“The situation is critical,” one Kenyan pastor told me. I wrestled with the difficulties facing rural pastors during our two years in Kenya. Many have no theological training, no library or resources, and no prospect of improving their situation. To compound the problem, these pastors are coming out of an oral culture, so reading and study does not come easily.
It was with these difficulties in mind, and a vision of solutions (although a little blurry), that I developed the Krapf Project in the spring of 2020. Today, we publish books and a quarterly magazine called The Pastor’s Study. I also write Bible commentary and send it daily via WhatsApp to almost 500 pastors.
Two immediate challenges
There are two immediate challenges we face in producing material for these pastors. Please pray for these – firstly, maintaining theologically weighty material while presenting it in a way that is simple, and secondly, relating well to the African reader.
Overcoming these challenges requires some investment of thought and strategic planning. We need to know the men and understand their context and their struggles. We also need to know the theological pitfalls they face, such as the revival of African Traditional Religions (ATR), and the Prosperity Gospel so prominent in Africa. Finally, we need to source and engage African writers who know best their own context and who can speak with more authority than a Western outsider.
Connecting and relating
As we face the challenge of connecting with and relating to these pastors, I have discovered that the Krapf Academy workshops have been a very successful method. In December 2023, we held a workshop on preaching from the narrative passages of the Bible in Kitui, Kenya. I developed a simple method of study that investigates any given biblical story, digs deep into the language of the text and draws from the rest of the Scriptures to help understand the meaning in the broader biblical context.
I developed a simple method of study that digs deep into the text and draws from the rest of the Scriptures to help understand the meaning of the story in the broader biblical context.
Many of the pastors who attended that workshop benefited greatly, and the feedback across the board was encouraging. Pastor Jared Kidali, who I first met there, is a good example of how the Krapf Academy workshops speak directly into the lives of these men, mentoring them and providing them with resources suited to developing a culture of reading. After that first workshop, Jared testified “I never knew there was a way we can dig into Scripture as deep as we’ve gone.”
“I never knew there was a way we can dig into Scripture as deep as we’ve gone.” Jared
We were encouraged by the feedback from Jared and the other pastors, but the greatest encouragement and evidence of fruit was when these men moved on their own initiative and financial investment to organise and host the workshops. Five months later, in April 2024, I travelled to Mombasa where Jared had organised a workshop for his area. I’ve just returned from two similar situations (in December 2024) in Molo and Bungoma, Western Kenya, and again, Jared was there.
The greatest encouragement was when these men – on their own initiative and financial cost – organised the workshops.
In the days following, I received numerous texts of appreciation, but this WhatsApp message from Jared was a blessing.
“I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks for allowing me to participate for the third time in your expository preaching conferences, this time in Bungoma. It has been an incredibly enriching experience, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity … I look forward to continuing to learn and grow through these conferences. Thank you once again for everything.”
Praise God that he is using these simple solutions and pray with us that the pastors would continue to benefit and be used by the Lord, and that the project would expand.
After 10 years as a pastor in Canada, Aaron and Grace Dunlop, with five children, moved to Kenya (2018-2020). They now direct the Krapf Project from Northern Ireland.