My name is Oloo Laurine, a vile sinner saved not because of any good deeds because I don’t have any to boast about, but by God’s Grace through faith in his son Jesus Christ for His glory alone. I accepted Christ as my savior when I was in class 6 but had no idea what that meant, what I was being saved from or why I was believing but I still believed anyway (this was after reading Romans 10:9 one evening). I lived my life trying so hard to love the Lord, to do the right things but the more I tried the more I failed and the more frustrated with life I was. I praise the Lord that over the years, I have learnt that my works do not add to my salvation but that I am saved for the good works as stated in Eph 2:1-10
I joined iserve Africa Apprenticeship program in September 2022 where I got placed and Gracepoint church Kikuyu in the Children and youth ministry. We do have Sunday school classes every Sunday, my role is to ensure we have the materials ready for class and remind teachers when they are teaching. In the youth ministry, we do have gospel hangouts every Friday except the last Friday of the month. I help to set up for the day and also lead a bible study. I also help with some administration work that is, petty cash accounting and church communication.
When I was joining ministry, I was so much excited at how much I will be doing, serving God’s people and sharing the gospel but then it has been more of me becoming, me learning and unlearning. More than me equipping, I am being equipped. I have learnt that before you can become a good teacher of the word, you need to be a good disciple first. Training for ministry should not be an optional extra, it is an essential part of every church’s ministry if it is to participate responsibly in the Great commission that Jesus left with the Church. Having come from a charismatic and prosperity centered church, my placement has really helped me appreciate the need of training people in ministry, preaching sound doctrine and being part of a local church.
One can never truly behold the beauty of the gospel if they don’t know how sinful, helpless and hopeless they are without Christ. My highlight has been me being convicted of how much sinful I am at heart, my impatience, how sometimes I grumble in my heart among other things. This has really made me appreciate how much I need the gospel every day, that I can never get to a point where I say I do not need the gospel. I need it every day because I forget it every day and for my walk in this life, I need to be reminded that apart from Christ, I am nothing and I can do nothing of my own. Before, I thought it is only for unconverted sinners, but during the Induction and MTC, during the exposition of the book of Romans, my eyes were opened to see this truth, my own sinfulness, the price Jesus paid for me and I have since mourned over my own sinfulness and this has really made me appreciate the gospel as a good news. The gospel centered songs sang during the MTC have been more than songs to me, most of them have been deep confessions of my heart, some have been my prayers and things to meditate upon. I am grateful for these means of grace the Lord is using to shape me and mold me to be like him.
This is my sixth month in ministry and more than just being trained to be a faithful bible teacher, my own character is being transformed. I have been learning how to love people, especially the one I think are unlovable knowing so well that Christ loved me in my sinful state and showed me mercy. I have been learning to be content in every circumstance and to be grateful and trust in the Lord. It is my prayer that even many years beyond this apprenticeship, I will live the gospel I profess, that my character will be that which glorifies the Lord that his name will not be put to shame. I pray that I will not graduate from reading the scripture, adoring its truths and sharing it boldly as long as I am living.
