Kenyan Encounters – Destiny

Destined for greatness

We recently went to Kenya on a mission trip as part of our school in California. We were in a village called Mtwapa just outside of Mombasa on the coast. The eastern coast of Africa is a really beautiful place and we loved our time there. We were not there to enjoy the sights however. We were on a mission to share the love of God with the locals. We were partnering with a local church pastor Christopher and we saw some seriously life changing things. I want to share small excerpts from our trip in a series called ‘Kenyan Encounters’. In this article I want to talk about how one young mans life was impacted, my new friend Timothy.

Kenyan Encounters – Salvation

We recently went to Kenya on a mission trip as part of our school in California. We were in a village called Mtwapa just outside of Mombasa on the coast. The eastern coast of Africa is a really beautiful place and we loved our time there. We were not there to enjoy the sights however. We were on a mission to share the love of God with the locals. We were partnering with a local church pastor Christopher and we saw some seriously life changing things. I want to share small excerpts from our trip in a series called ‘Kenyan Encounters’

Culture replication

We are loving our time here studying at Bethel Church. We are learning lots and God is moving in powerful ways. Restoring relationships, healing cancer, equipping believers and revealing his fathers heart. People are travelling here from all over the world, church leaders, worship leaders, politicians, musicians and actors all hoping to experience something of the Kingdom and take it home.

The second most common question I have been asked, after what is unique about Bethel (addressed in 3 parts starting here), is can we transfer it to our situation.

The mission trip dynamic

We have just returned from a 2 week mission trip to Kenya. It was an incredible time. We saw so many amazing things and experiencing another culture. I am sure there will be many more blog posts telling and retelling the adventures as the trip was definitely life changing. In this post however I wanted to jot down some thoughts on  missions trips in general. For those of us that have been away on missions it is clear something changes when we travel and share Gods light in a new location. You take the same quiet, seemingly average Christians and place them in an unfamiliar location with unfamiliar people and you have a recipe that allows God to do incredible things. The lame walk, the blind see, the dead are raised and many receive salvation. It sounds like something straight off the pages of the gospels. For many Christians mission trips become the high watermark they aim for in the rest of their lives. How can we see the same level of breakthrough in our home cities, villages and towns? I don’t claim to have any answers just some observations.

Guest: Perspective

What’s your perspective in life? Is your glass half full, half empty or overflowing?

In recent months God has really been speaking to me and challenging my perspective in life. Through which lens do I look at life and how does that affect my situation?

Bethel 101: Leadership (Part 3)

So we are about half way through our time here at Bethel. We have only actually been in the environment for about 3 months now but we are about half way through the time. It has been an incredible adventure so far and with our mission trip to Kenya coming up in March it is sure to only get better. We feel the culture and relationships renewing our minds and changing our perspective on so much. A number of people have asked us what is so special about Bethel so I thought it might be fun to share some observations. Why would we travel 5000 miles from home to be part of things here? Surely there are churches and bible schools in the UK? The church has a number of core values and experiences that are fairly unique and exciting. I thought I would share some of what we have discovered so far about this place. I have broken it up into a few short blog posts to make it easier to digest. This part is all about the vital role leadership has played within Bethel.

Bethel 101: Identity and Honor (Part 2)

So we are about half way through our time here at Bethel. We have only actually been in the environment for about 3 months now but we are about half way through the time. It has been an incredible adventure so far and with our mission trip to Kenya coming up in March it is sure to only get better. We feel the culture and relationships renewing our minds and changing our perspective on so much. A number of people have asked us what is so special about Bethel so I thought it might be fun to share some observations. Why would we travel 5000 miles from home to be part of things here? Surely there are churches and bible schools in the UK? The church has a number of core values and experiences that are fairly unique and exciting. I thought I would share some of what we have discovered so far about this place. I have broken it up into a few short blog posts to make it easier to digest. This part is all about how the church is empowering its members to realise their identity and do relationships well within a supernatural context.