PCEA Church Construction in Kenya - August 2019 Update
Enjoy these joyful stories about church dedications from Stu and Annie Ross, Outreach East Africa Mission Consultants. They work in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and U.S. congregations.
PCEA Karima Church
Located near the town of Maai-Mahiu, this church began in 1967 when a group of Christians from many denominations gathered to worship under a tree. In 1977, the PCEA sent an evangelist to gather the Presbyterians for worship in an elder’s house. By 1979 they raised enough funds to buy a plot of land and continued to raise funds to build a church in 1984. By 1995, there were 75 members! Unfortunately, the congregation began diminishing between 1995-2005 due to tribal clashes and the condition of the 1984 church, which was slowly falling apart. A decision was reached in 2016 to build a modern church, which we dedicated several weeks ago. This new church will allow the congregation to grow once again and provide ministries to the surrounding communities. At the dedication, the church was overflowing with visitors and friends. We had a good time with everyone on that day of celebration.
PCEA Mwangaza Church
This church was established in 2016 from two districts of PCEA Kiri and dedicated on May 26, 2019. The original congregation was comprised of older people who couldn’t walk the 5 km distance to the mother church and wanted to start a church closer to their homes. They approached the county government and were fortunate to get a plot of land for their church. The congregation raised funds and, in partnership with Outreach, moved forward with construction and completed the church. The dedication went very well with the Moderator of the Presbytery officiating. Everyone enjoyed the celebration. The Outreach Foundation celebrated with them as this was the 326th church we helped build in East Africa.
PCEA Emaiyan Church
Located on the rim overlooking the Rift Valley, Emaiyan Church was dedicated in June. There were many people involved in the building. A woman donated the land and shared with me that she would donate more land for a school. Another lady donated tiles for the altar area. The Ngong Presbytery, the other two parish churches, a local hotel, and the area MP (parliament member) donated money and of course, the local congregation pitched in. It was a team effort. The congregation was formed from three districts from the mother church, Kibiko. These districts found it too hard to travel back and forth several times a week. So, they built a church very near to their homes. The building team consisted of four ladies who did a great job.
PCEA Ndiuni Church
We dedicated Ndiuni Church in Limuru Presbytery in July. Rev. Agola, Moderator of the Presbytery, conducted the service. In 2002 the church was given one acre of land by the government and they finished building their original church that year. By 2013 they had outgrown the old church and began thinking about building a larger modern church to accommodate their growing congregation. They met with us in 2015 about partnering to construct their new church and in 2018 they started the foundation. We did the upper portion in 2019 in preparation for a visiting team from FPC Nashville. This new church allows the congregation to grow and meet the needs of their community. They now have the capacity to do things like building a Primary School, which they are planning to do in 2020. This is the fifth church we have built in this area and all are expanding the kingdom and bringing in many new members.
PCEA Morintat Church
Later in July, we attended a dedication service in Maasai Land. We had ten choirs from the surrounding churches. It was a great dedication. The congregation was very happy to be moving from under a tree, where they had worshipped for three years, to this new modern church. The service was conducted by Rev. Patrick Rukenya, a very good friend, and lasted 4½ hours. The time passed quickly with all the dancing and singing. Six of the seven churches of this parish were built with help from Outreach.
PCEA Rwamburi Church
This church was completed by a visiting work team group from FPC, Signal Mountain, TN. All the Presbytery officials were there to celebrate this occasion. The old church, which they have occupied since 2010, was very dark and small and could barely seat their members. They plan to renovate it and use it for nursery and Sunday School. This will be a much-needed service to the community. The Rwamburi Church has 60 members, but many more people attended the opening service. Rev. Agola, a longtime friend of Outreach, moderated the dedication.
We join with the PCEA to dedicate all the churches we build together. This announces to the community that there is a new church in the village. Many come to the opening to witness God’s work and then end up coming regularly. It is not unusual for a church to double its size in the first year. In this way, the church has the capacity to do more community work like having a nursery school.
Thank you for all your support in this ministry of helping Kenyan Presbyterians to spread the gospel throughout Kenya.
Blessings,
Stu and Annie Ross
Read more about PCEA Church Construction in Kenya HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $120,000 to build four churches at $30,000 each. Make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.