11/18/2025
Storming the Gates of Hell!
Giving Tuesday is on December 2nd, just two short weeks away. As a quick reminder or an explanation for those who missed it earlier, Giving Tuesday is a worldwide organization who helps people who wish to help deserving organizations find those organizations and help in many ways. Giving Tuesday donates its services to organizations like Living Hope with no charge. We are very grateful to Living Tuesday because they have helped us raise thousands of dollars in the past several years.
In this Tuesday’s installment, I wish to explain to everyone why we are involved in something beyond running an orphanage i.e. planting a new church. In short, because God said so. The verse that keeps coming to my mind is Matthew 16:18:
And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (KJV)
The call began in 2004. We were in the midst of our first trip to Kenya with a team of 12 short term volunteer missionaries. We had a meeting with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board in Nairobi. I met with a young full-time missionary who was a church planter. I am sad to say that I do not remember his name, but I do remember he was a Church Planter. He told me that they were very interested in partnering with Living Hope because we were going to be working in an area with the Luo tribe, an unreached people group (less than 2% evangelized). Also, near to us was a tribe located in both Kenya and Tanzania with many people who had never heard the name of Jesus. Reaching those people became a goal that became stuck in the back of my mind.
Many years passed. The IMB had financial problems in 2008 with the economic downturn. They had to declare Kenya a legacy country which means they withdrew from expansion and focused their efforts on maintaining the work they had already started. At Living Hope, we concentrated on learning how to serve God by running an orphanage which was and still is a strong calling from God today.
Then it happened. The years sped by and suddenly, it was 2020. I was sitting in a Sunday School class taught by one of my all-time favorite teachers, Kathy Gwinn at Wears Valley Baptist Church in Sevierville, Tennessee. I don’t remember the verses we studied or even the topic we discussed. However, I do remember God jumping all over me to remind me of the unreached people group in western Kenya and Tanzania. I asked my pastor, Michael Barnes to pray for me and Living Hope as we followed God’s will to reach these people. He gladly did and I am certain he still prays for us.
As I contemplated reaching people in a place I had never seen, I was initially bewildered. But gradually, I realized God had already given us the resources we needed to do His work. He seems to always work like this. He gives you a seemingly impossible task, then tells you how He has already supplied your every need. By that time, we had already built over a dozen Houses of Hope, a tool to provide for a widow, but also to introduce Jesus and plant a church. Praise be to God for giving us our dear friend Shem Okello who developed this idea and help build over 1,500 Houses of Hope throughout Kenya. He is now with Jesus celebrating Him and the work Shem began and continues today.
God had also given us our friend John Oloo who works with the Kenya Baptist Association as their Volunteer Coordinator. When I told John of our call, he quickly got to work and found our unreached people group, the Waregi tribe. These people had migrated into Kenya and Tanzania. They assimilated into the Luo culture, the tribe we had been working with for several years. However, they are less than 2% evangelized. My experience is that is a high estimate.
God gave us His church to help. In particular, First Baptist Ellijay, Wildwood Baptist, First Baptist Holly Springs and Wears Valley Baptist provided money, people and prayer. Praise be to God for Marty Bingham, Tracy Summers, Tammi Summers, Morgan Lee, Cynthia Poor, Lori Rhodes, Andy Davidson and of course my dear wife Julie for traveling to Kenya and helping get this thing started.
This past June, we got our first look at the area we were to serve. The name of the town is Ayego (Ah-Yay-Go). We built three Houses of Hope for three needy widows. These are now serving as centers for Bible studies. We learned that God had provided a pastor, Mark Kasera Onyango who was already leading Bible studies for nine families.
This area of western Kenya in Migori County is the most spiritually dark area of Kenya I have ever seen. For that matter, it may be the most spiritually dark area of the world that I have seen. Over may square miles, there were no church buildings except a small Roman Catholic Church building. This area is strongly influenced by a satanic cult, the Legion Maria cult. They branched off from Roman Catholicism and as such pray to Mary. They believe in their own “Black Jesus”. This was a man born in the area who claimed to be Jesus, stating he would rise again on the third day after his death. Thirty days after his death, his followers decided to bury his dead body.
I encountered one Legion follower who worked with us building Houses of Hope. He tried to shake my faith by asking about many of the difficulties of Christianity. Why does the Bible contradict itself so much? How could a good God allow so much suffering? Why is Christianity broken apart into so many denominations? These were a few examples of his belligerence towards Christ. His was perhaps one of the angriest young men I had ever known, refusing to listen to my answers and interrupting constantly. Finally, he had enough and decided to go back to work. I praise God for the many hours of study and training He has provided and for using those studies through the power of His Holy Spirit.
Finally, and most disturbing, the spiritual darkness was shown through the effects of false religion in the area. As we have encountered many times in Kenya, the Waregi people believe they can work their way to Heaven. We know that our works are nothing but filthy rags (Isa. 64.6) and that salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2.8). When asked if they believed they were certain they would go to Heaven when they died, many said no but others said yes. For those who answered yes, we asked “”If you were at the gates of Heaven and Jesus asked you, “Why should I let you into my Heaven?” how would you respond?”” One answer was because I have visited the sick and those in prison. Another was I know because I know. These were typical of everyone’s misunderstanding of salvation. The longer we were in the Ayego area with the Waregi, the more we understood this area NEEDS JESUS. Note: You may recognize the two diagnostic question of Evangelism Explosion, yet another way God has provided for this work.
Some very good things have happened since we left Ayego in June. Pastor Mark is teaching Bible studies at the Houses of Hope. We let the need be known and God’s people have responded with some extremely generous gifts. John and Mark found and purchased a four-acre tract of land to build a church building. We had a fence built to identify and set off the property. We have received several estimates for both temporary and permanent church buildings.
So, what is next? We believe God is guiding us to build a permanent building even though the cost is much higher than a temporary one. We are now discussing a layout for the building that will provide adequate room for worship, offices, and storage. We will have engineered drawings completed and finally, we will build a church building. There is great excitement in the area. Many families have stated they want to join as soon as the building is completed.
Next year, probably in June, we plan to take a team to work both in Oyuma at the Hope Centre orphanage and at the brand new Ayego Baptist Church. We believe the building will be complete at that time, so we will have a dedication service. Then through the week, we will teach the members of Ayego Baptist how to accomplish God’s calling. We will teach them the characteristics of a great church by explaining each characteristic and how to perform them in their church. We will also teach evangelism, which is so badly needed in this area. Finally, with our newly trained church members, we will get out of the building and share Jesus with people in the Ayego community.
Come join us. I guarantee you will see a miracle (or many). Your life will never be the same. Yes, you can do it. This year, our team included those in their thirties and in their seventies. There were no professionals, all lay people called by God. A missionary once told me any American who regularly sits in a Sunday School class can teach the Bible in Africa. Yes, YOU can do it.
Finally, this exciting work does require money. Please prayerfully consider giving to Living Hope on or before Giving Tuesday (December 2nd) to help share Jesus and STORM THE GATES OF HELL!!!
Credit Cards: www.lhmikids1st.org
Checks: Living Hope Ministries International
P.O. Box 1931
Jasper, GA 30143
