September 1995

His Work Among the Luo People Of Kenya Go ... and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19
September 1, 1995

I'd like to start this newsletter with a little story about a family here in South Nyanza. It's a story about Jakobo Agak. Ten years ago, when Agak was still a schoolboy in shorts, a boarding student studying in 10th grade, he found an advertisement for World Bible School and promptly applied to take the course. In a few months, he received his course, completed it quickly and requested baptism. His name was sent to the closest missionary in the area. That missionary contacted Jakobo and made a plan to meet with him and take him to an area near Jakobo's school where a group of new Christians were forming. Jakobo was baptized, but in due time school closed and Agak went back home to live (a far ways from school). There was no church near his home, or none that he knew of, and the missionary had gone home in the meantime. So for eight years, Agak went on with his life, played the role of the son of a very traditional family, finished school, attended teachers college, and got married, always knowing in the back of his mind that he had to do something about his Christian walk but never knowing exactly what he had to do. He tried to talk with his family but found a wall of resistance that was impenetrable. So he lived his life and prayed patiently for help in his spiritual life. One day, at the market, Agak stumbled upon a man who was telling someone else about Jesus. He stopped to listen and hailed the man to ask questions. It turns out that the man was a Christian worshipping in a church just about a mile from the market area. Agak was overjoyed. He promised the man he would be at worship next Sunday. The Christian (a Luo man who has sons Agak's age) took Agak under his wing, gave him a hearty welcome into the church, continued to teach him, and just generally showed Christ's love to Agak in a very real practical way. That all happened two years ago. Today, Agak never misses a gathering of the church. He and his wife and son ride more than eight miles on a bicycle (yes, all three of them on one bike) to the place where the church meets. He preaches, teaches and sings with the other young men in the congregation. He even babysits his child so his wife can attend every possible function for the women. He and his wife both continue to try to teach the family. We pray for Agak. He may be an elder in the church someday.

Several of you have had questions lately about WBS, whether it's worthwhile or not, what is the best way to use it, etc. Some have written and asked our advice concerning missionaries who don't follow up on requests for baptism. I'm afraid we don't have any new answers. But we would like to share a few observations with you from a missionary-on-the-field viewpoint.

WBS has a few inherent problems as do all things devised and undertaken by humans. Lets look at these problems for a few minutes. Maybe an on the spot observation can help you to consider something you may not have thought of before.

1.) As you probably already know, trying to convert a living breathing soul by correspondence is a long shot at best. It's probably even less successful than door knocking. WBS is no different. It is a tool, not a miracle. Not only is correspondence a weak form of outreach, but in this case you are using correspondence to try to change the life of a person who barely speaks your language, and who doesn't think like you do.

2.) The language is a big enough barrier to address it all by itself. After ten years of speaking Luo day in and day out, when it comes to Bible study, I still prefer English because English is my heart language. My Luo Bible is in shreds, and I can find more verses quickly in my Luo Bible than I can in my English Bible, but to understand a passage that touches my heart and life, English is better for me because English is my heart language, the language I spoke at home as a child. Chances are that you are WBS teacher to a person who barely speaks English. You would be amazed at the number of people who try to take the course using an English speaker who translates it for them word for word. Or, at the number of people who take the course and can't even read. We've seen many people who are already Christians take the course and then sign their names on the line which expresses their desire for baptism. Try to keep in mind that you yourself (as a WBS teacher) do not really know the people with whom you are corresponding. A name signed on the last line of the last page does not mean they are ready for baptism or even understand who Jesus really is. But that doesn't mean you haven't done your job. Remember, you are making every effort for His sake. Let God worry about producing the growth. He said He would.

3.) Let's move on to the motivation problem. I came to the mission field naively thinking that Africans were so innocent that all we had to do was introduce Jesus to them and the work was over. It's not! Satan has a grip too. I will be the first to argue that Africans are more hungry for the word than Americans seem to be, and that receptivity is extremely high comparatively, but we cannot let it overshadow Satan's hold. Many people take the WBS course for different reasons than just searching for a Savior. In Kenya, it is common for people to take the course to practice their English. School students often take it because it helps them to pass the Christian Religious Education courses that they are required to take in order to get a pass certificate. Many take it because it gives them a link to America which they revere. It gives them a source of physical salvation. That's why you have so many requests for things from your WBS students. We know of lots of people who boast of how many WBS teachers they have. Salvation from sin is not the motivation for them. They are motivated instead by acquisition of things. Some hope to cultivate an American sponsor who will bring them to the land of plenty to complete their education. But, don't be discouraged. There are those who study WBS purely because they want know the Savior.

4.) And we have the teach-baptize-teach dilemma. I know that Phillip baptized the Eunuch and then "the spirit of the Lord caught away Phillip". He didn't have the opportunity to teach after baptism. But try to put yourself in the place of a missionary for a moment. Would you be a wise missionary, if your work consisted of willy nilly running around, baptizing as many as you can, and ignoring the teach-baptize-teach command of Matthew 28? I ask you this because I know from personal experience how tempting this method is to every missionary. It's easy, it makes an instant celebrity out of the missionary, assures his financial support, and has little chance of being detected or corrected by overseeing elders. On the other hand, changing hearts and lives takes day by day contact, and back breaking, or maybe I should say heart breaking labour concerning those you teach. WBS can be a form of temptation to some missionaries to take the easier, more secure road. To a missionary in a new area, a WBS contact can be as valuable as gold in getting his new work off the drawing board and into reality, but to a missionary who works with 50 or more developing churches in a 3000 square mile area, a WBS contact is like a needle in a haystack. It's not even realistic for one man to expect to make daily contact, or even weekly or monthly contact with milk drinking Christians in 50 churches scattered from here to the back of beyond. Expecting him to chase down hundreds of WBS contacts is impractical. Especially because the missionary himself knows that the chances of a correspondence contact producing a new Christian are probably even slimmer than converting the next stranger whose door you knock on in a campaign. If you are upset with the missionary in an area where you have a student, try to understand that most missionaries are not working in one small area. Some contacts are hours away over horrible roads and the value of trying to cultivate a new contact must be weighed against the work as a whole and the value of being able to teach, baptize and then teach again those who are converted.

I hope I haven't discouraged you, because there is one overwhelming reason why you should continue being a WBS teacher, or why you should start. Surely you believe God is in there somewhere working for the good of the whole, guiding, arranging, leading, sometimes dragging people into the right spot at the right time in order for another of His creation to be saved. Remember Agak? He didn't need a missionary. God knew better. In His time, He provided Agak with a fellow (Luo) brother in Christ who could meet his needs infinitely better than any missionary could.

WBS is a tool, a very good tool. There are those out there, who need both you and WBS. WBS makes it possible for you to not only work for Jesus on the homefront but it makes it possible for you to be a missionary too. Just try to do your part and then pray with all your might for your WBS students and be assured that God will do His.

You may like to know what we do with WBS contacts. We've seen both sides of the coin. In Madagascar this last year, we were like missionaries starting a new work and those WBS contacts were truly like gold. Here in Kenya we are the missionaries who work with Christians in 50 churches spread over a 3000 square mile area. Our records show over 1200 WBS contacts to date. We admit that lots of those contacts are like needles in haystacks and we have worried over what to do about them, knowing that we are already stretched too thin for thorough church maturation to take place. Several years ago we used a computer to cross match WBS contacts with already existing churches. Out of 400 contacts in the South Nyanza area, only four matched up within a reasonable distance to already existing churches. That's when we decided to use WBS within our own framework. The Westside church of Christ in Akron, Ohio graciously and excitedly caught the dream and began to work with us. Barry goes from church to church, doing a gospel meeting campaign, showing the Christians in a particular church how to go from house to house and generate interest in WBS. In the evenings, the church invites the neighborhood to a meal and a chance to hear the Word. In the last few years over 800 people have become WBS students and most all of them within walking distance of an already existing congregation. In this way, people who are studying the Bible and new Christians are immediately plugged into a Christian support group. The Westside church handles all these WBS students for us. Presently, they are making a plan to develop deeper relationships and to help to mature some of those WBS students who have obeyed the call and need further teaching. We heartily thank them for understanding our situation and for working with us so exuberantly.

What about you? I say, GO TO IT! We have a responsibility to do it. And God, we know, always holds up His end. We love you and pray for you in all your efforts for His sake.