‘Beware of monkeys – close the window’ is a warning that is as intriguing as it is tempting to disregard in the wonderful Kenyan heat after leaving behind sleet and frost in the UK… that is until a rather large and energetic monkey swings past the window and scrambles up the guttering! What an introduction to AfriCon 2025 – a conference that had been widely anticipated, prayed and prepared for.
The Brackenhurst Conference Centre, Limuru, Kenya was the idyllic location where Africa-based mission and project partners gathered with their families for four days at the start of 2025. Brackenhurst was once used as a convalescent home for British soldiers in need of rehabilitation during World War One. Again, it proved to be a place that provided much physical and spiritual rest and refreshment for 56 of us from across the Crosslinks family serving on the continent of Africa. Partners joined us from South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, South Sudan, West Africa and Kenya, with the only sadness being that partners serving in Zambia and Namibia were unable to join us.
Ray Brown (senior minister of East London Tabernacle) and his wife Rebekah (both former mission partners in Durban, South Africa) served the conference with warmth and integrity. Ray taught us from 2 Corinthians 4-5, chapters that are never far from the hearts of faithful gospel ministers. As jars of clay, it was heartwarming to be encouraged to not lose heart and to keep living and serving by faith and not by sight. We were so grateful for Rebekah leading a seminar on ‘Staying fresh when constantly drained’ which was theologically rich and practically helpful. Friends from churches in Nairobi provided a wonderful programme for the under 18s.
One of the main streams of the conference was set-aside time for each Crosslinks partner to share about their ministry followed by a concentrated time of prayer for them. Both a blessing and many people’s highlight, it enabled us to connect with one another and grow our bonds of friendship, to be equipped to pray and advocate for the ministry that is taking place across the continent, and to be reminded that we do not labour alone. There was a tangible sense that despite being scattered across a vast and varied continent, we were united in our shared desire to take ‘God’s word to God’s world’.
As I returned home to freezing conditions in the UK and my firmly closed bathroom window, I thought wistfully of that cheeky monkey… and of my servant-hearted Crosslinks family for whom I remain so grateful.
Rupert Shelley is the Director of Mission Partnerships