Report of the trip to Congo summer 2026

Dear friends,

 

I returned home at midnight this last night. I am in good health.

 

The two-month trip to Congo-Kinshasa went well. There were no accidents or serious problems.

 

However, our original plans changed significantly due to social, political, and ecclesiastical issues. Ultimately, we were unable to visit Kindu, Kisangani, Katanga, and Brazzaville as planned. Instead, we traveled to Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga, and Tshikapa, where we accomplished a great deal of work. Tshikapa, in particular, was outstanding.

 

The main focus of this trip was the distribution of Bibles and children's Bibles. We distributed and sold a large number of Bibles (including those for children). I believe that, given the plans now in place, the rest will follow quickly.

 

A second objective was training new teachers for conferences on Church Growth, as well as instructors for follow-up work involving small Bible study groups. We began the trip with this training for seven new teachers in Kinkole.

 

A third goal has been the formation of teams for the follow-up work. We have now trained 10 such teams: Maluku (including a son of former President Mobutu), Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga, the Masi-Manimba region, the Bas-Congo region (Luozi, etc.), Kalanganda (Sénevé), Idiofa (Sénevé and Assemblies of God), and two in Tshikapa (La Borne and the pastors Léon and José). Four of these groups are reporting the formation of hundreds of follow-up groups (Mbuji-Mayi—Bishop Lunyanya and Bishop Etama of the Sénevé Church—and the two groups in Tshikapa). I believe that as many as 200 groups have already started during our trip. In three instances, the new workers themselves have already organized further leader training sessions for the follow-up work (Masi-Manimba region, Kalanganda, and Tshikapa—La Borne, twice).

 

We organized 8 conferences on Church Growth with 761 participants (25% of whom were pastors). We held 9 training sessions for new small-group follow-up leaders with 690 participants (excluding training sessions for those outside our core team).

 

We also spoke at quite a few church services and Bible studies. So far, I (AJK) have spoken at seven services attended by 2,365 people, and at two evangelistic meetings with Bishop Etama that drew 810 attendees, with 170 people indicating a desire to follow Jesus.

 

We ran short of French Bibles, and nearly all copies of our books and brochures were either distributed or sold. Bishop Lunyanya has begun translating our follow-up workbook into Chiluba, the language of the Kasaï region.

 

We made many new friends for our ministry. It is amazing to see what a blessing the book *Overview of Growth* has been to so many pastors and leaders. When we called the bishop in Mbuji-Mayi, he was astonished, as he had just finished teaching a group of pastors using that very book right before our call. Pastors Patrick Malumba from Kananga (La Borne) and Kennedy from Tshikapa (also La Borne, Dibumba extension) shared very positive feedback about the book. That is why I have started updating and republishing it. It will take some time to complete (this is also important for new editions in English, Nepali, and other languages).

 

We are currently considering when and how to launch our own website in the Congo, with the help of a close friend of our movement in Kinshasa, Pastor Valéry Okoka.

 

We are also in active contact with a legal representative from Mai-Ndombe, Rev. Noko, as well as with friends in Gemena, in the north of the country. A young evangelist wants to start follow-up groups in Kalemie, in the east—an area where many armed groups are present and which is difficult for us to access. The doors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are truly wide open.

 

August 13, 2026

Abram Krol