GVCF Kenya Blog

Hi everyone, thanks for following this blog and remembering to pray for us; it’s making a huge difference, we can tell.

The last two days have seen great gain, not just in those we are serving here, but within us too. Being a Sunday, yesterday we split into two groups with Samuel speaking at a tiny village church of a handful of adults and a healthy number of children. This grassroots Christianity here is remarkable: gatherings in churches of all shapes and sizes, some not much more than put-together corrugated iron, and others more akin to what we’d be used to in the West. As long as they are growing the Kingdom, they count. Samuel spoke and Psalm 139 and love and remarked that God moved so powerfully in such a tiny church out in the middle of nowhere; He’s there! And he’s moving in our midst (“midist” 😀 )

Eli and I went to a different church some 20 mins away, but it took closer to an hour to get there due to a police and border control road check where we were interrogated for quite some time, likely to try and receive a bribe (which wasn’t forthcoming). The locals here are so saddened by the blatant corruption that continues to hold this country back, and we are teaching a different mindset to the faithful here, believing that things are turning around locally at least, and believing it will take off from there.

Sister Grace at her tiny village church.

Inside the church.

Back to our church visit, Eli got to speak from his heart about the younger generation and “receiving the baton” (from older generations), then I preached on encouraging one another about the day of the Lord approaching, something that is sorely needed here amongst many things that can lead to a Christian being quite downcast. At the conclusion of the service, they requested more prayers, and during this time, a young lady manifested an evil spirit with a sudden shriek – evidencing the powerful presence of the Lord- and she was immediately prayed for and set free, returning to her seat after some peaceful moments on the ground recovering. God is good!

Today was another big day of strategic planning with local senior leaders around church leadership pipelines and sustainable business that will grow and impact in many ways. The future is bright; we can make a difference back in Australia, and we will report back with practical things we can do to help our side. The three of us here genuinely sense God is on the move in a BIG way, and we are believing for a big breakthrough to come shortly, if not already.
Please pray for us as we now enter into our second four-day pastors’ conference.
Blessings to all, Jeremy.

Photos below from Eli – the kindest hotel manager, Elizabeth, in her hospitable family’s home and farm.

Eli- Sadly, it is our last night staying at the Catholic Convent, and we are extremely grateful and will miss the kindness, hospitality and humour of the nuns.

Samuel and I visited Grace, the treasurer of the pastor’s executive committee, and her husband’s home and shamba (or farm), where they grow and sell different crops and have chickens and cows. We learnt how table banking (see Samuel’s explanation before) supported them and their business.

Today was also the celebration of around 60 Bible college students’ graduation, with hundreds of guests and teachers attending. Jeremy (or Jerry) preached on the importance of Godly ambition over selfish ambition. I was able to share a word of encouragement on behalf of Keith and Deenie. There, we saw many graduates, both young and old, with a heart to seek God and to expand his kingdom. Honourable mention: one of the graduates named his son after the one and only…Jeremy Rensford!

Tomorrow, each of us will be sharing at different local churches in Busia, and in the afternoon, we will drive to our next accommodation near Sio Port. We continue to ask and thank everyone for their continuous prayers for safety and the growth of Christianity within Kenya.

Samuel – Another great couple of days as our first conference comes to an end. We’ve had a powerful and encouraging time, as Jeremy continued to teach on the importance of humility and accountability in the context of church leadership. There’s been some genuine breakthrough, praise God!

He was able to spend some quality time with the pastor’s wives, listening to their struggles, and the way God has been working in their midst (pronounced midist). They’ve got a tough life, and are such faithful ladies. Please pray that God would strengthen them, encourage them, and continue to bless them with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

One of the pastors here – Lydia – has a little tailoring business that Eli and I got to visit. Through table banking, she was able to purchase her first sewing machine, and now has a flourishing business, providing uniforms to the school next door. She is also training young ladies in the community, teaching them sewing and business, so they might start their own one day.

This is one of many examples of a) how effective table banking can be, and b) how community-minded these people are.

a) So what is table banking?
•⁠ ⁠Essentially, it’s like a shared savings account that a group of people contribute to each month.
•⁠ ⁠When someone has a business expense (e.g., a new cow, sewing machine, crop seed), they can take a loan from the account that would otherwise be too small for a bank.
•⁠ ⁠They then pay it back with interest, and this way, the fund grows.
•⁠ ⁠Table Banking is done all across Africa, and is a proven strategy to grow micro-businesses and generate wealth in poor communities.
•⁠ ⁠Currently, there are 11 pastors here in Busia who are table banking together.

b) The best thing about this, though, is how community-minded the pastors are. As soon as they have, they want to give. As soon as they learn, they want to teach. They truly are a blessing to those around them.

Speaking of blessings, Eli ended the conference today by singing The Blessing over the fellowship. Divine!

And tonight, we joined the nuns (we’re staying at a convent) for their evening prayers. This was also divine.

Jeremy – Today has been another long and fruitful day. The conference is a hub of different gospel activity, and today was no different. We started with Jeremy taking the first session, teaching on, you guessed it, that GVCF favourite – What’s my responsibility? The focus has been on preparing different, against-the-grain leaders to be sent out to their communities to effect real and lasting change, working on the inner person so that they can be the right godly person in the right place at the right time. We see lasting change ahead for the glory of the Kingdom of God.

Samuel took the second session, and he continued to teach and ask questions. In particular, he is challenging prevailing mindsets that leave whole communities in poverty, and is showing another way that will again bring about change.

After another top-notch lunch serving local Kenyan favourites, we then had our good friend and bishop Justus take a session while Jeremy spent 90 minutes with local widows. This was a greatly stirring time, as each widow shared her story, triumphs and ongoing challenges. It was joyous and gut-wrenching all at the same time. To hear of their love for Aunty Deenie R and her ministry and impact was truly a blessing.

Several spoke of very real miracles and breakthroughs that had happened in their lives. And then the stories started coming out of their ongoing challenges (for eg, one widow spoke of her deceased husband’s family wanting to kick her off their land and take it for themselves, leaving her and her nine children without a place to go).

Jeremy did his best to try and encourage them and pray for a breakthrough, sharing his boyhood story of loving hearing 70’s gospel artist Danibelle sing “Let us not be tired of doing what is right, for after a while it shall bring a harvest of blessing. If we don’t get discouraged, and if we don’t give up” – sung out loud, mind you! It was certainly a powerful and touching time, and each of them was very keen for Jeremy to pass on their great sense of thankfulness and love for our churches and their support. They were very keen to do this in the form of a song (see attached video).

Speaking of support, a short further meeting followed straight after with the local ministers’ fellowship executive group. We continue to discuss in earnest what the future could and should look like in partnership together, particularly regarding support for start-up local businesses that could seriously change the economic landscape of local Christians for the good. More on that when I return. We returned to our accommodation weary and blessed, knowing today was another Kingdom Day. Samuel celebrated by heading off to a local barber for a much-needed haircut and shave. Until tomorrow, God bless, 2026 team

. P.S. We also handed out some donations of much-needed seeing eye glasses. Very few have this item, which is considered a luxury. They were very grateful, as you’ll see in this video…

23/06/26
Eli – Since it’s my first time in Kenya, I’ve grown to learn to be resilient and incredibly grateful for the things and opportunities I have at home in Australia. Today was the first day of the leaders’ conference, where I again got to see and listen to Jeremy and Samuel discuss and share their thoughts and experiences with the congregation. Dad talked about filling the gap, and Samuel discussed the broad view of poverty and how the gospels restore relationships. To add to this, they will continue to share and expand on these topics as the week continues. Additionally, I was privileged enough to sing “Worthy of it All” with my father and cousin alongside me, praying and hoping to be able to minister to them. And towards the end, I led the group of about 60 pastors in discussion questions. This is where we heard great and in-depth answers that were based on what they learned about filling the gap and helping the younger generation in their communities.

By Samuel Taylor

Productive day today. We spent it meeting with the leaders in the region of Busia. We heard updates about how they’re going, testimonies of God’s faithfulness, and the biggest struggles they are currently facing.

For those that aren’t aware, the whole point of what we’re trying to help with here, is poverty alleviation. Now, when you hear poverty, your mind may first jump to financial and material needs, which is certainly part of it. But poverty is most fundamentally a breakdown of our four key relationships: our relationship with God, ourselves, others, and creation.

(When viewed this way, we can see that Kenyans are not the only ones struggling through poverty. The West is riddled with relational brokenness, and don’t we know it! Alas, though it is comparable, the kind of material and systemic poverty going on here is on a whole different level, and I won’t pretend it’s the same.)

Poverty is multifaceted and nuanced, and therefore requires a multifaceted and nuanced approach. Our approach is less about thinking we know all the answers, and coming in as the Western saviours with our God-complex. Instead, it’s a partnership, as we learn together the way Jesus redeems each of these four relationships (for us and for them).

We will fill you in more over the coming weeks about this approach, but for now, please pray for wisdom, discernment and inspiration as we begin day one of the first conference tomorrow!

“In him we have redemption through his blood…”

• Ephesians 1:7

Photo – Busia West Business meeting via Eli

Monday marked the first day of meetings and conferences for the team in Kenya.

Please be praying for the week ahead—for our team as they prepare, teach, and speak, and for the delegates attending the conferences. Many of these delegates have travelled long distances, often on foot, while also balancing family, work, and community responsibilities.

Pray for a fruitful time of teaching, encouragement, fellowship, and relationship-building. May God strengthen both the team and the delegates, and may this week be marked by meaningful connections, spiritual growth, and lasting impact for all involved.

BLOG 🇰🇪
21/06/26
Eli- After a 14hr flight to Doha, 4hr flight to Nairobi, 1hr flight to Kisumu and 2hr drive to Busia, I was able to listen to Jeremy (my dad) preach to a Kenyan congregation of around 100 people. There, we saw many young people raise their hand to step out and rise up within their communities. I was lucky enough to sing a song of blessing over the church and got to meet and talk to many of the people there. We continue to thank GVCF church members for their continuous prayers for transformation within parts of Africa. 🇰🇪

Jeremy – Thank the lord for no jet-lag despite long days and long flights, and arduous conditions, we are already adapted to the new timezone

Samuel – It’s so good to be back in Kenya. What a special and unique place. I’m simultaneously encouraged by faithful, God-fearing Christians full of hope, whilst confronted with the hopeless lot of so many. Surely the gospel is their only hope. And ours.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Last Sunday, June 14th, we took time during our service to pray for and commission our Missions Team as they prepare to depart for Kenya this week.

Over the coming days, Jeremy, Eli, and Samuel will make their way to Kenya. We invite you to continue praying for safe travels, smooth connections, good health, and God’s leading throughout their journey.

This year’s mission trip will focus on the rural communities of Busia and Sioport. During their time there, the team will serve, support, and encourage local communities through conferences, teaching, preaching, and prayer. They will spend time with widows, young people, children, and families caring for orphans, as well as alongside farmers, small business owners, pastors, and Bible college students.

As always, our team members personally cover the cost of their travel, accommodation, meals, and personal expenses. Every mission offering and donation received goes directly towards ministry on the ground. This year, that includes purchasing and distributing Bibles, reading glasses, and sporting equipment to support and bless local communities.

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and generosity as we continue to support the work God is doing in Kenya.

To donate, please select the MISSIONS account as you enter details. Giving can also be done in person in the Worship Centre at GVCF.

This year’s team consists of Jeremy Rensford, Eli Rensford, and Samuel Taylor.

Prayer Support

Prayer remains the primary way we ask our GVCF community to support our Kenya Missions trip.

An updated itinerary and key dates will be available in posts below.

This year, we encourage our community to regularly check the blog and follow the team’s itinerary for daily points of prayer throughout the trip. For occasional urgent or specific prayer needs, we invite you to join our prayer list using the button below.

Missions Giving Account

Financial support is also greatly appreciated. You can give directly to missions via our giving page using the button below.

This year, our team is seeking financial donations to go towards the purchase of Bibles and reading glasses while in Kenya.