The Gospel Project is a three-year study plan that goes through the Bible chronologically and shows that Jesus is the center of everything. It is a product of Lifeway and is currently being used at Bridgeway Church. The children receive the Gospel Project teaching on Sunday morning, and those who attend the Maisha Academy also receive an hour of teaching on Friday mornings.
The goal of The Gospel Project is to lead each child to a life-long relationship with Christ, said Steve Nguta, The Gospel Project chancellor.
“The Gospel Project was brought to Maisha with an aim of making our kids to know God better and also to build the community for the reason to know God and to know Jesus as their personal Savior,” he said.
In July 2014, The Maisha Project was able to launch The Gospel Project with the help of Bridgeway Church. A team from Bridgeway spent time at Maisha discipling and pouring into Maisha’s 10 Gospel Project teachers so they, in turn, would be able to disciple the children.
The Gospel Project has been continuously growing, Nguta said. When The Gospel Project began, only about 17 children attended. Now, over 170 kids attend each week.
Not only has the program been growing, but the children have been growing, as well, said Mercy Atieno, The Gospel Project teacher. The children have improved spiritually, emotionally and academically.
“There is a big difference in Maisha since they initiated The Gospel Project. It has really changed the children in that the children fear the Lord, they respect their elders. They know how to relate with others, because they have been taught the Word of God.
“All of them fear the Lord because of the teachings they get from The Gospel Project,” Atieno said.
Nguta said he has seen improvement in their Christian Religious Education classes and when they compete in games with other schools. The children have started praying, preaching and worshiping in all aspects of their lives.
“Some of them are really improving, because they have good talent. We’ve realized that they have good talent. When they come in the morning, they worship and they pray.
“They fellowship together and that also made them to improve in their talent of singing and also preaching. Some of them can preach and pray to their classes and even in their homes,” Nguta said.
Because the children are growing, the community is being influenced, as well. Nick Onunga, The Gospel Project teacher, said he is able to see the difference the children are making in the lives of their families.
“The Gospel Project is influencing this community, because the children are growing in the ways of the Lord and we see them success in their academic works and in their homes they do better,” Onunga said.
In addition to teaching the Gospel to children, The Gospel Project team also reaches out to adults by visiting sick people in the hospital and doing home visits, Nguta said. The goal is to strengthen and encourage them in the walk with God.
“We visit hospitals, we visit different children’s homes so that we can pray with them, we can fellowship with them together and we can also encourage them. Like the other days, we have been visiting hospitals in Kisumu and we prayed for them. We went to Nyaldenda Slums. We pray for the clients in Nyalenda,” Nguta said.
The Gospel Project is changing the community one life at a time. Odeny said she has seen change and growth in her personal walk with Christ.
“It has changed me a lot, because I love working with children and serving the Lord with the little kids, because if you nurture the children from when they’re young, it’s good. You too, as a teacher, you are also being changed.
“It has changed my life in that, I’ve learned how to fear the Lord, because if I see the little children serving the Lord, I too, I serve the Lord too,” Atieno said.
The Gospel Project team is thankful for the Bridgeway team and anyone else who has donated time, money or materials to help the growth of The Gospel Project.
“I want to thank all the team of Oklahoma Gospel Project. The Gospel Project in Kenya, we are much grateful and we thank the team that came to Maisha last time. They really changed our lives.”
To learn more about The Gospel Project, visit https://www.gospelproject.com.