It’s not persuasion that’s changing hearts—it’s presence

By Rodgers Unda, East Africa Coordinator

For years, I pastored a church near Mombasa, Kenya. Then I joined iReach Global, and God showed me how much further love could reach. Today, I oversee our work along Kenya’s North Coast, and one place that has captured my heart is a town called Gongoni.

Gongoni sits at the edge of everything. It’s at the farthest reaches of the North Coast, and it’s a gateway to the Somali border towns beyond it. Gongoni is remote, guarded, and it’s not easy to plant anything there. But that is exactly why Gongoni is a strategic town for the growth of iReach Groups.

Earlier this year, we trained local believers ready to start iReach Discussion Groups in their own communities. I watched pastors and lay leaders, some who never had formal training, learn to open God’s Word with their neighbors, Muslim and Christian alike.

I have seen what that presence can do. One of the local leaders in Gongoni told me,

“We have had several ministries coming in this area, but none have helped us like iReach Global. We have been greatly enriched on how we can serve God by showing His love.”

As we say here on the coast, “Haba na haba, hujaza kibaba.” This means, “Little by little, the measure is filled.”

Doors do not open because of an argument we win or a sermon that we preach. They open when people watch God’s love lived out, day after day, by someone who will not leave.

Our goal is to see iReach Groups planted all along the Somali border, until the love of God has changed hearts in every corner of this region. You are the reason that is no longer just a hope. It is already happening.

Thank you!