Timothy Jones – Baraton, Kenya … The Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) received a service request from the West Kenya Union Conference (WKUC) for the services of Timothy Jones, lead pastor of the Mountain View and Twin Peaks Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Longmont and Louisville, Colorado, respectively, in the first quarter of this year to assist in the opening of an Adventist church in the Mugumya village west of Kapkilel, Kenya.
Jones had served in this area over fifteen years ago, holding evangelistic meetings and assisting the Conference in planting and building a church in a local open field. He also supported the pastor for that new church for a year.
That church grew and another church was planted through it. WKUC now wanted to plant a third church in an area where the presence of an Adventist church was desperately needed. Having worked closely with Jones in the original evangelistic effort, where sixty people were baptized and a new church started, the Conference leadership turned to him again to help with this effort.
Since Jones is presently a pastor in the Rocky Mountain Conference, the support for this outreach endeavor had to come from the RMC. The Conference agreed to support this effort by allowing him to be released to facilitate this evangelism outreach. Jones and his wife, Carol, were soon off to conduct an evangelistic meeting in Kenya in eastern Africa.
After arriving in Kenya, Pastor Tim and Carol were warmly received by the WKUC president and other officials. They were housed at the University of Eastern Africa (UEAB), a Seventh-day Adventist university in Baraton, Kenya.
After the first Sabbath evangelistic meeting in the original church plant, the additional meetings were moved some distance away from the town and were held in an open field in a nearby village. The meeting attendance grew each night, and ministry to both adults and children was provided. Carol gave a message each night to the children and, each night, more children came.
After the meetings were concluded, a baptism service was held for 20 people who were prepared for baptism. There are many more who are preparing for future baptisms.
“A pastor has been appointed to lead this new church group in this area, and we continue to pray for the growth of the new church,” commented Jones. He continued, “By God’s grace we now have three churches that have been planted, and it was a wonderful experience seeing God work among these people who have so little, but love God so much and are so willing and desirous to share God’s love and the good news of Jesus’ soon coming.”
Much appreciation has been sent to the Rocky Mountain Conference for allowing Pastor Tim Jones and his wife Carol to go to Africa for this work of ministry.
—Timothy Jones is lead pastor at the Mountain View Seventh-day Adventist Church and Twin Peaks Seventh-day Adventist Church in Longmont and Louisville, Colorado, respectively. Photos supplied.
