When 80 Pastors Sat in Silence

Dr. Gilbert

Tuesday, March 10

7:00 am

Dr Daniel & Mary Beth Gilbert

Recently in rural Kenya, something unusual happened.

Eighty pastors. One message. A holy silence that gave way to healing, joy, and bold declarations of identity in Christ.

Eighty pastors, church leaders, and Bible students—people who are naturally animated, who don’t like sitting still—went completely quiet.

Not because they were told to. Because the presence of God was so heavy, so thick, they couldn’t do anything else.

This is what our Intensive Bible Training looked like.

We gathered under rented tents next to metal buildings in the “boonies” of Kenya. No air conditioning. Humid. Hot. Leaders traveled up to 40 miles by bus, motorcycle taxi, or bike.

One pastor came all the way from Uganda.

The theme: Identity in Christ.

We taught on chesed—the Hebrew word for God’s steadfast, covenantal, intimate love. We taught on being tabernacles of God’s kabod—His glory. 

And as the teaching went deeper, so did God’s presence.

Then came the miracles.

A young woman who has needed a walker since a car accident walked out without it. Three people with knee problems were instantly healed—jumping, shouting, testing legs that had been in constant pain.

One woman had a swollen, infected knee. We prayed Tuesday. Nothing. Wednesday. Nothing.

On Thursday, she jumped off her motorcycle taxi and ran toward us, shouting: “God healed my knee!” The swelling was completely gone.

And then came the wind.

During prayer on Friday—a hot, still day with no breeze—a sudden gust came from the opposite direction, sweeping through the tent. Everyone felt it. A physical manifestation of the Spirit’s presence.

But here’s what moved me most:

On the final day, we declared the “I am” statements of who we are in Christ. I am forgiven. I am redeemed. I am a new creation. First in English, then in Luo.

The passion was unlike anything I’ve experienced. After each section, the room erupted—jumping, shouting, praising. For five minutes straight, 80 leaders celebrated who they are in Jesus.

This is what your $8 does!

Many of these pastors are bi-vocational. A week of training means a week of lost wages.

Your $8 (1,000 Kenyan shillings)—more than many earn in two weeks—provided a stipend that covered their travel and food.

Your eight dollars invested in a leader who returned to their village and poured into hundreds.

THANK YOU!

Truth-centered transformation. That’s the mission.

Whether it’s through healing, the weight of God’s glory, a literal wind in a tent, or 80 voices declaring “I am redeemed” in their heart language—you are making lives change.

Because you invest in leaders, you change everyone they touch.

Thank you!