March was a very happening month at CMM. It started with a Leadership Conference with 420+ pastors and leaders, with 50% of these leaders being their first time to come to CMM. On top of that, we had leaders from 6 different nations (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo, and South Sudan. Uganda and South Sudan were represented by large numbers in their delegations. We gave brand new Strong’s Concordances to 174 first-time senior leaders. Watch their appreciation for this blessing in this video. In addition, we gave a total of 3,132 books away.
Many thanks to an awesome group of conference speakers who brought heaven down, and SO many lives were touched, changed, encouraged, and empowered. Our staff spent 1-2 hours in a debrief after the conference just reading testimonies. We rejoiced, laughed, cried, and celebrated what God had done in so many lives! We were so blessed by Dr. Murphy Matheny, Dr.Brick Cliff, Pastor Dustin Aguilar, Hunter Howe, and Kathy Barton, in addition to our own Bishop Joel Chola and Evg. John Magangi as well as the CMM Praise and Worship Team.
We were already pumped before the conference started as ‘Count Me In’ had just finished a 2-day outreach in a very poor area of the city, and 4-5,000 youth attended. The group from Wellspring Church literally just arrived from their flight into Kenya and went straight to the outreach. Several thousand youth were saved, renewed their commitment, returned to the Lord, and many lined up for prayer to be set free from drug addiction.
On top of this, on the last day of the conference, we had the graduation of our first Clarence Matheny Bible College class, 37 in total. What a dream come true for so many of us. Over 300 guests, family, and friends from all over Kenya joined all the pastors for this glorious event. Each graduate was awarded a small library of books, and it was a day to remember. To my shock and surprise, I was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the college. I’m still blown away and so honored.
I want to also give a great word of appreciation to my brother Murphy who spent 6 weeks in Feb/March teaching in the college, doing ‘Tea with the Chairman’ as well as Chapel. He also spoke in churches and other conferences held at CMM while here. I listened to his message after he returned to his church, and I was so blessed. It was/is an awesome message for the church. I am attaching the link and I would encourage you to listen. (Message starts at 49:09). https://cedarlakeonline.org/media/ppjj4rc/easter-at-cedar-lake
Debbie and I have just returned to Texas. Between jet lag, cataract surgeries, and Mexican restaurants we are taking some rest and working on things this side of the ocean to continue to see the vision fulfilled and the dreams realized.
Thank you for all you do: the prayers, encouragement, and support.
Ronnie and Debbie
Ps. Mark Your Calendars!~ This year’s banquet is set for Thursday, November 14th, 2024