually active, it is not something she could ignore because many of the local girls her daughters’ age are sexually active. Jane’s worry was that her girls might not have the information they needed about sexually transmitted diseases, and that could put their lives in danger, but she also never approached them about it.

After going through Stepping Stones training, Jane has slowly gained the confidence to talk about sex with her daughters. She shared the following story. “One day, I asked our Stepping Stones facilitator for a few condoms. In the evening when the young children had gone to sleep, I called my two daughterss

I showed them the condoms and asked them if they knew what they were. They looked shocked. They said that they didn’t know what they were. Of course, I knew that they were probably not telling the truth. I explained that they were condoms, and that they make sex safe if they are consistently and correctly used. That opened up our discussion on sex. We talked to great length about issues like abstinence, safer sex, pregnancy, and abortion. Although at first they couldn’t believe that I would talk about sex with them, the girls eventually relaxed and enjoyed talking together.

We have had two more discussions since then. My daughters are opening to me now about their anxieties about sex and relationships. The other day, my 18-year-old daughter came to me for advice about a boy who is asking her for a relationship. I never thought the time would come that I could be so open with my children!”

RUTH'S STORY
Ruth is a 36-year-old lady with three children. Her husband is 45 years old. Ruth is taking Stepping Stones training with the Gicheru women’s group in Gatitu, Kenya. Ruth says that most contraceptives she has used didn’t work, so she stopped using them. However, Ruth does not want any more children, and because she was afraid of getting pregnant again, Ruth began to deny her husband sex. 

During Stepping Stones sessions with her group, Ruth and the other women discussed condoms and were shown how to use them by the facilitator. The training was a turning point for Ruth.

“I was afraid that condoms wouldn’t work effectively as a barrier to pregnancy. I also thought that they were only used by prostitutes. However, our Stepping Stones facilitator assured us that if condoms are used correctly and consistently, they are very effective in preventing pregnancies. I also realized condoms are used by other married couples. In fact, one lady in our group said that she and her husband used condoms, and they worked well. That helped me realize that condoms are not just for prostitutes.

The same day, I asked the facilitator to give me a few condoms to take home, and that night I discussed what I had learned with my husband. I asked him to use condoms during sex. In fact, I showed him how to use them since we had never used condoms before. That night, I had sex with my husband without fear of becoming pregnant. We now use condoms regularly during sex. My husband is a very happy man now. He actually told me to thank our facilitator for helping us with our sex life. I was concerned my husband would start having sex outside our marriage since I was not providing it, but I am no longer worried about that now.”

Prayers for Kenya

  • Security and safety. The risk of terrorist attacks in Kenya remains high, and Nairobi in general and some of the marginal areas we work in are not always safe.
  • Pray for our staff as they travel to communities and facilitate different trainings. Pray for security in Kenya as many people are killed in road accidents, and there are also frequent grenade attacks in the city of Nairobi.
  • Wisdom, discernment, and strength as we implement our new strategic plan. There are a lot of opportunities for community impact, building the organizational capacity of our partners, and networking and learning with other like-minded organizations.
  • The family of the man who died so suddenly in Davis’ story, as they are left without a bread winner. His family is not alone; there are more cases like his in the village. Too many men are dying at an early age.
  • Pray for recruitment of a country consultant for both Kenya and Uganda.

Praises

  • Thank God for the support we receive from churches.
  • We recently completed a World Renew Kenya strategic planning session that gave us new energy, encouragement, and unity as a team.

 

Stephan Lutz

Program Consultant
World Renew Kenya