Kenya

Pray for Africa

Prayer Points

  • For a fresh fire of Your Spirit among the Kenyan people.
  • For effective means of discipleship to be established in the Church of Kenya.
  • For government corruption to come to an end.
  • For the integrity of the pastors of independent churches.
  • For Biblical unity in the Kenyan church.
  • That militant Islamist activities will cease.

LOCATION
Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania

POPULATION

48 466 928 (2017 est.)

RELIGION
Christian 83% (Protestant 47.7%, Catholic 23.4%, other Christian 11.9%)

Muslim 11.2%, Traditionalists 1.7%

Other 1.6%

None 2.4%

Unspecified 0.2% (2009 est.)

INTERNET USERS
39 664 377 ( 2017)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
40% (2013 est.)

MISSIONARIES (year:2010)
Sent:1000
Received: 6000

LEAST REACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
21

KEY CITY

Nairobi

Population of the city:

2 750 547

Urbanization Rate:

4.34% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major religion in the city:

Christian

 

 

We Pray...

Father, we bring the beautiful country of Kenya before You. We thank you for creating such a vibrant country with so much potential. We ask, Holy Spirit, for a fresh fire of Your Spirit among the majority, though nominal, Christian population of Kenya. Lord please establish effective means of discipleship as people who associate themselves with the Church are increasing. We pray that for true spiritual growth in their lives and that they will grow in the knowledge of Christ. Father, we pray that You will bring an end to government corruption that broadens the gap between rich and poor. We also pray for the integrity of the pastors of independent churches. Please lead these pastors into biblical faith and help them to teach scriptural truths to their congregations.

Father, we ask, among tribalism and multiple denominations, for biblical unity in the Kenyan church that transcends culture and personalities. We pray that You will raise the standards of Biblical preaching so that the church in Kenya may grow in maturity and fulfill its mission in the world. Lord we pray against the working of militant Islamist who have started moving more and more into Kenya. In Jesus Name. Amen.

State of the Church

Although the Kenyan law protects religious freedom, there is constantly conflict between Christianity and Islam, the two main religions.

Voice of the Martyrs (www.persecution.com) had this to say:

The coast and northwest areas of the country have traditionally been Muslim, and Muslims are attempting to Islamize those regions and establish Shariah law. Muslims try to convert non-Muslims through financial inducements and violence. Converts from Islam to Christianity are subject to harassment, persecution and violence. Somali Islamic militants have committed acts of violence within Kenya’s borders. Terrorists have attacked several churches in Kenya and have killed pastors and other Christians.

Overview

There are many stories on how Kenya received its name. One is that it was named after mount Kenya, the second highest mountains in Africa. Another one is that when the British landed they heard the Kikuyu people speaking about a mountain called “Kirinyaga”. This was too difficult for them to pronounce and they just went with Kenya, which was later adopted as the name of the whole British protectorate.Like most countries in Eastern Africa, Kenya was colonized by Arabs in the 600’s. They developed trading stations, which helped the people to trade with countries like Persia and India. Centuries later Portugal tried to make their way up from Mozambique, but was driven back by the Swahili states and Omani Arabs.

With “The Scramble for Africa”, Britain got a foothold in the area and formed the East African Protectorate. Things were relatively peaceful until 1944. It was in this era that the rise of African Nationalism started all over Africa. Locals started to form unions, fighting for independence from their colonial rulers. During the same time the KAU (better known as the Mau Mau) was formed. Their leader, Jomo Kenyatta, later became the first president of the Kenyan Republic. This set the stage for a bloody campaign which resulted in over 20 000 Kenyans being killed in less than 10 years.

This would not be the only time that Kenya would see such violence.  In the 1990’s Kenyans came in uproar against the government. They wanted a multi-party democracy and not a one-party system. In 2007 a disputed election again resulted in an inter-ethnic conflict, which resulted in many people being killed because of their ethnicity.

Although Kenya has suffered a lot from ethnic violence it is still a big role player for peace in Eastern Africa. In 2011 Kenya sent troops into Somalia to curb the threat of the Islamist militant group, al-Shabab. The group then retaliated and targeted Kenya’s tourist industry, where it will hurt them the most. Since Kenya sent troops into Somalia, al-Shabab and sympathisers have been attacking crowded areas almost on a weekly basis. They have grown bold, to the point where they took over a mall in a busy tourist area in 2013.

Although Kenya faces many of challenges, it is still seen as one of Africa’s biggest growing economies.

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