85% of Pastors in Kenya are Untrained

If you walk into a random church in Kenya on any given Sunday the chances are extremely high you will hear a message from an untrained pastor. 85% of pastors have not been trained. The message will be short on both meat and milk, consisting mainly of conjecture and opinions mixed with prosperity teaching.

Untrained does not mean they are uneducated. Or that they have not been taught what the Bible says. Many have lots of verses memorized. Many have grown up in a church setting. All will tell you they love Jesus.

What does it mean to be untrained?

Being an untrained pastor means he has not had someone teach him the basics of how to read and interpret the bible. He has not been trained in how the Old Testament fits with the New Testament, therefore missing much of the meaning and richness of the Bible. Knowing what the bible says and knowing how to apply it are two different things.

Often times, these pastors have much of the bible committed to memory. However, they don’t understand the narrative of the Bible and how the verses they know fit with the rest of scripture. This is seen in questions our TE team is asked often by pastors in our trainings: Why do we need the Old Testament if we have the New Testament?

A lack of understanding the bible leads to a desire to follow the law. It is easier to follow the law than it is to live by faith through grace. Many churches teach that it is necessary to follow the OT law because they don’t understand grace.

Many also mix their traditional religion with Christianity, diluting the truth and making it more Kenyan culture than Biblical truth. This mixing often occurs because of a lack of discipleship and training.

It’s tragic to think that so many, thousands and thousands, are seeking truth but receiving a diluted gospel each and every week.
 

Our team is training 20 church leaders in one location. We have another teaching site starting in January. There is possibility of another training site starting next year in Nairobi. This year over 50 pastors have graduated from the Certificate Program our team teaches. Many good things are happening. Pastors are learning. Leaders are seeing the need for good bible study and interpretation skills. There is a lot to be hopeful about.

Perseverance
As with any major tasks there are highs and lows in training pastors. The times when you can see a pastor grasp what you are teaching is so exciting. They have wrestled with the text and something is said that makes it all click. This makes it worth it.

Then there are those times when class after class the same questions are asked, multiple times by different students. Often it is about a teaching which clashes with their culture, with their worldview. It can be discouraging and I must remember my own times of wrestling with the Word.

Perseverance is necessary. Satan is fighting against these pastors and leaders learning the bible. There is a real struggle for truth, and for the people of Kenya.

Graduates in Ilmamen. They completed a Certificate in Biblical Studies.

Support
As most of you know, our work is fully funded by generous churches and friends. Will you financially partner with us as we train pastors and make disciples?

We are truly in need of new partners and increased funding due to inflation and economic issues in Kenya. If you want to partner financially with us, you can do so by clicking the “Give” button.

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Thank you for praying and giving.

Lew and Brandi Johnson