Volunteer Teams Great Help among Maasai

by    David Crane, SBC Missionary to Kenya                                                                                                                              Vol. XI, No. 5, May 1998

My wife, Renee, and I with our three children live and work among the Maasai people of Kenya. Before being appointed as missionaries by the International Mission Board, I served as pastor of the Beulah Baptist Church of Kents Store, VA (Goshen Association). Many of you will remember me, because I was very active in the conservative cause there between 1990 and '93. Though we have moved to Kenya, I have continued to receive my copy of the Baptist Banner, and it has been of great encouragement to Renee and me. It not only keeps us abreast of what is happening in Virginia and the SBC as a whole, but it also provides us with timely and insightful articles on issues relevant to the church in America.

The last issue of The Banner we received contained a summary of missions efforts undertaken in 1997 by some of the SBCV's member churches. It was a great encouragement to recognize that the SBCV is being built on a good foundation; namely a serious commitment to the inerrant Word of God, and to the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. That issue of The Banner also made it clear to me that some SBCV member churches may still be planning their volunteer project calendars for 1998 and '99. In light of that fact, I would like to submit the following request to both leaders and members of SBCV churches.

As mentioned above, we live and work with the Maasai of Kenya as we have since July of '94 (nine months prior to that we were in language school). Since beginning our work as missionaries to the Maasai of the Kaputiei Association, we have seen the number of churches more than double, and the number of preaching points more than quadruple. Space constraints keep me from giving many stories that are relevant to those facts, but the bottom line is that God has opened a door for gospel witnessing among the Maasai.

Volunteers have played a vital role in starting of a number of our new works. Since the Holy Spirit is in the process of drawing a number of Maasai to Christ, it is an exciting time to minister among them. Most of the volunteers who have worked with us over the last three years have been wonderfully impacted by the things they saw God doing among the Maasai. No one has left disappointed because they did not have a chance to lead someone to Christ, or to make a real spiritual impact on someone's life. No, everyone has returned to America refreshed, revived, and deeply challenged, because that is how it is when you work in an area where God is moving.

In light of this fact, I would like to extend an offer to you as a leader, or member, of a Bible-believing church, to come out and work with us. Currently we could still use one more team in late 1998, and two more teams in early 1999. We especially enjoy receiving teams that come out to do evangelism. However we can also use people who are able to do construction work, as well as medical personnel. As a matter of fact, we are still seeking a doctor to come out in October of 1998 with a team from the Beulah Baptist Church of the Goshen Association. If your church is able to send a team, know that it is not a matter of "will the team members come back changed, and will they get a chance to lead people to Christ?" No, if your church sends a team. I guarantee they will come back on fire for God's work. The only question is, will you pray about this opportunity, and then act as God directs?

Though the Maasai have now been taken off the list of unreached peoples, there are still many places in their land where there is no church, and where many of the inhabitants have not yet heard the pure gospel of our Lord Jesus. These are the areas we will be focusing on in all of our future work here. Therefore, if you come to work with us, there will be no question about your being on the cutting edge of mission work.

 If you are interested in pursuing this issue with me, please e-mail me at <BMOKADM@MAF.org>; or write to me at, David Crane, C/O BMOK, Box 30405, Nairobi, Kenya, E. Africa. Of course, we are always looking for people who are willing to partner with us in prayer. Perhaps your church is not able to send a group to work with us, but you would be willing to make us a part of your church's prayer ministry. Again, we would welcome your letting us know of your willingness to pray for us. Finally, our newsletter is sent out by our home church, the First Baptist Church of Cherryville, N.C. If you would like to receive our newsletter, please write to them and ask to be added to our newsletter mailing list. Their address is E. First St, Cherryville, N.C. 28021. Ask that they send you a copy of the most recent edition of the newsletter.

Know that we look forward to hearing from you whom God will lead to share with us in our ministry to the Maasai. May God continue to bless, and add to, the churches of the SBCV. We are confident that this will be the case, as you continue to make Christ's priorities for His church the focus of your organization's existence.