Hutchinson's Kenya Missions Trip

We need your help raising $15,150 to cover the cost of travel and and expenses for a six person film crew. Lukas, Noah and I are trading our summer vacation for a missions trip to Eastern Africa. From July 31st - August 16, 2016, we'll join the partners Core300 and the Reformed Church in East Africa (RCEA) to respond to a wave of crime and terrorism in Kenya.

Our crew will capture the story of an entire Christian denomination as they mobilize to stop the injustice, neglect, and abuse experienced and perpetrated by teenage orphan boys in Kenya. By building and staffing 60 Youth Leadership Academies the RCEA is responding to this crisis. Abandoned to the streets, uneligible for public support or education, these boys have nowhere to go, no education and little hope for change. They get into a lot of trouble. The academies will change that providing a place to recover, learn a vocation and be accepted into a loving community.


James 1:27 says, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

The mission has profound implications for the work of the RCEA and benefits for the nation of Kenya. Teenage orphan boys are feared. Many Kenyan's are convinced they are to blame for the recent Kenyan crime wave. The RCEA believes their churches have a responsibility to change this. They're asking us to take James 1:27 seriously and mobilize and train men in the RCEA churches to serve this population.

Its the largest ecumenical gathering in Kenyan history. 2500 pastors (about 50% RCEA and 50% from other denominations), 90 law enforcement officers and numerous lay leaders will participate in "train the trainer" courses in conferences in Bungoma and Eldoret. Back home they'll use the training and the videos we produce to train men in their churches to mentor teenage orphan boys. Trained volunteers will keep the cost of each academy to a minimum and provide the positive connections to the community these boys need.

The videos our team produces will be used to train youth mentors throughout Kenya: 25,000 pastors and approxiamtely 500,000 men in total.

2500 pastors, about half from the RCEA and half from other denomications, will participate in training. 

We've got the ball rolling, but need your help to put this between the goal posts.  All tallied, about 30% of our goal of $21,000 has been raised leaving $15,150 to be raised by July 20th!

And we need your prayers! How often does one get to influence an 2500 pastors at one time? And an additional 25,000 pastors and 500,000 members of their churches in the next 12 months. It is a massive effort to mobilize men in the church on behalf of teenage orphans in Kenya. 


The entire project is being done by volunteers. We are raising money for the expenses of the six person film crew; about $3,500 per person. The Hutchinsons have committed $2,100 (a donation and "first fruits" from new clients I recently signed) and I expect to give another $3,750 from the sale of my prized BMW motorcycle (single tear).


Producer AdamMellema (adamproduces.com ) will lead the crew. This is his third trip into Kenya having served short term in the hospice mission The Living Room International, located 30 miles from Eldoret. Adam's a good friend from Christian Assembly, our former church in Eagle Rock, CA, where we met him serving in the children's ministry. 

That's right. All 2500 pastors will participate in the training and 25,000 more pastors and their congregations using the videos. This is an unprecedented opportunity. With zero support, living in ghettos, orphan boys end up in criminal or terrorist enterprises for survival. At the academy, the men of the RCEA churches and others will educate and mentor the boys as they recover, learn a vocation, find a job, build businesses and are restored in a loving community. Your contribution of $5, $50 for $500 will make a big difference.

Your support means so much to us. 27 years ago, Serene toured in Kenya and performed with the Covenant Players in these very towns! Imagine. Lukas and Noah will have their first mission experience walking in Mom's footsteps. Moreover, we are so pleased to be able to support such a positive response to the needs of vunerable boys in Kenya, some who are the same age as our sons. 
Michigan Vacation 2015. What will the pictures from the Kenya 2016 mission trip look like?

More about the Mission and the Partnership
The conference takes place in two cities: Bungoma and Eldoret. We'll arrive by plane in Nairobi via Dubai on August 2nd, fly to Visumu and then over the road to Bungoma. There we conduct the first of two conferences. Five days later we head to Eldoret, headquarters of the RCEA, for the second conference. 

Core300 (core300.org ), a men's ministry that began in 2007 in Southern California, has partnered with the leadership of the Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA) to train 2500 pastors and many more lay leaders. On February 20, 2016 they resolved to finance, build, and staff a pilot Youth Leadership Academy this fall. 

Core300 has already had a significant impact in the region. The Core300 prison ministry team led 800 male prisoners to Christ last year.

Inspired by these results, the RCEA leadership has asked for more training and support for developing men's ministry in Kenya. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the RCEA and Core300 outlines the plan to train 25,000 pastors and 500,000 men in a variety of ministries focused on the prison and criminal populations that are distressing Kenyan communities. 

I got involved after reading Called to War: Out of the Stands and Into the Arena, the Core300 men's ministry handbook. The author and co-founder Art Hobba asked me what I throught of the branding. Though skeptical at first (the branding and war lingo seemed "over the top"), I read the book and was moved to share the content with my sons.  One became deeply emotional and confessed his need for God. That made me take a closer look. After reading the MOU, I was impressed by the local invovlement in Core300, the results of the ministries they developed,  and the sustainable leadership academy program proposed by the RCEA.  

Core300 is joining the effort (not leading) in support of the RCEA's orphan rescue program. RCEA is covering the bulk of the expenses for the set up and operation of the academies in Kenya. This is an important distinction. Some African missions are unable to sustain their efforts without significant support from the "West." The RCEA will provide ongoing operational funding and oversight once the development program is complete.

Overlooked by the government and ostracized from their communities, these street kids will receive spiritual formation, leadership and vocational training from pastors and the trained men in the RCEA congregations. Pastors from other local churches and Christian denominations will also participate as guests of the RCEA. 

The RCEA has asked Core300 for help in three ways:

1) Develop a "servant leader" mindset for pastors. Core300 challenges men to "get out of the stands" and "into the arena." This means putting aside our passivity, becoming accountable to God and other men, and taking responsibility for the spiritual, social and economic growth of our families and communities.

Youth violence is growing in Kenya. Many of the perpetrators are orphan boys; a number totalling roughly 750,000 or 1.7% of the population. An unknown number are living on the streets. The pastors of the RCEA have humbly asked God to forgive them for overlooking the needs of these boys. Instead, they're praying for a "war-like" resolve and courage to "fight" for orphan rescue and restoration. Core300 is providing the curriculum.

2) Financial support for the construction of 60 leadership academies. The bulk of the training expenses are being covered by RCEA, which also has the resources to pay for construction labor, oversight and operation of the academies. Each academy will be built by locals to local standards. (This is important. Getting "rich" from donations can stir up jealousy and mistrust.) The RCEA has asked for building materials and supplies at a total cost of approximately $900,000; or $15,000 each. Staff for the training program is provided by volunteers like us raising our own funds. The videos produced will train an additional 25,000 pastor/mentors, assist in raising awareness of the project and funds for construction.

3) Management support and curriculum development for business and vocational training. The RCEA owns and operates colleges, hospitals, and businesses, however mentoring, entrepreneurship and vocational training are new areas for them. Core300 will recruit volunteer leaders to develop new educational, mentoring and entreprenurial programs.

This video explains the mission of Core300 and the goals for the RCEA Youth Leadership Academy training: