Kenya Fire Wave
Half a million children hear the Gospel!
Africa is the continent with the youngest population. With nearly 50% of Africans under the age of 18, the future of the continent rests in the hands of its youth. It’s a challenge no evangelist in Africa can dismiss. Can we really think about reaching 580 million African children with the Gospel? That looks like an impossible number. But the answer is yes! We can and will reach them for Jesus, and today’s letter will tell you a little about how we’re doing that.
In recent years, CfaN's Youth Campaigns have exploded in both scale and impact. What began as a simple response to a few open doors has become a global initiative, led by Jako and Karin Hugo, that has trained and mobilized hundreds of evangelists to go into institutions, villages and marketplaces and preach effectively to children. Their teams now work in 25 countries, and the result has been nothing short of miraculous: this year alone, CfaN has seen over 5 million children say “Yes!” to Jesus worldwide.
One of the biggest initiatives that led to that number was the CfaN Fire Wave in Kenya, led by Evangelists Nathaniel and Lea Manning.
What is a ‘Fire Wave’?
A Fire Wave is an evangelistic strategy where evangelists band together to sweep across a city or region with multiple outreaches in institutions, in markets and on the streets – anywhere they have access. Numerous teams go out repeatedly every day, with each team preaching as often as ten times in a single day, sometimes even more! In Kenya this September, the goal was to reach an entire region’s children in just 10 days.
10 days
1,983 outreaches
380,837 salvations
In that short time, CfaN-trained evangelists reached over 551,930 young people with the Gospel. This was not by accident – it took over 10 months of careful planning. Eventually, 74 CfaN-trained evangelists from all over the world arrived, ready to preach to the children of Kenya. They were joined by another 35 local evangelists. And preach they did, every day. Across the regions of Meru, Maua, Kitui, Kapsabet, Chuka, and Ndaragwa, teams experienced open doors and hearts with many miraculous healings.
Children singing in the streets
In Chuka, the Gospel message left such a powerful impression that youth began quoting Bible stories and singing worship songs in the streets. In Maua, a youth leader who had suffered 23 years of back pain was instantly healed after prayer. In Kitui, the Lord gave team member David a word of knowledge about a specific child in the crowd. After the message, he went to speak to the boy and saw that he was on crutches. David prayed for him and challenged him to begin walking – and right there, he was healed and walked freely. In Meru, a 14-year-old girl who had not been able to run since the first grade began to run joyfully after a healing prayer.
Transformation for new evangelists
These campaigns are not only transforming the lives of those being reached but also those doing the reaching. Many of the evangelists who participated were stepping into public ministry for the first time after going through a CfaN Fire Camp and training to preach to the youth. They discovered the joy of preaching Christ, the wonder of seeing miracles, and the fulfillment of being part of God’s plan for this generation. Unity among team members and passionate prayer were often mentioned as keys to success. These outreaches also serve as intense training grounds for future ministry leaders.
The significance of this movement cannot be overstated. Africa's youth are spiritually hungry and wide open to the Gospel – and their communities are deeply affected when they come to Jesus. In Kapsabet, even teachers and parents were healed and touched by the power of God. In Ndaragwa, despite health challenges and adversity, unity among the team members became a testimony in itself, demonstrating the love and power of Jesus to the community. In every location, spiritual ground was taken, and the enemy was pushed back.
God always makes a way
Like any project in Africa, this initiative was not without its logistical challenges. The places that this Fire Wave reached were not the relatively ‘easy’ big cities. Working in rural areas means conditions are often difficult. It requires flexibility and resourcefulness. And with malaria and other tropical diseases endemic to the area, evangelists are putting their own lives on the line all the time. But God always makes a way – it is so worth it when we see children receiving the Gospel.
What will it take to reach them all?
This is not just a campaign, it’s a movement. CfaN is not only conducting events but building infrastructure for long-term impact. Through follow-up booklets, local church involvement, and evangelism training programs like Fire Camp, young people are also being raised up in their own nations. One of the most encouraging and exciting trends we’re seeing is the rise of African evangelists reaching their communities. Youth Campaigns are now becoming a multiplying force as trained leaders mobilize others in a cycle of harvest and discipleship.
The testimonies speak volumes. From witch doctors renouncing idols and ancestor worship to young children leading their friends to Christ, the ripple effect of these campaigns is transforming communities.
This vision keeps getting bolder! What will it take to reach 15 million youth in Kenya? Or all the 580 million young people across Africa? With every campaign, that vision becomes more tangible. It’s not merely a dream. This is real-world impact, and it’s happening now.
Pray, support and go
Today, I want to invite you to pray, support, and go. Whether through financial partnership, intercession, or stepping into the harvest yourself, there’s a place for every believer in this movement. And every single one of us is needed! We need your help to train more evangelists, translate follow-up material into local languages, and to print literally millions of follow-up booklets. It’s a group effort. Let’s take our stand together for the children Jesus loves so very much.
Together with you for the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
(here with the worldwide CfaN team)
