“I often say, ‘Langham Preaching changed my life and saved my ministry’.”
Kedo Peseyie grew up in a Christian home in the north of his South Asian country. He attended church and always considered himself a Christian, until he was confronted with explaining the gospel to someone else.
Kedo shares, “When I was 18, I volunteered to serve at a children’s camp. I was given the task to talk to a kid about believing in Jesus and being born again. In the middle of the session, I realised I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, and that I had no experience of Christ and the new life he brings. After the kid left, I knelt in the room and prayed the Sunday school prayer, “Come into my heart Lord Jesus”. I surrendered my life to Christ that day. That is how he found me.”
Now he is working each day for Christ as a Langham Preaching Movement Coordinator and Facilitator, as well as a pastor of a local church!
From starting a preaching club to coordinating training
Kedo first encountered Langham by invitation. In 2016 he was invited by one of the local Langham Preaching leaders in his area to attend a special Langham Preaching Workshop where Dr Jennifer Cuthbertson was the facilitator. Here he learnt about Langham Preaching clubs and how to conduct club meetings.
He reflects, “After that workshop, I started a club with a group of local pastors and that is how my Langham Preaching journey of learning began.”
Kedo went on to complete all three levels of the Langham Preaching seminars. From here he was asked if he was interested in doing training to be a local facilitator. Kedo says, “I responded very enthusiastically and completed all the training. I was also privileged to do Level 1 preaching seminars with other facilitators who were more experienced than I was and I learned a lot from them.”
‘Changed my life and saved my ministry’
Now as a coordinator as well as a facilitator, Kedo sees his various ministry activities as all working well together. He shares, “I work as the Pastor of a Baptist church in [my area]. My pastoral work and my involvement with Langham Preaching have really complemented each other so well. Both have benefited from each other.”
“I often say, ‘Langham Preaching changed my life and saved my ministry’.” Kedo says, “I continue to be involved with Langham Preaching because it helps me in my journey as a pastor who is continuously learning to preach the Word more faithfully, clearly, and effectively.”
Through his experience with Langham, it has become a passion of Kedo’s to pass on what he has learnt to colleagues and pastors who are willing to walk the same journey of discovery and learning in ministry.
According to Kedo, the simplicity of the Langham Preaching program is its power. It creates a non-threatening learning atmosphere and ignites a hunger for an ongoing learning journey, while also building true lasting friendships among those who attend the programs! Kedo says, “Above all, the Preaching program creates a hunger to know more of God’s Word and to acquire skills to teach it better.”
Raising and training indigenous facilitators
An important part of Kedo’s role as coordinator is being involved in raising up more indigenous facilitators to conduct preaching seminars. This is a joy but also a challenge!
He explains, “Raising indigenous facilitators is not an easy task. We need people who have genuinely been transformed and impacted by the Langham training. They are the best people to become facilitators. But they also have to be willing to learn continuously from colleagues and mentors who are Langham members and familiar with the material.”
In addition to these qualities, a person who has a seminary degree also has more credibility as a facilitator in Kedo’s region – but it can be hard to come by people who fulfil this ideal! Thanks to God, they are slowly but surely finding the right people.
Kedo says, “Good and effective local facilitators can help in addressing the real needs and challenges of the local pastors, as they understand the context of ministry better, and can use the local language wherever necessary. With more local facilitators, we can also organise training at the convenient timing of the local pastors, and wherever necessary, even spread out the training hours to over a week or two according to the convenient schedule of the local pastors.”
Currently Kedo coordinates about six indigenous facilitators, with only three of them who are very familiar with the Level 1 program. They are planning to increase to at least ten indigenous facilitators in the next few years.
Looking to God for the future
Recently Langham Preaching celebrated its 12th Anniversary in Kedo’s region, there is much to thank God for and also much to prayerfully ask him to enable.
Kedo shared the vision for Langham Preaching in his area of South Asia and asks for your prayer to see it come to fruition.
The vision for Langham Preaching in South Asia
- Introduce Langham Preaching Training to pastors in various Church Associations, and other denomination’s leaders, and impact young pastors and leaders to faithfully preach the Bible
- Strengthen Preaching Clubs and help those who’ve completed Level 1 or higher to sustain this practice
- Continue to raise up and train local facilitators for all levels
- Organise ‘refresher courses’ for all Langham members to maintain and improve their knowledge
- Explore ways for financial durability and self-sufficiency to help grow and sustain the ministry