Bringing it All Back Home--Kenyan Leader Goes Back to His Old School Rayola Osanya (Nairobi) - Friday, September 06, 2002
Fred Arogo, the leader of the teen ministry in the Nairobi Christian Church, recently started going to Lang'ata High School, his former school, and has been preaching and sharing with the 450 students there at Wednesday morning assembly.
"It has been on my heart to go to my former school," Fred says. "I know the teaching staff, and because of my work with teens I have felt I would be able to relate to the students." With this in mind, he approached the headmistress with the idea and she was enthusiastic. Fred spoke the first time from Proverbs about listening to instructions and respecting authority. The second time he talked about being an example and earning respect. "I choose a topic that I feel can meet their needs," Fred explains.
In his final year as a student at Lang'ata High, Fred was vice-chairman of the science club and was the top student in the school. He is now using that to not only win the respect of today's crop of students but to help their hearts as well.
And Fred is not alone there; the school has a disciple, Fred Otieno, among its members. Of the impact of Fred's Arogo's 15-minute weekly talks, Fred says, "It's encouraging. It makes it easier for me when reaching out to people because they already want to know more about Fred and the church."
Fred Otieno, a Form 2 (sophomore) student, has been at Lang'ata for three months. He reached out to a Form 4 (senior) student, Brian Otieno, the school's top performer, who recently won five awards at Lang'ata High's prize-giving ceremony. Earlier this year, Brian was baptized into Christ.
Fred Arogo initially felt ineffective as his efforts did not quickly lead to many students studying the Bible but says that he now realizes that the impact of his talks will not necessarily be instantaneous but will be more clearly realized in the long term. "The goal," he says, "is to take the Word to as many teens as possible and encourage the teen disciples in the various schools." This includes Wakulima Secondary School in downtown Nairobi, where Fred has also spoken on two recent occasions.
As Fred steps boldly forward with a vision, it is sure to ignite the teens of the Nairobi Christian Church and help them see the spiritual impact that comes from academic excellence and also from courageously sharing God's truth with friends and classmates.
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