Geoff Holder

 Drawing on a conversation with Edith Wamalwa in Nairobi, Dave Stedman reflects on a simple but important question: what does it really mean to be a pastor?

Allow me to introduce my good friend Edith Wamalwa. Edith was the first person I met when I landed in Nairobi on my very first trip to Africa after I had started working for APF in January 2015.

At that time Edith was the manager of the CLC Bookshop in Nairobi. She really wanted APF to remove the rusting container full of children’s books, picture sets, and other literature that APF had printed and had been storing in the bookshop compound for several years.

Since then we have worked together on a few projects and remained in regular contact through the APF WhatsApp prayer group. Edith currently serves another organisation, but today she is helping me with some administration for the conference APF will be running for key African partners in Nairobi in September.

It has actually been several years since we last spent time together, so we had a lot to catch up on during the few days I have in Nairobi this March. I knew that the pastor of the church where Edith had been a long-serving and very active member had sadly died prematurely a few years ago, and that Edith did not enjoy the same rapport with his successor. Edith shared that, with regret, she had felt it was right to find a new church in which to worship.

I asked Edith whether she had spoken with the new pastor about how she felt. She explained that she had discussed her feelings with her trusted friend, the previous pastor’s widow. Then she added, “I doubt the new guy would even notice I have gone,” and said that he had “not allowed the church to grieve and heal” before moving on with new programmes and ministries. The church was still strong with new people, but the “elderly”, as she described herself, largely felt unwelcome and many had left.

This is sad, but it is also, sadly, very familiar. I could name several churches in the UK and elsewhere where the same is true. In the rush for new initiatives and pioneering projects, the actual people can get overlooked. I may even have made this mistake myself in the past.

Pastors come in many shapes and sizes, with diverse and eclectic gifts, but the clue is in the word. “Pastor” is derived from pastoral and means shepherd: someone who cares for sheep, who protects and guides them; a person who knows their sheep by name, sees when they are lost or hurting, cares for them individually and collectively, and actively seeks them out, sometimes even at personal cost.

There are sometimes good reasons for leaving a church and going elsewhere, but it should never be because “the new guy wouldn’t even notice.”

 Dr Rose Mugabi (right) is an APF trustee from Uganda. She recently returned from Kapsabet in western Kenya, where she visited St Paul’s Theological College and met the principal Ven. Elizabeth Cheruiyot (left) to monitor how the college is using the support it receives from APF. Rose writes:

African Pastors Fellowship has been strengthening digital learning and access to learning resources at St Paul’s Theological College for six years. When I visited in November, the impact of this long-term investment was evident across the campus.

This comes at a crucial time. Across much of Africa, the church continues to grow rapidly, often outpacing the availability of trained leaders. Theological colleges like St Paul’s play a vital role in equipping pastors, evangelists, and teachers who can serve their congregations with wisdom, integrity, and strong biblical grounding.

As churches expand into new communities – and as younger generations seek deeper discipleship – the demand for well-prepared Christian leaders has never been greater. Strengthening theological education is therefore essential for sustaining healthy, vibrant churches across the continent.

One of the most striking improvements at St Paul’s has been in ICT support and digital literacy. It was encouraging to see students confidently using computers for research, classwork, and sermon preparation, with many now able to record and send videos of their sermons back to their home churches.

Library upgrades funded by APF have also transformed daily operations. A bar-code reader has streamlined borrowing, improved network infrastructure allows for shared printing, and a new router has expanded wireless internet access for staff and students. The enhanced library management system has opened up wider access to high-quality online theological resources.

Investment in furnishings and learning spaces has further enriched the college environment. New chairs and two pulpits now serve the Bishop Ashcroft Resource Centre. Although some of the original furniture budget was redirected to buy new library books – responding to student priorities – funds remain to complete the centre’s furnishings soon. The library itself continues to grow, with additional titles recently ordered.

My visit also highlighted several ongoing challenges. High staff turnover in the accounts department slows financial reporting, and the college’s complicated procurement process – though designed for accountability – causes delays and incurs reimbursement costs that reduce available funds. Smaller projects struggle to attract viable tenders, and some ageing laptops in the ICT room require constant attention.

Despite these hurdles, it was encouraging to see strong financial stewardship at the college and students actively benefiting from the upgraded facilities, new laptops in the ICT lab, and high-speed fibre internet in the library.

Monitoring visits like this are vital. They help APF supporters know their donations are being used wisely and making a real, lasting difference. I’m already looking forward to returning to Kapsabet next year to see the next stage of progress.