Student Visa a GO!

Hello Friends,

I wanted to share some good news. Today I found out that my KPP (Kenya’s Pupil’s Pass / student visa) has been approved. Praise Him!!! There was a good chance that my KPP would not be approved in time, but God has graciously provided.

I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to pray. God has heard your prayer and faithfully answered. Please continue to stand in the gap and be heard among the nations.

Thank you again.

Aaron

Less than two weeks before I leave, yikes.

Changing Demographics

There have been some people who have asked what I will be studying in Kenya. The simplest and most straightforward answer is Islamic Studies (the name of the course). However, I do not believe this title accurately communicates my focus of study. Therefore I desire to communicate my passion and interest of study.

There are two disciplines I am primarily interested in studying. I desire to integrate the fields of theology, especially systematic theology, with missiology, the study of missions. The purpose is to show how the expansion of global Christianity can serve as a positive influence on the way we think about and discuss God, his revelation, and his work in the world. I believe Christians in the West should think of church life in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as an important factor in the formulation and practice of theology. The simple reason Christians in these continents matter theologically is because they represent the majority of Christians in the world today.

Sadly, Christians are uneducated when it comes to global theology. If I asked you to name one theologian or pastor outside of the United States, could you? I don’t believe the average American Christian could think of one (feel free to prove me wrong). In response to not being informed about His bride/church, I am planning on posting mini biographical sketches of majority-world theologians and pastors. The first theologian is Tokunboh Adeyemo who is a frequent guest at NEGST and the general editor of the first all African Biblical commentary (©2006). I hope you are blessed by what God is doing.

Tokunboh Adeyemo was born into a royal Muslim family in Western Nigeria. He was the second child, but the first male child of eight. The tradition among the village called for the oldest son to be the chief of his tribe, therefore he was educated in the best institution in the country. He enjoyed politics as a young man and became the secretary leader of a political party. He continued to be a faithful Muslim reciting his religious prayers and faithfully participating in Ramadan by fasting for thirty days. According to his testimony, “people looked at him and saw a young man with a promising future, but Tokunboh felt an ache inside, an emptiness he could not fill” (Carden).


In his early twenties Tokunboh began to ask questions of life’s meaning, specifically where people went after death. His search for true meaning in life soon became his sole passion. It was not until he witnessed people with few material possessions worshiping God with joy and fever that he was impressed. He decided to find out the reason for their joy. The young man went back to the same church to find out if their passion and zeal for Christ was sincere, he was surprised to find out they were even more zealous for God the following night. As Francis Manana, professor at Pan African Christian College, says “after years of searching and depression, he was converted in 1966 in a small independent church in Ibadan when Rev. E. White, a South African missionary, clearly presented the Gospel” (Manana). The pastor spoke on John 10:10, explaining that Christ came not to introduce another religion, but a relationship. As Adeyemo explains, “as the man concluded, I decided to follow Yeshua, the giver of life”.

Today Adeyemo continues to be one of the leading evangelical Christian figures in Africa. Adeyemo served for twenty five years as the General Secretary of Association of Evangelicals in Africa before becoming the Executive Director of the Centre for Biblical Transformation located in Nairobi, Kenya. His keen understanding of biblical absolutes and passion for the unreached of Africa has made him a distinguished figure in Africa. He truly believes the Bible and theology is not dead but affectively moving among the African people. Adeyemo leads by example making sure his theology is not only studied but lived throughout his life. Adeyemo believes that for any Christian theology to be relevant and lived out in East Africa; account must be taken of the African worldview and self-understanding of the African people.