South Asian Ministry

Kenya is truly a land of diverse peoples; this is seen in the large South Asian population.  Most South Asians can trace their ancestry to India and are either Hindu or Muslim. Our team has a unique opportunity to connect with South Asians through the camp and adventure programs.  Since South Asians run many of the businesses in Nairobi, they frequently come through our team building program where we are able to begin to develop relationships with them.  Also, a large number of the campers that come through the camp program are South Asian, enabling us to build relationships with the children and their families.

Why are we working with the South Asians?
The South Asians represent one of Kenya’s largest unreached people groups. It is estimated that only .01% of South Asians in Kenya are evangelical Christians.  There is a large rift between local Kenyans and South Asians, making it difficult for Kenyan believers to reach out to South Asians and connect them with existing churches.  Our desire is to see a church planted that is indigenous to Kenyan South Asians.

Who are we working with in this community?
Our team sees a real openness to the Gospel within the younger generation of South Asians.  These young adults seem to be very disillusioned with the rules and traditions that guide their religious system.  Many freely admit that they don’t believe or even understand what they are taught, they simply follow because they are doing what is expected of them.  However, when they hear stories about Jesus, their eyes light up with a hunger for the freedom and salvation that can be found in Him.   

Where are we planning to go from here?
For the past 3 years our team has been involved in leading a small group of South Asian Christians. However, our goal is not to just work with this one small group, we long to see whole South Asian communities come to Christ. Our team has assessed that there are no churches in Nairobi that are effectively reaching South Asians, specifically in reaching the younger generation. Therefore, we are moving towards planting a church in this community. Currently we are spending a lot of time nurturing relationships and sharing the Gospel. As people come to the Lord, we will be planting a church with these new believers. We are also working to assemble a core group of believers who are committed to seeing the church grow in this community so that we can reach out together.

Sarah and her best friend Amy have been close friends of our team for quite some time. Our team met Sarah three years ago when she contacted us about volunteering with our camp program. Since that time we have had many, many opportunities to spend time with the girls. As they hear stories about Jesus, their eyes light up as they hear about the freedom and joy that only comes through a relationship with Him. As they ask questions they are continually held back from believing because they believe they must earn their salvation, once they have burned their karma over the course or many lifetimes. However, we see that they long for the freedom that comes from Christ, who already bore the price of their sin. Our team is praying that the Lord will open their eyes to see the freedom from sin that He gives us when we know Him.