Born Again

I was surprised to read in the East African Standard's Christmas Day issue, and its headline that Kenya's youth were not finding inspiration in Christ and that they were deserting The Church.

This is in line with global trends among an elitist media and intellectual class to dismiss religion. The attempt is made to make out that religion is decreasing in popularity due to an alleged inherent dissonance with modernity. I have watched especially out here in the west as the whole world took to the streets in celebration of Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion. It is as though someone declared anew, God is Dead and the ululations of the cynics rent the air.

Contrary to what the East African Standard would have us believe, here is a link to the article Christianity is alive and well in Kenya. There may be something of a migration from established traditional Churches, but Kenya is certainly undergoing a Christian revival- and it is a large one.

The Economist's Christmas edition, captures this growth in its article titled ‘Christianity Reborn'. It cites the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life 's report on Pentecostals which states that ‘renewalist movements are the world's fastest growing religious movement.'

You have probably seen or heard Pentecostals, in the beautiful and large churches of the cities, or in overnight prayer sessions, in schools or in universities. Under trees and in mud-thatched huts, in wooden shacks and on open hills there's a resurgence in the Christian faith. The Church is making a big comeback. It is true, as the Standard report announces that traditional churches are facing dwindling numbers and empty pews, in the West and even in Africa. But you only need to turn for a minute to your television to see that this does not mean that Christianity as a whole is on the back foot.

Neo-Christians are a more active, more passionate Christianity. The Pew Forum report,in its preamble states,

'Pentecostalism and related charismatic movements represent one of the fastest-growing segments of global Christianity. At least a quarter of the world’s 2 billion Christians are thought to be members of these lively, highly personal faiths, which emphasize such spiritually renewing “gifts of the Holy Spirit” as speaking in tongues, divine healing and prophesying. Even more than other Christians, pentecostals and other renewalists believe that God, acting through the Holy Spirit, continues to play a direct, active role in everyday life.' Report

The reports states that fully 50% of all Kenyans who would describe themselves as renewalists; either Pentecostals or members of ‘charismatic' traditional denominations. Adding,


In the five other nations, pentecostals are more evenly divided between classical
pentecostal denominations (such as the Assemblies of God or the Church of God in
Christ) and newer pentecostal denominations. In the U.S., Brazil, Kenya and the regions
of India surveyed, for instance, more than four-in-ten pentecostals belong to other
pentecostal or neo-charismatic churches; in South Africa, this figure stands at 39%.


Charismatics tend to track with the religious affiliation in the general populations
of their respective countries. For instance, in countries with large Catholic populations
(such as Brazil, Chile, Guatemala and the Philippines), large majorities of charismatics
are Roman Catholics. By contrast, in countries where Catholics are outnumbered in the
general population by Protestants and other Christians, a different pattern emerges. In the
U.S., Kenya, South Africa, the regions of India surveyed and South Korea, for instance,
large majorities of charismatics belong either to Protestant denominations or African
Independent Churches


The growth in the ‘charismatic' denominations is even more significant. Here are people, who do not want to leave their congregations and places of worship, but who are choosing instead to reform the way in which they approach their faith.Of even greater significance is the fact that these people feel God's hand in their lives, in Kenya more than any other country covered by the report, 87% of the population claim to have either experienced or witnessed divine healing.

There lies the difference, the man with an experience is never at the mercy of the man with a doctrine. Modern Christianity is about the individual and her relationship with God, about breaking down the barriers that hold men back from God's grace. This is not about being born a Christian, it is about making a personal commitment to Christ.

The revival will continue to grow to have a positive effect on all those it touches. It is this viral marketing of the spirit that is driving the numbers. In the same way that myspace and you tube are creating networks among the youth, so is the Holy Spirit being shared from one joyous youthful convert to the next, each one of them exultant in the blessing and eager to pass it on.