Thirty-six Kenyan teenage boys and young men came together in November for a leadership training camp In Eldoret, Kenya. At the end, 13 of them accepted a challenge to lead future gatherings locally and start encouraging other boys and men.
Six Kenya churches brought together the group in Eldoret, about 200 miles northwest of Nairobi. Five adult leaders of Texas Royal Ambassadors, a ministry of Texans on Mission, provided the training.
The camp grew out of a RA-led meeting earlier this year. “Pastors went home intentionally looking for young men in their churches they believed were leaders and wanted to get them some training,” said Savion Lee, state RA coordinator.
Those attending the camp learned leadership skills through adventure recreation and team building challenges. “The lessons highlighted unity and cooperation, responsibility and the importance of prayer in everything we do,” Lee said.
Steve Darilek, a long-time RA trainer from Bridgeport, likened the camp in Kenya to the annual RA Leadership Training Camp held in Texas. “We use a lot of different things … to produce leaders and raise a passion” for leadership among youth. “It looks like it's just fun and games,” but there is a spiritual application. “We hope they will take it back to their churches, to bring about change and open the eyes of their youth group.”
The Kenya group included young men ages 14-23, Darilek said. “They were very, very respectful. … I was impressed with their ability to stay focused,” even when language translation created challenges.
As the camp drew to a close, Lee said the pastors “put out the vision and asked who would be willing to help coordinate recurring meetings in their towns. Thirteen young men responded to that invitation.”
Since the regional meeting, the 13 already have held an initial meeting coordinated via the WhatsApp digital platform.
The Texas RA leaders and Kenyan pastors have the same hopes for what happens as a result of the camp. “They wanted a group of young men to become leaders and to come back to their church and assist them in leading others to Christ… and to be leaders in their church," Darilek said.
The pastors want the young men to know Christ, “speak Jesus,” give testimony of their faith and unify their group within their church, he added.
The RA approach used in Kenya included the sharing of personal experiences. “The Lord has done many things in all of our lives — the most important of which is our salvation,” Lee said. “Learning how to share your personal testimony can give courage to any young man, boy, man, whomever, to share about who God is and who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for them.”
The young men in Kenya “were interested in learning from us, especially about Scripture,” he said. “I look forward to seeing how the encouragement they received through the camp will make an impact with their families and with their churches.”
