A Strategic Approach to Giving African Pastors a Theological Education

It Started with an Idea

“Nine out of every ten pastors throughout East Africa haven’t received a theological education.” We’ve heard this statement shared by many ministry leaders and missionaries who are making the effort to train pastors throughout this region. Even though it’s hard to determine the exact numbers for this statistic, experiences like Fred Imbayi’s make it clear that this statement is true among a large majority of pastors throughout the region.

Growing up in a Christian context, Fred knew he wanted to do something in ministry. He attended Bible school in his home country of Kenya, and after graduation he served as a pastor at a Baptist church. But a few years later the lead pastor, among others in the church, decided to change denominations and their theology changed for the worse. Fred, one of the few in the church who disagreed with the change, identified it as a lack of understanding of the true gospel. As he considered next steps and an impending departure from the church, an idea sparked in his mind.

It started with the thought of, “Hey, there are pastors all over the country who have not been trained and they are influencing and misleading the people, and that is eternally dangerous.” So I told myself that I want to be able to go to any village in Kenya and know that I can walk into at least one church and not be worried about the answer to the question, “Is this a healthy church?” I want to see that, maybe not in my lifetime, but I want people to be able to have that opportunity.

These ideas created a path toward the fulfillment of this dream. In 2021, after stepping away from his pastoral role, Fred started Intentional Discipleship Africa with a commitment to equip pastors and church leaders for the work of ministry. How do they do it? Groups of these men and women read good, theologically sound books. Then they get together to talk about the content of those books and how they’re going to implement what they’ve learned in their ministry contexts.

Many of these resources are provided by donors to Crossway. Because theologically sound books are provided in places of need, ministries like Fred’s are making the name of Jesus known especially in hard to reach places, and in those places where there is a great hunger for the truth.

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A Strategic Approach to Theological Education

Fred has found it’s not much of a challenge to get pastors to engage in the workshops he offers. Since the goal is to reach those who have not previously received a theological education of any kind, they’re hungry for all the teaching Intentional Discipleship Africa provides. “As bi-vocational pastors, they do not have the flexibility to go to a school and spend the rest of the time studying. If they don’t go to the farm, run their small business, or report to their employer, they may not even be able to take care of their families. In some cases, the churches even depend on their pastors to pay for the building rent and other fees.” Fred’s ministry was created with these restrictions in mind.

From the beginning, Fred’s strategy has stood out from many other organizations.

When you give a book to a pastor as a follow-up after the training is completed, sometimes they’re not able to wrestle with issues addressed in the reading. And since the training has already happened, they don’t get a chance to come back and ask questions. But by giving them the books to read before, they come prepared to strongly defend their stance and what they believe on the matters at hand. . . . And then when we come together for a training workshop, the discussions are so enriched because, as I’ve heard it said many times, “I remember what I read about this.”

He believes it to be most beneficial to begin by assigning participants to read the materials he provides, then afterward to have a conversation and teaching time. Each person received two books at a time. They’re expected to come to each training (spread out at three-month intervals) having read both books, answered the accompanying questions, and prepared to engage in conversation.

A key book in the curriculum, What Is the Gospel?, serves as one of the first resources given. Since they train with the assumption that none of their participants have received a formal theological education, Fred explained that they have to start from the beginning.

Usually when we teach the pastors, we like to ask them, “How does someone become a believer?” and you’d be shocked that there are many places we go where people do not know the gospel, even pastors. . . . A pastor came to me one night after a workshop—an old man in his sixties who has been a pastor for thirty years. He said to me, “I think I want to be a believer.” And I was so confused. I asked him, “What do you mean you want to be a believer? You’re a pastor. You have been a believer.” But he shook his head and said, “After understanding what the gospel is, and especially after reading this book, What Is the Gospel? I realized I did not truly give my life to Jesus, and I’m telling you now that I have decided I want to become a real, true believer."

The Holy Spirit works powerfully through the written Word, but when someone doesn’t have an understanding of the Word, even the most basic doctrines can be misunderstood or overlooked. Each of the eight workshops throughout the course of the training program build on this foundation by providing books and addressing topics like pastoral theology, biblical theology, and expository preaching. And one workshop at a time, eyes and hearts are opened and changes are made.

A Worthwhile Investment

Kenya is right in the middle of the dramatic growth in Christianity happening all across the Global South. Because of this increasing interest, Fred acknowledges that there are increasing, healthy demands being put on pastors to understand the truth of the gospel. “I would say in the last six or seven years, there has been a surge in a real hunger for the truth. And we are seeing people identifying what a healthy church really looks like. And especially the young people are beginning to realize there’s a greater depth and quality to these churches that’s really appealing. This is a great opportunity for pastors to meet people who are hungry for the Word, which is then why the pastor needs to be equipped and prepared.”

That’s what makes this work so rewarding for Fred. He knows the time and energy invested in this work will pay off. He’s already caught many glimpses of men and women coming to know or better understand the truth because their pastor has received training to be well-equipped for teaching and shepherding. In 2025, Fred and the Intentional Discipleship Africa team trained and interacted with more than 400 pastors. In 2026, his prayer is for an additional 1,000 pastors to receive training because “we can see that the need is so huge, and we can only trust God to help us to continue training pastors and exposing them to truth, to the gospel, to expository preaching.”

And in 2026, Crossway is also committed to continue resourcing pastors, church leaders, and lay believers with theologically sound resources. This is a worthwhile investment, as is seen in the encouraging report from Fred:

What I like about the Crossway resources we’ve received is that I think they are written with a simple believer in mind. And so the books are clear and easy to understand. Even for the rural pastor who has a minimal education, as long as they can read and understand English, they’re able to read these books. . . . We need these kinds of resources in abundance, because sometimes I sit down and I think we have barely scratched the surface of the need. There’s so much to be done and we pray and we thank God for those like Crossway whom the Lord has allowed to write specifically to equip the church through resources. Any household here in Kenya of a pastor we are working with will have at least one Crossway book on the shelf, and that encourages me. You may not know this, but your resources really go further than you think. They have been used by so many to lead gospel-centered churches throughout Kenya.

We praise God for the thousands of donor and ministry partners who have helped us further the gospel and proclaim the name of Jesus among the nations!

Pray for workshops to continue to bear fruit in the form of gospel-centered churches and for supporters to help this work continue.

Pray for the Lord’s provision of the resources and logistics needed to reach 1,000 pastors in 2026.