Bishop David is the ILI International Director of Africa English/ Swahili. He attended the first ILI International Conference in 2001. Together with his wife, Joyce, David founded Glory Outreach Assembly (GOA) in Kenya. GOA is focused on Church Planting, Compassion, Leadership Training, and Peace Building and Conflict Resolution.
This is David's story.
I sat at the 2018 Global Summit with leaders from around the world as Wes and Joy expressed their hearts in launching ILl's Bold Obedience Campaign to globally accelerate the spread of the Gospel. The challenge was initiated, and in my heart, I asked...
"What does bold obedience look like in my life?”
While praying and fasting, God placed a burden on my heart to leave my home nation of Kenya and go into two nations where the Gospel is heavily restricted. Persecution occurs daily for our Christian brothers and sisters in those nations.
Our team knew entering these nations to spread the love of Jesus could cost us our lives, but we counted the mission worthy. For months, we communicated in secret with a contact in one of the nations to secure plans for a leadership training conference. Realizing the danger ahead and understanding this trip could be my last, I packed my bag, dressed in the national attire, and loaded 35 ILI Christian leadership notebooks in a suitcase.
Landing in the nation, I glanced up while in the security checkpoint to see the notice:
"The attempt to transfer any Christian literature is punishable by life in prison or death,” a regulation I was unaware of until that moment.
"We knew the risk but counted it worthy of even our lives."
My heart began to race as the security guard motioned me over while viewing my bag on the scanner. Despite the great risk, I continued to feel the peace of God. After heavy questioning and uncomfortable glares, I was released to enter the country, my bag and all its contents untouched.
I entered the conference through three locked doors. Waiting in the room were eager Christian leaders, risking reputation, family, and even their lives to be equipped with the Eight Core Values to help them spread the Gospel in their nation. Their passion gripped my heart. The Holy Spirit filled the room, and that's when I realized, these people, this nation, will never be the same.
Dare to Ask God to give you a passion for the Gospel that leads you to take bold steps of obedience.
Until all worship,
God’s passion for His people can not be extinguished. Do you embody this same passion?