The Growth of Good Theology in Africa
By Sarah Eekhof Zylstra, TGC.
If you listen to enough stories of Kenyans converting to Christianity, you’ll start to see a pattern: most of them thought they were Christians already.
“I was a weed-smoking, girl-chasing rebel,” said Ken Mbugua, who grew up going to church. “I was always getting into trouble, and then I’d pray to God and ask him to please bail me out.”
His culture is thick with Christianity—in 2010, 9 out of 10 Kenyans said they’d been raised Christian and remained Christian. Most of the population thought Christianity was gaining influence in the country (67 percent) and that was a good thing (64 percent). Christians were—and still are—seen as honest, devout, tolerant, and respectful of women.
Even though none of those words described Mbugua, he had said the sinner’s prayer and marked the date in the front of his Bible, so he figured he was a Christian. Facing his third threat of expulsion toward the end of high school, he planned to ask God to rescue him again.
“I started thinking that I was going to pray to the King, to the Father, but I loved the stuff he hates,” Mbugua said. “I boasted about it. I was famous for it. And I liked it.” That’s when it dawned on him: I don’t have a relationship with God. He isn’t my Father. He isn’t really my King.
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