Missionary profile – Jacob Oyugi

By Mercy Kambura

Kenyan missionary to children

Stories about missionaries were the soundtrack of my life. My mom diligently narrated to me how missionaries came to Africa; all the sacrifices they made, some to the point of death. When I was 11 years old, I gave my life to Christ. Years later, I trained with the organization that preached to me as a child. After the training, I preached to a child, and he gave his life to Christ. This was a momentous occasion for me—I felt God wanted me to be a children’s minister. And now I am. I work with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), reaching children with the Good News.

The person who preached to me worked for Good News Club, a club by the Child Evangelism Fellowship. The club attracted children from different denominations. It was here that I gave my life to Christ. I always remembered the stories my mom told me as a child. They were beautiful stories, but I didn’t want to be part of them.

After leading a child to Christ, I heard God telling me that that is where God was calling. I was a trained teacher, so I continued teaching for over a year. But the classroom wasn’t where God wanted me.

I decided to further my studies and enrolled to study sociology. My heart was still restless, so I decided to take a theology course with the Child Evangelism Fellowship. I enjoy children, teaching, and training people. Here I found my calling after leading a child to Christ.

I realized God was calling me to ministry, and I was done running from the Lord. I joined CEF. I still work there as the Director of Training. Our primary purpose is to evangelize boys and girls, disciple them and channel them to churches. I’ve been serving, teaching children, and training others to do the same.

To reach children, you must be sure that God has called you to reach out to kids. It begins with you— you have to have a passion for kids. You must understand how to deal with kids from different faiths and backgrounds. Some are hurting from living in dysfunctional families. Address their issues, do not neglect them. That’s the way to get the love of Christ through to them.

We aim to disciple them for the long term—we want them to be Christians forever, not just when they’re kids. If the children are lost, the Church is lost. When the children are lost, there’ll be no Church tomorrow. The African Church is just one generation away from extinction. We need to strengthen the children’s faith.

It’s time for us, as Africans and Kenyans, to send missionaries to our Jerusalem. We must begin with the children; let us be examples so they can say they want Jesus in their lives. Find more missionary stories at www.afrigo.org/stories

#Pray:

For faithfulness; the journey is long. Pray that God will help us to serve faithfully.