Kisii Collaboration

Let me share an incredible story from Kisii, Kenya—a story of transformation, faith, and collaboration.

It Begins with a Boy

It begins with a boy who grew up never hearing about Jesus in his church. Everything changed when he attended a Christian school. There, his teacher spoke about the good things Jesus had done, and curiosity sparked in his heart. Over time, that boy learned more about Jesus and eventually felt a deep desire to share the gospel with others.

That boy is now Pastor Kenedy, a faithful leader who gathers and shepherds two congregations in Kisii. What’s remarkable? Over 80% of the people in these congregations are former Mormons—just like Pastor Kenedy himself.

His title doesn’t come from a seminary degree but from years of dedicated service, guiding people with God’s Word. But Pastor Kenedy and his group wanted more. They longed to understand Scripture better so they could clearly share the truth with others—especially those questioning or leaving Mormonism.

Collaboration with TILM and OAT

Thanks to the blessing of the internet, they connected with Truth in Love Ministry (TILM). TLIM is an organization committed to communicating the gospel to people with a Mormon background. For the past couple of years, Pastor Mark Parsons from TILM has been meeting regularly with Pastor Kenedy and other leaders online, offering instruction and encouragement.

While these virtual meetings were fruitful, it became clear that a deeper connection was needed. That’s where the WELS One Africa Team (OAT) stepped in. In November, my wife Leslie and I traveled to Kenya to meet Pastor Kenedy and his congregations in person. Over several days, we gathered with more than 200 men and women to review the basics of Christian faith and to discuss what collaboration OAT can offer to local ministries in sharing the gospel.

Looking Ahead

The result? A renewed sense of mission and plans for ongoing collaboration between TILM, OAT, and our partner churches in Kenya. Together, we aim to strengthen outreach to Mormons and equip local leaders for this important work.

Please keep Pastor Kenedy, his congregations, and all these ministries in your prayers. Your continued financial support makes this possible—and we are deeply grateful.

Pastor Howard Mohlke and his wife Leslie live in Zambia, where he serves as the One Africa Team leader .

Please pray for those working in fields that are ripe for harvest. Share their story, engage with future news, and receive updates. Learn more about our mission fields in Africa and how the Holy Spirit is working faith in people’s hearts at https://wels.net/serving-others/missions/africa

Best Reformation Ever

The Lutheran Reformation continues to bear fruit all over the world and especially in Gambella, Ethiopia today. Gambella Evangelical Lutheran Church (GELC) started in 2018 with a few men who had become frustrated with the false teaching of their other denominations. In 2021, the One Africa Team of the Wisconsin Synod directed their leader, Opiew Okugn to investigate the TELL Bible Study program from WELS’ Multi-Language Productions.

Learning About Baptism

One Africa Team member first met the church leaders face-to-face in March of 2023. The congregation had the common misunderstanding: “Since we don’t have an ordained pastor, we cannot make use of the sacraments.”

OAT representatives Joel Hoff and Dan Kroll taught about the sacraments in 2024. Any Christian who has a true understanding of the three persons of the Trinity can and should baptize. GELC leaders requested a baptismal liturgy from OAT. They even organized baptismal certificates for the fifty-seven who were baptized on that weekend.

More than a year later, the members of GELC are still baptizing. Four infants were brought into God’s kingdom through baptism just the week before Missionary Kroll arrived in mid-October. We praise the Lord for growth in this understanding. We also thank God for the growth of his kingdom amongst the Anuak Tribe living in Gambella!

Teaching the Lutheran Confessions

In some inhospitable weather (i.e., hot and humid), Missionary Kroll studied the Lutheran Confessions with GELC members. Everyone took notes on the historic Confessions of the Lutheran Reformation contained in the Book of Concord. These are the Augsburg Confession, the Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession, The Smalcald Articles, The Power and Primacy of the Pope, and The Formula of Concord.

Missionary Kroll used this opportunity to review the foundational teaching of Scripture – salvation by grace alone – with GELC members. He explained the concept of the opinio legis. This is a false idea that we can gain God’s favor by obeying his law. Missionary Kroll also warned GELC member about the Roman Catholic false teaching on the Sacraments. Namely, it is impossible to merit God’s favor by virtue what the priest is doing ex opere operato (from the work done), without regard to the faith of the person receiving the sacrament. The Bible urges us to receive God’s blessings with faith in Jesus’ salvation, as promised and delivered by the Sacraments.

The theological terms themselves are not important. We do however encounter the concepts they express often. We find them in the Lutheran Confessions, in our own communities, and even in our own hearts. With trust in God’s Word we look forward the battle against false teachings, wherever they may be found.

Discussing Church Practice

GELC members and Missionary Kroll discussed how traditions can interfere with worship when people focus on what they like. Our Anuak brothers recognized that they could be flexible about the number of hymns in a worship service. They acknowledged that desire for authority and honor can lead to conflict in the church. GELC currently utilizes only those offices of ministry that are necessary for good order.

Missionary Kroll and GELC members tackled these subjects with a lot of interactive homework and discussions. There was much laughter, a little spirited debate, and much time spent enjoying good meals together. It was a week of building relationship based on the true Word of God.

The week’s meetings ended with a Reformation Festival on Sunday. Worshippers enjoyed plenty of singing and a strong message about freedom. They listened to readings from Jeremiah 31, Galatians 5 and heard a great gospel sermon on John 8:31-36. David was the “moderator.” Mataya played the keyboard. Okwori delivered the sermon. Omod Ochalla, Opiew Okugn and Omod Otong read the Scripture lessons. In other words, every GELC leader had a role to play. A key theme of the Lutheran Reformation is that in the Church, everybody has a job to do.

Please offer a prayer for this congregation to hold firmly to the gospel they have learned. “We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.” (Hebrews 3:13).

Missionary Dan Kroll lives in Malawi.

Planning to Move Forward in Tanzania

Planning is a risky business. We don’t know the future. We take our best guesses and try to do everything possible so that something goes according to plans we’ve made. However, all of that still falls far short of guaranteeing the outcome. God reminds us: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” (James 4:13,14)

God’s Plans Always Prevail

The African Mission Evangelism Church (AMEC) is a Lutheran church of about 13,000 souls in Tanzania. Plans for a declaration of fellowship with AMEC didn’t come to fruition at our recent WELS convention. There was a sudden leadership change and a delay on AMEC’s side in accomplishing some tasks. Plans that had been made were put on hold. WELS and AMEC mutually decided it would be better to take a little bit more time before proceeding.

God warns us about putting too much hope in our own plans. He also spoke through Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11). Though our plans might not work out, God’s plans always do. He knows what he has in store for all of us, and we know that his plans are good.

I don’t doubt that his plans for the relationship between WELS and AMEC are good as well. We have made progress even in the short time since the delay. It looks like we will be ready to move forward with AMEC sooner rather than later. During a recent visit to Tanzania, Missionaries Roebke and Foxen witnessed good teaching by the leaders of AMEC. They explained to the rest of their called workers a locally written, Swahili-language confession of faith. The called workers thoroughly discussed many of the points in the confession. In the end, 65 men voiced their agreement that these are the things they believe and practice. This was a decision the WELS missionaries certainly rejoiced to hear.

Planning Our Move to Tanzania

Because of these developments, the One Africa Team has decided to relocate two mission families to Arusha, Tanzania. Missionaries Foxen and Roebke will be able to focus on training future church workers in AMEC. Through a program of classroom instruction and practical ministry application, the missionaries are planning to train a select number of AMEC men. Those men will become trainers of future gospel workers within their church body. Our prayer is that these men will be able to pass the same kind of training on to others in AMEC. God-willing, this will ensure a good future supply of gospel workers for their church body.

Such an endeavor requires even more planning. We are currently working with local lawyers to register our mission organization in Tanzania in order to obtain work permits. The missionary families will be leaving their old residences and searching for new ones. Missionaries are making efforts to maximize Swahili language learning when on the ground. The One Africa Team is weighing how these changes will affect the responsibilities of each member of the team. Of utmost concern is securing our families’ welfare in an area where we’ve never had WELS missionaries.

There’s a lot to think about and plan for, but also a lot to be gained. As with everything we do in life, we make our plans as best we can. At the same time, we trust that God’s plan is the one that will actually be accomplished. God will reveal in time how our planning lines up with his plan. We will continue to trust that whatever he has in store, it will be good. We know his planning is good for our missionaries and their families, for AMEC, for WELS, and ultimately for the kingdom of God. All glory to his name for his marvelous plan!

Missionary Ben Foxen lives in Zambia.