ROOTED IN JESUS
A Course in Christian Discipleship for Africa

Kitale 2020

Erasto Mollel

Kajiado

Nkirreteti

Nkirreteti

Kajiado

Oloikarere

Lucy

Nkirreteti

Kajiado

kericho

bungoma

nkirroteti

Maseno south

Maseno South

Murang'a

keel

butere

 

 

 

Kenya

 

Diocese of Bondo (from 2015)

The Diocese of Bondo hosted a Rooted in Jesus conference in April 2015. The team, with members from the US and from Kenya, led two introductory conferences at which 127 people were trained to lead Rooted in Jesus groups. Groups were established across the diocese, and by October were completing the first book.


Diocese of Bungoma (from 2006)

In 2006 Canon David Munby ran some Rooted in Jesus training as part of a wider team visit. 25 evangelists and 5 clergy took part in a small pilot project, and some groups were soon established. A return visit in February 2009 found that despite the troubles Kenya was then facing, some groups were still continuing. The Provost was using it very successfully in his cell groups and also amongst the displaced people he was caring for. By December 2009, six groups had completed the course.


Diocese of Butere (from 2017)

In June 2017 two introductory Rooted in Jesus conferences were held in Butere at the invitation of Bishop Timothy Wambunya. A small team from the US and from Kenya facilitated what turned out to be the biggest conferences in the history of Rooted in Jesus. Over 300 leaders were trained. Rooted in Jesus was adopted in discipleship groups throughout the diocese. The course is recommended for confirmation preparation across the diocese.

A follow-up conference was held in 2018. Coordinator Benjamin Kibara reported that there are now over 400 groups, and that there has been great growth as a result - broken relationships have been healed, commitment and participation in the life of the church has increased, and giving has gone up.

In 2019 the diocese hosted three further conferences, one for existing leaders, one for new leaders, and one to equip Sunday School teachers to use Rooted in Jesus Junior. By the end of the year Benjamin reported that there are now 710 groups, of which 91 are Sunday School groups using Rooted in Jesus Junior. Many of the first groups have completed the course, and new groups have been formed.

"We have seen the Lord using the Rooted in Jesus groups to bring hope and transformation. This resource is indeed a gift from God. Many people came to know the Lord through the RinJ groups. Broken relationships in families were restored. There was increased commitment and engagement from RinJ members in church activities. Giving in churches has gone up tremendously in parishes that have engaged actively in the groups."

 

Covenant Church International (from 2009)

The Covenant Church International is a network of churches founded in 2016. By 2008 it had been hailed as as the fastest growing denomination in Kenya. CCI works primarily in rural locations amongst the Masai, and places its priority on evangelism. We were invited to introduce Rooted in Jesus to pastors in Kajiado and Narok. The two conferences were attended by leaders from 5 denominations. A second team visited in March 2010 to run further introductory conferences in Rotian and Ntulele.

A year later David ole Kereto wrote: "The Rooted in Jesus seminars that we had last time help individual Christians to grow spiritually and also the numbers of people in Churches where the Conferences were done have increased. There is a huge multiplication both in quantity and in quality."

Rooted in Jesus is used in Masai and in Swahili, in the local churches and in Narok prison.


Diocese of Kajiado (from 2013)

In October 2013 the Diocese of Kajiado hosted Rooted in Jesus conferences in Kajiado and Oloitokitok. Each was attended by 40 pastors and lay leaders. The conferences were marked by remarkable outpourings of the Holy Spirit, and several miraculous healings.

 

Diocese of Kericho (from 2011)

The Diocese of Kericho covers the South Rift area of SW Kenya, and has 107 congregations across this mostly Masai region. The diocese held two Rooted in Jesus conferences in October 2011, attended by leaders from 40 churches from the Narok and Transmara districts, facilitated by a team from the UK and Tanzania.

In October 2013 a further conference was led by a team from Trinity Cheltenham, which has strong links with the Diocese of Kericho. 34 people attended the conference. The team leader reported that 'there was a strong sense of engagement, and high levels of participation, interest, involvement throughout', and one man was particularly touched: 'There was one lay leader who was so enthusiastic about the whole thing that it kept him awake on return to his town that Friday night. And at 2am in the morning he felt the Lord prompt him to go to the church (ACK St Luke's) where they have an all night prayer meeting every Friday. He spent from 3am to 6am in utterly abandoned joy and laughter! He is now the area coordinator for RinJ.' We hope that this conference, and the strategic planning which followed it, will provide the additional impetus needed to establish Rooted in Jesus throughout the diocese.

In July 2015 the diocese reported that 17 churches had established RinJ groups, some of which have reached the fourth book of the programme. Rooted in Jesus has been formally ratified and adopted by the Diocesan Synod for discipleship training within the diocese.

Further training conferences were held in February 2020 and in May 2022, led by teams from partner church Trinity Cheltenham.

 

Diocese of Kitale (from 2020)

The Diocese of Kitale held its first Rooted in Jesus conference in January 2020, facilitated by an international team from the USA, UK and Kenya. 137 clergy and lay participants attended the conference, including Bishop Emmanuel Chemengich, who pledged to start a group himself.

A followup conference was held in March 2022, attended by 195 existing and new leaders, and followed by a training day for local facilitators in each archdeaconry.

 

Diocese of Kirinyaga (from 2004)

In 2004 SOMA was invited to lead a mission to the entire Anglican Province of Kenya. Two brief Rooted in Jesus seminars were offered to the Dioceses of East Kenya during this mission.

In Kirinyaga diocese Lucy Mgwanja began by using Rooted in Jesus in her Sunday school class. She then set up groups for the Mothers Union and for men, drawing together people from different denominations in her home town of Kerugoya. In July 2015 Lucy told us that her own church had 100 children in RinJ Junior groups, and there is an adult group in each of the 8 churches in her parish.


Diocese of Maseno South (from 2014)

In October 2014 the Diocese of Maseno South hosted a Rooted in Jesus conference. 37 delegates attended, both clergy and lay. The team, drawn from the UK and from Kenya, reported that "The Lord was greatly glorified during our conference and there were many miracles of grace, healing and renewal." Rooted in Jesus has now been used with both adults and youth groups within the diocese.

 

Pentecostal networks (from 2014)

In April a team from the UK Leadership Development Partnerwship introduced Rooted in Jesus to two Pentcostal networks of churches. In Kombewa, SW Kenya, they worked with the Glad Tidings Churches and trained 66 people from some ten churches; Rooted in Jesus will be used in Swahili, Masai and Luo. In Bungoma, Western Kenya, 103 people were trained from a network of four church groupings, collectively known as Vine International. Bishop Dan Makecho of Vine International wrote afterwards "There  already testimonies about Rooted in Jesus. Yesterday there was no preaching at Bungoma church. We just enjoyed Rooted in Jesus and the result was that two people gave their lives to Christ; it was a wonderful time for us. I have never seen people excited and participating as I did yesterday, no dozing off, very  attentive and full of enthusiasm. People contributed so much and at the end of the service everybody could describe what is a Christian. It was just a trial for us but gave great results.”

In September 2015 the team returned to Kenya to work again with Vine International and Glad Tidings churches, and for the first time with two groups of leaders from the Pentecostal Evangelical Fellowship of Africa (PEFA). They ran conferences in Ruiru (Nairobi), Bungoma, Kombewa (Nyanza Province) and Muragng'a (Central Province). 155 leaders were trained. Reports from those who had started groups in 2014 were encouraging, with reports of church growth, multiplication of groups, identification of new leaders, spiritual growth in group members, increased commitment and discipleship, and a new group dynamic. The conferences were all marked by answered prayer and physical healings.

In November 2016 the team returned to Bungoma, Kombewa and Ruiru to introduce Rooted in Jesus Junior to 70 Sunday School teachers. The conferences were marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit, with people being touched both spiritually and physically.

By January 2018 many groups had completed the first two books of both the adult and junior programmes, more books have been printed, and further training is planned.

 

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