Kep & Debbie Africa Ministry Update

Last week Debbie and I were with 80 students at a church planting ministry in Cairo, taking them through 1 Corinthians 1 and 2 -- a wonderful time looking at our need to rely on God's resource (the Scripture) to stay true to His plan for the church (2 Timothy 1:13-14). Many said how much the time together helped and encouraged them.

The week before that in Accra, Ghana with 80 pastors leading a 4-day ESI training retreat. Many of them finished, deciding to start ESI in their areas in the next few weeks.

This week we were in Zambia visiting the 15 groups that started 2 months ago. Paulo and Vania went with Ruth to visit the groups in Kasempa. Debbie and I went with Payne Mano to visit the groups in Ndola and Chingola. We are very encouraged at the depth of insight in their study of Romans, overall -- and their enthusiasm to continue. Many spoke of how God is transforming important areas of their life as they study the Bible and remain focused on Jesus and His gospel.

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Kep & Debbie September 2023 Prayer Requests

Please pray for Kep and Debbie the month of September. We will be in Rwanda the entire month.

The first week we will be training 100 pastors in an ESI Facilitators Training Retreat, and the rest of the month with a ministry training Rwandan 30 church planting missionaries in the book of Romans as they prepare to go out to plant churches in Muslim communities through North Africa.

Kep

Kep & Debbie August 2022 Update

Thank you for praying for our time in Bloemfontein, South Africa. This has been a tremendously fruitful week spending time with Parkside Church supported missionary Thapelo, a South African pastor. He organized a 2-day ESI Facilitator Training retreat at his church for 80 local church pastors from here and from the neighboring country of Lesotho.

Studying through the first 3 chapters of Romans, many finished recognizing their need to get serious about studying the Bible. Pray that they will be serious and faithful to do this. We will likely start 4 ESI groups in Bloemfontein and Lesotho.

Then on Tuesday, we travel to Accra, Ghana, to hold a 4-day ESI training retreat. Please pray that the Lord will enable the 70 Ghana pastors to see their need to study the Bible, to understand the Bible, to live the Bible, and to preach and teach the Bible faithfully.

So thankful to God for your partnership in the gospel with us,

Kep and Debbie James

Kep & Debbie August 2023 Prayer Requests

* Pray for Kep who will be with Thapelo in South Africa August 5-15. Pray for the ESI Facilitator Training we will do with 70 South African pastors during this time.

* Pray for Kep and Paulo (Brazilian who is helping Kep develop ESI in Africa) as they lead an ESI Facilitator Training in Ghana August 16-19.

* Pray for Kep and Debbie running a leaders training August 26-28 in Egypt.

* Pray for Kep and Debbie working with Ruth Powell and Paulo to visit the 15 ESI groups that have started in Zambia.

* Pray for Kep and Debbie and Paulo as we lead an ESI Facilitator Training in Rwanda the first week of September with 130 pastors. After that we will lead a two-week training for church planters in Kigali, Rwanda.

Thank you,

Kep

Kep & Debbie July 2023 Prayer Requests

*Please pray for the follow up of the ESI trainings in Brazil (Sao Paulo and Rio) that we did in June. There is a lot of interest in Brazil among pastors to study the Bible to understand the central message of the Bible, to live the transformation of the gospel, so that they can teach and preach the Bible faithfully.

Most pastors do not study the Bible, and they have seen their need and priority to do this. So pray that they will start ESI groups in July -- these groups are designed to study Romans as a group in every city, and to meet regularly to discuss what they learn, and then to help each other live out the truth of God's Word in their lives and marriages and ministries.

*Pray for Paulo and Vania da Silva as they lead an ESI facilitator training in Rondonia, Brazil in July -- before they return to Burundi, East Africa.

*Pray for the ESI facilitator training that Paulo and Vania da Silva will lead in Congo, the week after the ESI training in Rondonia, Brazil.

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Kep & Debbie June 2023 Update

Download a printable Kep & Debbie June 2023 Update.

We thank God for your prayers for the work in Africa and South America.

Attached is our June Update explaining some of what we have done March-May (with photos). Please pray for us tomorrow as we fly to Sao Paulo and Rio to guide 150 Brazilian pastors and church leaders through our ESI (Equipping Servants) Facilitator Training -- along with our dear friends Brazilian missionaries Paulo and Vania (Key leaders now in ESI Africa -- see description inside).

This is a team effort -- we VALUE your prayers!

Love,

Kep and Debbie

Kep & Debbie June 2023 Prayer Requests

* Pray for the ILC Church that Kep and Debbie planted in Bolivia, that its leadership will continue honoring Christ by staying true to His Scriptures.

ESI Latin America (Equipping Servants International – Disciples Making Disciples)

 * Pray for the 2,500 ESI participants in 220 groups meeting in 20 countries, with 2900 total graduates since beginning in 2002. Current ESI countries are USA Spanish, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Spain, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Congo, Uganda, and Botswana. Pray that these men and women will grow in their love for God as they study His Scriptures, that they will experience gospel transformation in their lives, relationships and local churches.

* Please pray for Kep and Debbie working with Paulo Sergio da Silva in June (1-10) leading 2 ESI Facilitator Training Retreats for 160 Brazilian pastors in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. After that, Kep will lead ES pastors conferences in Medellin and Bogota, Colombia June 11-17.
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Kep & Debbie May 2023 Update

We are thankful for your prayers during the past few months we’ve been teaching in Africa. In April, I led three 4-day training retreats in Zambia and Burundi. In our study of Romans we saw the Lord encourage many African church pastors and leaders. Many expressed that they had never studied the Bible, and even admitted that their churches have gotten off track from the gospel.

In Kasempa and Ndola, Zambia, 80 church leaders decided to study Romans in their local churches. In Bujumbura, Burundi, another 70 committed to this. One pastor from neighboring Congo decided to start doing this in his church, and another in Botswana informed us that as a result of last year’s ESI training in Tanzania, he is already taking 50 members of his church through Romans.

This week, we are in Nairobi visiting 8 ESI groups that began in Kenya in February. We always try to visit groups when they start to make sure they are on track with the plan to keep Jesus and the gospel in their center of their Bible study and group discussion.
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Kep & Debbie May 2023 Prayer Requests

* Please pray for the follow up of the ESI (Equipping Servants) training weeks we did in Zambia in April, as roughly 80 church leaders there have expressed a desire to start ESI groups.

* Also pray for the 53 church leaders we just discovered are studying the Bible with us in Botswana, and the 8 new groups that began studying the Bible with us in Kenya in March. ESI is a 3-year training process.

* Please also pray for 120 pastors and Church Leaders planning to take the ESI training in Sao Paulo and Río de Janeiro, Brazil during the first 2 weeks of June -- for each one as they prepare for those training retreats.

Thank you,

Kep and Debbie

Kep & Debbie April 2023 Update

Thank you for praying for us last month in Niger and Lebanon teaching Romans. We trained church planting students with an Egyptian based ministry. This is a huge privilege to work with these students and see them grow in their commitment to study the Bible. It was especially rewarding watching them grasp the truth that Jesus and His gospel is the central message and the point of the Bible. Pray that they will continue growing in their daily commitment to study God’s Word, to understand it, to live the transformation of the gospel, and to teach and preach it faithfully as they go out to plant churches. They have amazing testimonies of how the Lord brought them out of darkness into His marvelous light. Pray for them as they go into very difficult areas in Africa and the Middle East to evangelize and plant churches.

Our last stop was Temuco, Chile leading an Equipping Servants (ESI) pastors/ church leaders conference. It was wonderful to reconnect with our friends and faithful servants in southern Chile.

Please pray for us in April. We leave early Easter Sunday morning for one month in East Africa. The first two weeks will be in Zambia for ESI Training Retreats -- in Kasempa and Ndola. Pray for the 150 pastors and church leaders participating in these two 4 day training retreats. Then to Burundi for a one week ESI Training. Our last week we will be in Nairobi observing and doing follow up with the ESI groups that began meeting in January.

Your prayers are very important to us! Remember that when you pray–you are right there with us!

Serving Jesus alongside you,

Kep and Debbie