Recently, Professor Jo-Ann Badley got to spend time in Kenya teaching a seminary course and experiencing firsthand the culture of Kenya. She recently shared her experience with students and staff at a luncheon at MHGS.

Her experience teaching abroad was filled with many surprises. About 25 students all under the age of 35 came to learn church history from Jo-Ann. Her first surprise was that all these pastors, male and female, led indigenous churches with no real church hierarchy or set structure. These church were started because these pastors received a vision from God to bring together a community of believers.

Jo-Ann spoke about holding the class in a different church each each: Catholic, Coptic, Anglican, and Methodist. For many students, stepping inside these churches was their first experience in encountering the expanse of church history.

Besides teaching, Jo-Ann was able to interact with many different pastors in the area. “Over and over again,” she recalls, “the hospitality and kindness of strangers was experienced in Kenya.”

While on safari, she told the story of a hotel worker from a Maasai tribe. He would work for a few weeks at the hotel, wearing a tuxedo and helping westerners experience the wildness of Africa. Then, on his time off, he would head back to his home and herd sheep. Jo-Ann marveled at how an ancient and modern culture were so closely tied together for this man.

When asked what the gospel looks like for Kenya, Jo-Ann thought for a moment and responded that “it is a lot less sophisticated than in a place like MHGS but there is an immanency in their faith that has shown me the fullness of the gospel.”