August 2014 Edition by Nairobi Chapel

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Reflecting Back on 2013 Each year we take time to reflect back on God’s faithfulness to us in ministry over the past year. We have a lot to celebrate and thank God for enabling us to achieve in 2013. Let me highlight a few of these. Last year, in our Children’s Ministry, over 800 children gave their lives to Christ in the 3 Primary Schools we minister in every week. In addition, our Christmas Tree of Joy Gift Program blessed over 300 Children. We also began the process of creating a National PPI (Pastoral Program of Instruction) Curriculum for training in Children’s ministry in partnership with other churches and organizations. Last year, the Youth Ministry High School Outreach Program expanded to 7 High Schools, where we run discipleship groups on a weekly basis. Through this ministry, we saw over 350 Youth give their lives to Christ, and also sent our youth out on several short term mission trips. Furthermore, we held three successful camps for youth of different ages, and successfully graduated 46 youth through our post High School VUMA Internship Program. Last year, a total of 44 couples went through our PMCC Program and 453 people graduated from our Plug In programme. We also celebrate the 52 eGroups that actively met during the course of the year. With over 300 delegates attending the Viral conference, we celebrate the 80 people who responded to the call to become church planters. And through our church planting school, we successfully graduated 15 students last year, and planted 10 churches. The above-mentioned milestones give us reasons to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us during this year’s Annual General Meeting to be held on 26th July. Indeed, this wouldn’t have been possible without the faithful giving of tithes and offerings by the congregation. In this regard, we celebrate the resources that the Lord has blessed us with and enabled us to give to support the various ministries. However, we do not only want to look backwards but also want to take this opportunity to envision and make key decisions on the future of the church. This year, as part of our AGM we will also celebrate new leadership in our Elders Court and Trustees Board, ratify our new constitution, discuss the prospects of developing our site at Jamuhuri, and strengthen partnerships with other churches locally and internationally to learn from each other and to multiply our outreach ministries. Indeed, the year 2013 has been a truly blessed year for us as Nairobi Chapel. To God be the glory for the great things He has done! The Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations (Psalms 100:5) Sincerely,

Walter Jaoko Chairman, Elders Board

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Contents A Word from The Chairman: Elders Board

Meet the New Elders Court

Mike Mutungi; On The Elders Court

What Do The Elders Do? The Nine Integrities

A Jon Well Done. Celebrating the Outgoing Elders

Meet Our Board Of Trustees

Service With A Smile ; Alex Kavita

Viral Church Planting Conference

The Upendo Women

Kawangware Primary School Project

To Love And Hold

Mavuno Hill City; From Here To There

Trinity Chapel Ruiru; A Church On The Fast Lane

Trinity Chapel Mombasa

From Sitting In To Standing Out

The Capital Campaign

Meet The Financial Commitee

Ministries Report 2013

Ministry Report 2013

Contributing writers: Barak Almondia, Ronald Chepkwony, Rosebella Oloo, Desmond Gichuru, Vincent Matinde, Sylvia Gacheru Editorial Oversight Team: Pst Nick Korir, Pst Gowi Odera, Pst Wilson Andai and Pst Jackie Othoro. Photography: Thandiwe Muriu , Alan Mola Francis Njogu, and Defere Guta. Layout and Design: Christine Ndirangu

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MEET THE NEW ELDERS BOARD PROF. WALTER JAOKO

CHAIRMAN

It has been very rewarding to see what the Lord is doing, and knowing that he has allowed me to be part of it. Over and over again, He has amazed me by answering prayers in ways that I did not even anticipate. The Lord has blessed Nairobi Chapel with a visionary wonderful pastoral team that I am very proud to be associated with. I do not take this for granted. Prof. Jaoko has served on the Elders board for the past 9 years. During this period, He was also part of the Trustees board. He will continue to serve on the new Elders board for another one term as Chairman.

PST. OSCAR MURIU

My passion is to see the Kingdom of God extended, churches planted, lives transformed far into the next generation. It’s my calling. My prayer is that we’ll be able to develop our property with buildings that will serve the Chapel for at least the next 40 years. That’s big because we’re talking about an investment of Kshs 3 Billion over the next 5 – 10 years. But buildings alone won’t get the work done. We must also develop leaders aggressively so that the buildings serve a living vibrant church, not a dead dream. I’ve still got another 25 years of active ministry, God willing. I pray I can raise at least 1000 world class leaders in that time!

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MR. DAVID MICHUKI

CHURCH SECRETARY

My passion in life is to be a peacemaker. I love being engaged in situations that call for reconciliation and mending of relationships. I pray for Chapel to resolve the longstanding land issue and develop a permanent home from where we can launch our various initiatives. My prayer is that we would raise God fearing and competent professionals whose influence would be felt in the industry/society as a result of their Christ like and fearless witness in the day to day activities and would be fully equipped to represent Christ in the market place.

DR. BILL MUMLEY

My passion in life is helping to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus (Matt 24:14 and 28:18-20). I pray that the Chapel would plant numerous major church plants in every continent on earth (except maybe Antarctica). My prayer is that the next generation will have a passionate vision and a clear strategy for the Great Commission that includes making disciples of Jesus who will positively and powerfully impact all seven sectors of society: Arts, Business, Education, Family, Government, Media, and Religion.

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MR. MWANIKI MAGERIA

My passion in life is to be an Ambassador for Christ (II Corinthians 5:20) and an encourager in all circumstances. I pray for a Church so full of God’s Spirit that leaders and people of influence from all over the world seek its advice and counsel. One that demonstrates how to do God’s business of changing lives to all the Churches of the World in a sustainable model. The next generation has new modes of communication that are fast, close, personal and brief. There is a lot of information available with little depth. My hope is that Chapel will seek cutting edge methods to guide the next generation into a deep and personal relationship with God. I have spent two years serving at Club XP (Youth Church) and can attest that the methods may change but the message is only one! “Christ came for you to have life and that abundantly.”

MR. MIKE MUTUNGI

My passion is to empower the poor and the vulnerable in order to take charge of their destiny and within that context demonstrate the power of the risen Christ. My prayer is that Chapel will be the salt and light of this nation. That it will be the light upon the hill where nations will stream in to see the glory of the Lord. My vision is to raise leaders within the context God has called them. I desire that they may see Christ and the power of His resurrection within their sphere of influence and within that context advance the Gospel of our Saviour.

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MR. GIDEON OCHIENG

My passion in life is Developing leaders to transform their communities. I pray for Nairobi Chapel to set the trend of how missions are done in the World and to become one of the biggest mission sending agency in the World. I pray that through the children, currently in Quest and Club XP, this country will realize her full potential as a leader on the continent. I also pray that Nairobi Chapel with the help of God will raise up an army of fearless warriors equipped with skills and passion about their faith to transform this continent and the World for Christ.

MR. NICK MUEMA I have a passion for investments especially in farming & real estate. I get great satisfaction from helping people and seeing them grow. My dream is to see Nairobi Chapel become a vibrant Church actively involved in transforming lives for the Kingdom of God globally. I pray that the youth will be a generation that makes God visible to their peers and friends and that they will be a "Bible" that others can read and learn the ways of God from.

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MR. JEAN PAUL NDAGIJIMANA

My passion in life is to be led by Jesus, lead like Jesus and lead to Jesus. I have a particular interest in poverty eradication, and have helped start up three Microfinance institutions; one in Rwanda called Urwego Opportunity Bankâ&#x20AC;?, one in DR Congo Called Hekima and one in Burundi called Turame; an Agri-business company in Rwanda called Ikirezi; and farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooperative in Nakuru. I am also the founder of Liftup Limited, a profit making company that trains, coaches and resources entrepreneurs in East Africa. I envision Nairobi Chapel playing a pivotal transformational role in many individuals and many communities around the world. God has called, positioned and equipped me to play a key role in ensuring that we have a growing number of next generation Chapelites who experience an abundant life and live fearlessly because they know and understand who they are in Christ and what their purpose and destiny is.

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Mike Mutungi on the THE NEW ELDERS COURT

Mike Mutungi was recently appointed as an Elder of Nairobi Chapel. He is a man far from the elderly, wrinkled, and hunched over, thinning grey haired sage that most might imagine. This vibrant 52 year old, husband, father and founder of I Choose Life, believes that the message of Christ is all about relevance. “We have a fantastic Pastor with a great vision. There is no doubt, we as Chapel can influence the globe by advancing the gospel.” he enthuses. Mike dedicated his life to Christ while studying engineering at the University of Nairobi and was later mentored and discipled for a year through the Navigators, a Christian paraChurch organization discipling Christians, with particular emphasis on enabling them to share their faith with others. Upon graduation in 1986 Mike worked with the Ministry of Transport as a civil engineer. This involved working on the Rumuruti – Maralal road in Northern Kenya an experience that exposed him to a secular life on the road. “That’s when it became clear to

me that my faith was very weak. And I needed some more grounding in scriptures,” Mike recalls. After a year and a half in construction, he approached the Navigators for full time work engagement and stayed for a decade on staff with the Navigators specifically involved in university ministry. At the end of the decade Mike had hit a plateau and resolved to seek a bigger challenge to grow his faith, and therefore registered for his master’s degree in divinity at the Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST).

“Then God took me on a different tangent”, Mike chuckles. Mike began to ask himself, “What is my ministry philosophy?” Mike began to draw parallels between what he was doing and what Jesus did, and realized that what made Jesus great and impactful was relevance. “It was meeting physical needs that drew people to him.” Mike points that out about Jesus’ ministry. “In the context of meeting physical needs he also met spiritual needs.” This led

him to conclude that his Christianity needed to address physical needs and as a result he began a campaign to address the issue of HIV and AIDS on campus. This saw the birth of I Choose Life; a Non-Governmental Organization geared to direct youth to make informed life choices. Mike and his Bible study team prayed and fasted for 6 months over this project and in 2001 I Choose Life miraculously received 54 million shillings funding to run a student’s peer education program across all Universities in Kenya.

“I looked at it [the contract] and my knees began shaking. It was an affirmation from God that this is what he wanted me to do.” Mike recalls. Mike has grown with Chapel since its inception. But it was during the shift to Nairobi Chapel on Ngong Road that solidified things further for him. He joined an eGroup and went through Mizizi. He’s preached at Club Xpressions, the teen’s church, “That felt good because I felt more engaged.” he remarks. Mike feels honored to be able to influence the fulfillment of the church’s agenda. “Yes you need to pray and seek God but there is also a common sense to it.” Mike points out that as he begins this journey as an elder he is aware that God is not calling him to be a mystic apparition in church, but rather to offer strategic leadership.

“What I have been doing, is what I am using now to advance the Kingdom.” he states. The convergence of the perceived secular world and church ministry is what Mike believes ropes relevance in what he is doing. Mike was involved in the Kenyan constitution redrafting process and through his work with I Choose Life, he’s worked closely with over 20 county governments and can provide the necessary strategic input to boost ministry across Kenya. “In Chapel you find a meeting of

the secular and sacred. It is a big privilege for me to be asked to be an elder in church just like that.” Mike concludes.

I Choose Life – Africa (ICL) is one of the leading Non-Governmental Organizations what has contributed greatly to HIV prevention efforts among the youth in Kenya today. WWW.NAIROBICHAPEL.ORG

GRITY 1. MISSIONAL INTE vision for the future,

a clear We ensure that we have sts. tegic plan to guide us exi and that a long-term stra be communicated directly This vision then has to different departments.a We to the Church and to its erm goals for the year are also ensure that the short-t a g-term vision. As Elders, in alignment with this lon re spent here, keeping a futu large part of our time is and its future. perspective on the church

2. INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY

To be a professional institution with credibility, we have to be legally constituted and legit as far as the government is concerned. We ther efore ensure that we have integrity as an institution by abiding with all government requirements, paying taxes and statutory payments, having the relevant licenses, filing returns, and renewing all the annual compliance requirements with state and county governments. Basically , it is making sure that all the things that make for a well run professional institution are in place and working.

TEGRITY 3. DOCTRINALrk IN pulpit is ensuring that our

r wo A very key part of ou be terrible lical integrity. It would bib s ha and teaching is the Elders’ teaching heresy. It if we were to start abide by the ore to ensure that we responsibility theref church on a mulate and guide the scripture. We also for issues such such difficult biblical collective position on meet, study rriage’. The elders as ‘Divorce and Rema and seek the g time, delve deep, scripture over a lon these issues. Lord for guidance on

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4. MORAL INTEGRITY

We want to ensure that our pastors, volunteers and leaders are living a godly life, and that their conduct is Christ-like. We are responsible to counsel, correct and offer grace-filled restoration to any leader who may err along the way.

5. FINANCIAL INTEGRITY

the cause The lack of financial integrity has often been Elders, the As falls. of many Christian Ministry’s down cial finan we are constantly checking to see that good ed in the policies, practices and records are follow ommittee sub-c A h. churc handling of finances at the ently frequ s meet ) of the church (the Finance Team , place in y to scrutinize the monthly records, set polic oversee deliberate on the budget, guide the staff, and annual e Thes ds. recor al the auditing of the annu to lated circu then audits by Deloitte and Touché are c publi for our members and posted on our website endent scrutiny. Every 3 years we get to have an indep ces finan the of audit ve tigati auditor conduct an inves that and t, r-tigh to ensure that our systems are wate no funds have gone missing.

6. PASTORA

L INTEGRITY

We ensure th at ministries are in place to children, teen cater for the agers and adul ts, and that po are available lic y guidelines to take care of the ‘tough’ pa of ministry, su st oral issues ch as marital breakdown, de integrity mea at h. Pastoral ns not only ca ring for hurtin also growing g pe ople, but disciples in C hrist. Our role that these ba is to ensure ses are cove red by well intervention m th ou ght out easures and di scipleship syst ems.

IN SUMMARY...

7. PUBLIC INTEGRITY

the church are Our relationships inside and outside connection good le important. Our task here is to enab to bridge and ics, with our internal and external publ een the church relationships and create networks betw ials. Many times and government, state and public offic y as a church ibilit cred the role here is to ensure that our vene and inter we is strengthened. Where necessary, ials. represent the church to outside offic

8. TRUST INTEGR

ITY

Ministry happens be st when there is a high level of trust in a church. Th e capacity to move forward and accomplish great thi ngs for God is not only largely determined by the level of trust that ex ist s between the important cons tituents of the churc h, primarily the elders and pasto ral staff, but also the leaders of the church and the congregation. So we int entionally manage that: Where trust is wanting or suffering, we work to build up the broken places an d to broker peace-building and trust mending.

SIONAL 9. SUCCES Y ch through INTEGRIT herd the chur ep sh to e bl si ard on

Bo sp : the Elder’s We are also re ession issues cc su his is t T . an n rt successio two impo ior Pastor’s n Se e on th er d ned lead s succession an there are trai at th g n ri sh ensu of leader ip possible by sponsibility re e th up en and n take staff who ca even in sudd ry sa es ec n become should this ces. or circumstan unplanned-f

Our task is to keep asking whether we are handling these integrities well, and to continue examining the structures, ministries and policies in place to ensure that they grow with the church and with the changing times. The Elders do not run the Church on a day-to-day basis; that is the role of the Pastoral Team. We however meet regularly with the Senior Pastor, who is one of the Elders, to get updates and confirm that these 9 integrities are sound. We work to ensure that the Church has every resource it needs to run. This is not only financial, but that the Senior Pastor has the necessary teams and skill sets that are required for the Church’s operations to go on. Once the teams are in place, we emphasize on their training and discipleship to ensure they are going to the next level. Ministry support is absolutely critical for a healthy church. We ensure that all departments are running smoothly and a critical component of that comes with hiring good human resource. Are they well paid so that they are free to completely focus on serving the Church? Are we supporting the interns and pastoral trainees who have a long-term outlook at the Chapel and are our future? At the same time, we ensure that our pastors and elders are readily accessible to the congregation. Nairobi Chapel is a congregational driven church, therefore members need to know and feel that their decisions matter. Overall, we lead through the Senior Pastor, allowing him to form his team and deliver on objectives. We also lead the Senior Pastor by casting vision and thinking through the future of the church in the mid-range to long-term (5 to 30 years) timeline. This year, we are introducing a new team of Elders to begin their five year term. These Elders have been picked from the congregation; men of integrity, who undergo a rigorous vetting and then training process so that they are ready to serve as overseers of God’s people.

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A JOB WELL DONE... The time has come for several of our elders to step down after completing almost 10 years of service in this capacity. These five, including Dr. Walter Jaoko, have done an exceptional job in their term of service. Consider this, it was in the term, and under their leadership, that 1. The Chapel at Mamlaka Road branched out into 5 congregations in 2005, and started Nairobi Chapel (Ngong Road); Mavuno Church; Mamlaka Hill Chapel; Mashariki Chapel; and Covenant Community Church (now called Kileleshwa Covenant Community Church). 2. They oversaw the relocation of each congregation to there present site, and gave guiding policies to help the churches settle down. 3. Over the last 9 years they have given Elder oversight to all 5 churches and to all the new daughter churches that have since been started. 4. Under their leadership our church plants have grown to over 50 dotted around Kenya and Africa. Our collective Sunday attendance has also grown to over 14,000 people in all these churches. 5. Under their leadership each church was required to write out a 5 year strategic plan to help get us to

MR. GERALD MACHARIA

It was an excellent, collegial Elders Board with sound decision making by consensus. It made my time as Chair very fruitful. The Lord has been gracious and has blessed us with tremendous growth across the Chapel churches since going 5 ways in 2005. I am humbled to have been at the helm of the decision making body of the Church during this defining time span.

Mr Macharia retires from the Elders Board to join the Board of Trustees here at the Chapel.

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“Vision 2020”. Everything we do at the Chapel is now about that plan. They also required that the churches manage their finances under the oversight of a Finance Committee that follows the Finance Manual they worded. In addition, a HR Policy Manual was also put in place for all churches. 6. More recently they required that each of our key leaders here at Nairobi Chapel raise up a clear successor to take over their job. This is now in place and at the end of this year our present HOD’s will begin stepping aside to allow these 2nd Lieutenants to take over and oversee the Chapel’s Ngong Road ministries, while they (the present HOD’s) focus on expanding our reach globally. Thank you Elders for a job well done, (Note: Dr. Jaoko, who has served as the Chairman to the Elder’s Board for the last 2 years, will continue serving in that capacity for another year as he transitions leadership to the new team. He will retire next year. Pastor Oscar also serves as a continuing elder in his capacity as Senior Pastor).

MR. JAMES KANIARU

When I was approached to serve as Treasurer of the Church I was in â&#x20AC;&#x153;fear and tremblingâ&#x20AC;?, mode feeling deeply unsuited for the role since my background was not in mainstream finance. However, I appreciate the patience and guidance of Pastor Oscar Muriu, and my senior colleagues on the Elders Board who taught me the ropes and helped ease me into the role. I also had great support from the Daughter Churches finance teams and our auditors, Deloitte & Touche. I would particularly wish to appreciate the excellent leadership of Mrs. Jane Mungai, the Nairobi Chapel, Ngong Road Head of Finance, who has been a great delight to work with. Away from finance matters, the experience has been a major growth point for me in the area of having oversight over the multiplication of the Chapel from a cosy congregation of over 2,500 to the current 14,000 plus. This has not been without challenges, starting from systems, policies and processes, through to people, doctrine and funding. Mr. Kaniaru transitions to the Mavuno Church Board of Elders in the same capacity as Treasurer of the Church

MR. ANTHONY OKOTH

My experience has been extremely rich. Not only have I grown spiritually but also in my leadership abilities. I learnt the true meaning of servant leadership and collective responsibility, especially when making difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions while ensuring that the Bible remains central in guiding us. Mr. Okoth transitions to the Mavuno Church Board of Elders in the same capacity.

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PST. MURITHII WANJAU

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a great learning experience serving with such extremely gifted men on the Board. Their humility and grace has been exemplary. It has also been a wonderful experience serving the Chapel community that is so richly blessed with gifts and unity as the Body of Christ

MR. GODWIN WANGONGU

If one wants to grow in leadership the Chapel is the place to be. I experienced spiritual nourishment and growth as a leader during my time on the Board. The dynamism of Chapel ensures that you are constantly challenged and stretched. When the relocation turned to multiplication, it was a leap of faith for not only the congregation but especially for the leaders; I saw the Lord work with us. I am truly humbled to have had the opportunity to serve God and this congregation in this ministry that is the Nairobi Chapel.

Mr Wangongu retires from the Elders Board to join the Board of Trustees here at the Chapel.

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Pst Muriithi continues to serve on as the Senior Pastor of Mavuno Hill City church and as a memeber of the New Elders Board there.

MEET OUR BOARD OF

TRUSTEES Constitutionally the Trustees are responsible for holding the properties of the Church in trust. Should the Church ever fold up, they would be responsible to liquidate the assets, pay all bills, and give any balance of finances to a non-profit christian ministry. But since they have all served as Elders before, we also look to them to lend their wisdom to the Elders Board on matters that would profit from their input. In this capacity they therefore serve as Ex-Officio “Elders Emeritus”.

MR. KEN IKIARA

MR. GODWIN WANGONGU

MR. KEN WATHOME

MR. COSMA GATERE

MR. GERALD MACHARIA

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Alex Kavita SERVICE WITH A SMILE By Sylvia Gacheru As I approach the Church gate, I am met by the guy we all know, too well, or at least have seen. Noticing his stern face, I quickly introduce myself and mention the reason as to why I was on Church grounds on a week day. He suddenly smiles and warmly ushers me in, amidst some laughter and chit chat. Needless to say, I found it quite difficult to reconcile the now seemingly jovial and warm creature with the poised, no-nonsense, unruffled persona. Meet Alex Kavita, the man in charge of heading the Security Department at Chapel. Alex hails from Machakos County. He is the last born with 6 siblings. He is blessed to still have his parents. His family has a military background, hence his current profession. He is married to one wife, Anastacia, of whom he glowingly describes and anyone could tell he is very proud and fond of her. He describes himself as a very social person and mentions that one of his hobbies is making friends. I out-rightly whisper that, that isn’t the impression he gives. In my view, he oozes more of seriousness. He bursts out laughing, his expression being that of shock, as he further explains that he normally takes his job with the seriousness it deserves. Of which I profoundly concur. Alex is born-again and has been in Chapel for 7 years. He is grateful to have gone through Plug-In and graduated. He leads an E-Group that meets every two weeks (aren’t we challenged here?). “My E-Group is my second family, it holds me accountable

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in every way!” Despite working on most Sundays during service, he is always at per with the teachings as he makes time to re-capture what was taught. About his job, he is immensely proud of his profession. To him, it’s a form of ministry. “God is a God of order, and so He expects the same from us”. Despite some challenges of non-compliance by new members, he is grateful to God for no major incidences under his watch. “If you don’t anchor yourself in God, you will barely survive in this profession,” he adds. He always has a Bible with him and every other Sunday; he congregates his security team for prayers and Bible Study. He believes in not only leaving a legacy for

himself, but also for Christ. He credits the church leadership for the much he has achieved. “Pastor Oscar is an amazing leader; he gives you the freedom to grow and encourages you to be the best you can!” His face suddenly illuminates as he openly admits to his great admiration for Pastor Oscar, who apparently, is his mentor. What he loves most about his job is that he

gets to meet with various kinds of people, some in influential positions, some with different personalities. Out of sheer curiosity, I mention to him about his great command of the Queen’s language; as I wondered if he was a graduate. He laughs so heartily as he expresses that he only managed to complete his ‘O’ Level studies. And as much as he had performed well

to join University, his mother’s illness had drained the family’s resources. He however has no regrets at all. His endeavor is to study Psychology in the near future. As our time draws to a close, one thing definitely stands out about Alex; his passion for Christ. I leave the venue both humbled and challenged.

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VIRAL CHURCH PLANTING CONFERENCE

Networking Church Planters By Vincent Matinde Church planting is a fundamental part of the Missions department here at Nairobi Chapel. The aim is to plant churches that ensure that stable congregations are established. However, it is not always an easy affair. So what does it take to have a church planted? Every year, the Nairobi Chapel through its Missions department, organises The Viral Conference, a three day convention designed to equip and educate interested individuals in church planting. Initiated on the theme ‘Planting Churches that Plant Churches’, the first edition was held in 2012 and had the objective of creating a networking forum for interested participants in church planting within and without the Nairobi Chapel family. This edition successfully attracted over 200 attendants.

“We get to recruit individuals who are willing to come on board and plant with us. These church plants are in two categories- Trinity Chapel churches which are planted in cities and towns outside Nairobi and Kenya and churches in the informal settlement - known

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as "Faith Chapel Ministries,” asserts Pastor Godfrey Okongo, who is the Assistant Director of Missions and the Chairperson of the Core Team for Viral 2014. Through the Viral Conference, the church identifies new church planters who get trained for a period of 8 months before being commissioned out to plant a church. The third edition of the Viral Conference that recently took place in June 4th – 6th , 2014 was a life changing experience that brought together delegates from 23 countries from 5 different continents, and 50 churches. In total we had about 600 delegates that comprised of Pastors and Ministry leaders. The conference had dynamic speakers and 15 powerpacked workshops that gave practical steps in several areas such as Discipling the Nations through Small Groups, Planting Churches through Transformational Development, Safeguarding Your Family, Seven Disciplines of a Professional Ministry, Reaching the Richest Gospel Fields, and much more. According to Pastor Okongo, the high expectations regarding this third edition of the Viral Conference were met. ” We are looking forward to God’s tremendous

move that will continue to mobilize emerging leaders in the Church Planting movement.” These were some of the plenary sessions that the delegates enjoyed during the conference included: This is His Church, Wanted Missional Churches, Thrive Where You are Planted, Building a High Impact Church Planting Team, and Keeping the Edge Sharp, among others. Dozens of delegates came forward with great interests to plant churches in various places. At the end of the conference, different attendants had this to say, “The Conference

helped me answer out certain questions which I previously didn’t know whom to specifically ask”; “Motivating”; “Very practical”; “Changed my views on how I will plant a church within the next two years”; “Enabled me to have calculated moves in the process of church planting.” Pastor Collins Ouma, the Church Planting Director says, “We had to ask ourselves where do we get church planters?” He contends that there are potential church planters in various congregations who do not know what it takes to plant a church and the conference offers a great opportunity for them to find out how to go about it. He adds on, “After the Viral Conference, we immediately get candidates whom we interview to join the church planting school,”

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by Rosebella Oloo

One by one on a Friday morning, ladies slowly maneuver the stairs, as they head to the third floor at Professional Centre- Ngong Road, into a quiet room already filled with more women. The songs they sing fill the area outside the room, making it possible to join in their choruses as they sing joyfully to a beautiful hymn known to all. This resilient and devoted lot breaks into a powerful time of prayer as they are led by a member from the Social Justice department. They later share their week’s stories and get to present their prayer requests. For anyone who would care to know of the event behind the closed doors, these women could simply say that theirs is a fellowship group that converges every Friday at the Professional Centre in the Nairobi Chapel offices between 9:am-1pm. “Jeshi La Upendo Women” is a term that defines this large group of “akina mama” who vary in age. Upendo women started off as a fellowship for spiritual growth during the post-election skirmishes of 2007/8. Membership was more or less of an amorphous nature and its entry point was through participating in the Swahili Plug-In sessions. The women have a strong bond that unites them in prayer and worship. It is crystal clear that they live on for a better tomorrow for their families as they work

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upon ‘weaving’ through life’s demands. They plan on grand ideas such as one day, by God’s grace, owning land of their own. Asked about this future project, their faces light up with glee and evident joy fills the room. Each one of them with a glimmer of hope and faith is a stepping stone, dreams towards empowering and bettering their lives as women in the society. The dream of a better life for them has just been realized by the successful projects they have been immersed in. The women have engaged themselves in life changing

activities such as table banking, handcrafting, spinning project, catering and some now run the cash wardrobe business. The cash wardrobe is where the women get unused clothes from well wishers and sell them off at a price. The Table banking project started running e a r l y this year and hopes to gather a percentage which can capitalize some of their upcoming projects. Nairobi Chapel has connected them to The Women Enterprise Fund and Hand In Hand International which facilitate financial concerns regarding projects run by the women. The microfinance training is to empower the women with financial awerness for self help businesses and savings for future use. They have also started the NHIF filling process as a result of such gained skills. Upendo Women are exceptionally blessed in producing beautiful beadwork and handicrafts. The talented and prayerful group that looks up to God for holistic provision in its endeavors, is also trusting to get market for its produce. Upendo Women’s largest need is that of marketing their handicrafts which will enable them have an active and independent account that will

further their progress and help aquire capital that is injected in the projects. Presently, the hurdle of lack of a market hinders growth and many of their beautifully crafted and woven ‘treasures’ remain buried safely in their homes after periods of unimaginable hard work infused with tremendous talent. They are talented, able to run the projects and have the zeal to turn around these projects to something bigger and better. They acknowledge that public awareness and marketing will be a channel for gigantic rewards for the works of their hands. They continue trusting in God that this big picture will be realized soon. Nairobi Chapel has big dreams for “Jeshi la Upendo Women group”. The Church has witnessed these women climb their ‘mountain’ gradually in order to reach their peak of success in their projects. It will be uttermost joy for the church to see the women’s breakthrough in terms of getting a market for their products and attaining total self reliance in their projects for economic independence.

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KAWANGWARE PRIMARY SCHOOL PROJECT Touching Young Lives through Better Education by Vincent Matinde As other schools around Nairobi closed for the April holidays, close to 100 children around the Kawangware slum rushed back to Kawangware Primary School for more learning. But to their surprise it was more than learning. Facilitated by the children’s ministry in Nairobi Chapel, the April reading camp at the Kawangware primary school will be one of the most memorable events for these Children. Started as part of the Pastoral Program Initiative (PPI) in 2007, the church’s aim was to impact the children with the word of God. But as the program continued, God opened the church’s eyes to other impending needs that the children faced even as they came to learn.

“Last year the staff team from Nairobi Chapel went to the primary school to clean up and interact with the children for half a day. This led to a meeting between the executive committee and the school administration and they learnt of many other needs in the school,” Pastor Sarah Nyambura, Assistant Pastor in the Children’s Outreach said. “Some of the children didn’t have school uniforms, they used firewood to cook food, and they did not have water and other basic needs.” These challenges were coupled with yet another problem. Some of the children could not read and write and they were edging closer to their final exam. Nairobi Chapel went back to the drawing board and started thinking of ways to improve the lives of the children in this school beyond just the spiritual. So when they get to class seven and eight, they don’t know how to read and write. Pastor Sarah asked "How does a child sit for a national exam and they are not literate?” That’s where the reading project, ‘Kusoma Tu’ (Just Reading) began. Volunteers would go to the school and help the neediest students to read and write. The School in turn saw a great improvement in their performance. This past April, Nairobi Chapel through the Children’s Ministry conducted a successful reading camp for two weeks that saw children learn new A1A 2

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words. The congregation at the Church also donated hundreds of books that now stock the school’s library to encourage the reading culture. The Church is also looking at ways to solve some other challenges that the school is facing. Currently the church in conjunction with the school and the County of Nairobi are looking at ways to install a new pump that will supply water from the school’s borehole. Clean water would mean, clean toilets for the children thus, a healthy environment for them to learn. Pastor Sarah’s hope and projection was that by June, through the giving of the congregation at Nairobi Chapel, there would be running water in the school. Since the government announced the free primary education, children from poor families were able to go to school, but most of them did not have meals at home. The government then provided food for the children through a feeding program, but it was up to the school to figure out how to cook the meals. This added more pressure on the school to have funds to prepare the food and the pupils were therefore asked to contribute Kshs. 200 (US$2.5) per term but this proved to be too much for the pupils. “It may seem like it is little money but for those kids, 200 Shillings is a lot of money because of where they come from. And for this reason some of the kids could not afford the extra money for food” Pastor Sarah shared.

“We are looking to have a bio-digester for the school because they are currently using a lot of firewood to cook but with the bio-digester the school will be able to produce natural gas, which will be free fuel for the school,” Pastor Sarah added. The church is still calling for partners to see this project come to fruition, impact the children and impact the future generation one school at a time. The Kawangware project is not the end, Pastor Sarah affirms. It is just the beginning. The Kawangware project is a pilot project and when it succeeds, they will move on to other schools.

FLAGSHIP PROJECTS These are the four projects currently being undertaken at the Kawangware Primary School 1. Borehole: To ensure good clean and consistent water for the school. 2. Reading Camp: To provide a safe place for the Children to learn and spend their holidays. 3. Book Drive: To equip the School library. 4. Bio-Digester: To harvest bio gas from bio degradable waste and funnel it into a cooking system. WWW.NAIROBICHAPEL.ORG

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STRONG MARRIAGES BUILD A STRONG CHURCH Do strong marriages really exist? Show me one example of a strong marriage? How does one build a strong marriage? Dr. Victor Madziakapita & his lovely wife Anele would answer this questions by saying; strong marriages do not happen automatically; it requires conscious effort to build a strong marriage and just like people plan and work on investing in land, housing, vehicles, academics, work, business they should not forget to invest in their marriages. The Madziakapitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s have served in the Marriage Ministry here at the Chapel from the year 2007 and their highlight in this period of involvement has been seeing couples rekindle their love, seeing marriages strengthened and learning that their experience is helpful to others. This has kept them going and their passion extends to all couples in the church, as they desire to see strong marriages in Nairobi Chapel. They believe strongly in their hearts that strong marriages build the church.

Victor and Anele have had quit a long journey in faith because they both received Christ as Lordand saviour in their teenage years. Victor received Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior when he was 18 years old at his local Presbyterian Church in the village during Christmas holidays. He went to high school when he was 16 years old and in his understanding he was a nice religious boy with good behavior. Because of this he was easily chosen as the Chairman of the Student Christian Organization by his fellow students. He was not saved then but was involved in inviting preachers to come to the high school and preach the gospel. He wanted to give his life to Jesus but he was ashamed to show his fellow students that they had chosen a leader who was not born again. He therefore postponed it several times and as it happened when he went to the village, a visiting preacher gave him an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and he did. When he went back to school, he was no longer ashamed but testified on what had happened to him. Anele on the other hand accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior at the age of 14 and she has walked with the Lord since. She boldly says â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thank 23

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God I came to know Him at a very early age because this cushioned me from worldly issues.” Their desire was to serve in a ministry together as a couple and this led them to examine several ministries and their gifts and passion and it was clear that God was calling them to the marriage ministry which they were tasked to start together with other couples including Gilbert & Josephine Kibe, Michael & Agnes Makumi, Dr Meoli & Christine Kashorda. The marriage ministry at Nairobi Chapel is divided into two areas: Pre-marital Counseling Course (PMCC) for those preparing to get married and Couples Enhancement Focus. The Madziakapita’s are much more involved in the Couples Enhancement Focus whose aim is to strengthen marriages. The focus is not only on marriages that are in “trouble” but also on those that are doing well to strengthen them. This ministry organizes different activities and some of what has been planned for this year by the marriage ministry include Couples Enhancement Focus which is a ten week’s course, the Marriage Seminar, the October Couples retreat, Couples Counseling, dinners, movies etc. A third level of couple’s engagement is encouraged. Couples mentorship and accountability groups. It has been observed that after PMCC couples seek to meet as groups. This year more effort and intentionality is being made to have couples with a burden for family and marriage ministry to mentor young couples who do PMCC. This is aimed at helping couples cope with the transitions in marriage. One of these activities was held on 31st May 2014 at the church premises; this one day marriage seminar attracted forty couples from our congregation, ranging from those who are newly married (just a few months in marriage) to those who have been married for years. The day was quit chilly, but the fun in icebreakers and the humor of the facilitators, not forgetting the company the couples gave each other, the environment was filled with warmth. This day saw couples informed on shocking statistics about marriage but also educated on the important things that help to build strong marriages. It was surprising to note from Pastor Oscar, one of the facilitators, that 70% of the reasons why couples divorce has something to do with money because many couples run personal budgets and even when they self-disclose,

the last thing they are willing to share is how much they earn. He highlighted that there is need for good communication about money matters and couples need to develop systems that fit them on how to handle their finances. Pastor Oscar reminded the couples on the need to have five commandments of dealing with finances in marriage which include: Having a common vision for your finances, which led him to share a model of his vision together with his wife Pst Bea, the second command is keeping a budget, thirdly keeping an emergency fund, preparing for retirement and lastly thou shall be honest about your finances. Pastor Liz and Sammy Mangeli shared on the second pillar to build strong marriages which is communication. They shared on the importance to move from cliché conversation to deeper conversations in marriage. But this will only happen when couples overcome barriers to good communication and embrace good communication habits which are hard work. But very important to help build good communication is having clear communication goals, having a communication agreement and constantly asking yourselves, what things do I need to work on that are affecting my communication in marriage? The final two sessions were handled by Dr. Victor and Anele his wife; they boldly touched on this two topics: I am in love with another man/woman and Addictions/obsessions that choke marriages. Their bold approach guided couples to self-reflect and come up with answers to the discussion questions that would help them safely navigate through any of these circumstances in the event it happened to them. The marriage ministry celebrates being able to counsel many couples over the years, attracting many participants in the retreats held in October where different topics have been presented and discussed, and they have also had successful seminars, dinners and movie nights planned for couples to have fun. These activities are all aimed at enhancing and strengthening marriages. They have in the past on average been able to attract around forty couples for the Couples Enrichment Focus, 200 Couples for Seminars, and 300 Couples for Movies. PMCC on the other hand celebrates more than 60 sixty couples who go through the program every year.

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Adapted From Pst Murithii’s Sermon

“I want to especially honor Pastor Oscar Muriu who God used to call me into ministry and who has believed in me all these years. He has a real father’s heart and I am blessed to have been raised by Him.” That is how Pastor Muriithi started his sermon at the Launch of Mavuno Church Hill City. He went on to tell the congregation that the name “Hill City” was taken from Matthew 5:14 that says ‘you are the light of the world, a city built on a hill cannot be hidden’ Mavuno as a church started off from a point of desire to have people become Christians and not just act as Christians. Pastor M, as he is referred to by the church, once served as the Pastor in charge of Discipleship at Nairobi Chapel. It was from this that the idea of Mizizi was born. “So one Monday evening, I show up for bible study and to my surprise there were 20 people waiting. So I said to them, ‘I’m planning to start something new and I’m looking for some guinea pigs. People willing to take a risk on a different way of doing bible study. You will have to

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commit to read during the week because when we come to class, we’ll be practicing what we learnt. You will also have to pay for it as we don’t have a budget. And finally, if I’m going to be open and vulnerable, so will you! So here’s a signup sheet; please sign up only if you think you can handle this. If you can’t, then we’ll still be friends.’ Despite the brash pitch, not only did the 20 people sign up but they even signed up their friends for the class, some of whom were not Christ followers yet. As a result, the next week they had 30 people show up for the class! Pastor M says he learnt that day an important lesson about discipleship. “People are not looking for the easiest thing to do; they’re looking for real life change – and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it!” Over the next ten weeks, the 30 went through an amazing adventure. “We saw dramatic miracles happen every week as people became real with each other and with God.” They learned how important it is to share their faith. “I asked the group

to go out in twos to the university next door and each share their story with a student or two. At the end, one girl comes up and asks me ‘if I lead someone in prayer to become a Christ follower and I’m not one myself, is that person a real Christian?’ She was the first person I’d ever heard of who led someone to Christ before she became a Christ follower simply by sharing her journey! And surely, if in the bible God can use a donkey to represent Him, He can use anybody!” At the end of 10 weeks, they had a retreat and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. By that time, all 30 had become Christ followers! We had a baptism party at church the next weekend and at the end, I was handed a list of names. Their friends and girlfriends had signed themselves up for the next class because of the change they had seen in these people! That experience, which today we call “Plug-In”, played a huge role in shaping who Mavuno Church finally became. To date over 15,000 people in many different countries across Africa and across the world have experienced the life-change, with the Mizizi manual being translated into Swahili, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and French! Glory be to God! I had no idea back then that faith and church could become so attractive, so relevant and so irresistible that people just couldn’t get enough of it! But when I looked at Jesus, it was clear that’s exactly what was happening when He was around! How had I missed it before? The book of Mark tells us that Jesus’s biggest problem was that people just couldn’t get enough of him! Right from 1:28, ‘news about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee’. to 1:37 He couldn’t even have a quiet time in the word without his disciples interrupting him saying, ‘Everyone is looking for you! ‘Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere’. That’s what the Good News of the bible is supposed to be about, and who we want to be as Mavuno. It was out of this that our passion for discipleship began.

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Ebenezer . . . Thus far has the Lord helped us. I Samuel 7:12 In the month of April 2014, Trinity Chapel Ruiru celebrated one year since it first opened its doors. Fondly known to its members as TCR, we started with the hope that God would bring us to connect, evangelize and disciple people across the Thika Super Highway and its surroundings. Weeks of preparation led to the first service on April 28th, 2013 at Fairview Academy grounds, Ruiru. Our first service was attended by 24 adults and 8 children in our Sunday School. From then on we have not looked back. Under the leadership of lead Pst. Steve Thuo, a staff team of 5 set out to accomplish the mission of Nairobi Chapel on Thika Road. From the onset discipleship was done, a children’s ministry was set up, outreach to universities

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established and a holiday teens service run. One year later, by Gods grace, we are at an average of 200 plus adults and 80 plus children and growing steadily. It has been step by step, soldiering on to Grow D.E.E.P as we Reach W.I.D.E. Over the past one year we have been encouraged to see 3 seasons of our discipleship program – Plug In- graduate and get involved in service here at TCR. We are also encouraged that January 2014 saw the launch of our home fellowships – known as Ekklesia Groups (eGroups) – ten groups launched on the same day, with one more born during that week. We also launched an 11th eGroup in Kenyatta University specifically for university students who attend the church which has been a big success.

Our outreach has taken us to Children homes around the area, Kamiti Prison, primary and secondary schools, and also running “This Generation (TG)” discipleship program in three universities. This Generation is a campus discipleship program in partnership with Kubamba Krew that has seen over 150 students in 3 campuses along Thika Road discipled and grow in faith. TG is facilitated by TCR members who take time from their work schedules to visit these campuses and mentor a group each week. Our outreach and ministry to children through Vacation Bible School has yielded much fruit. The Teens church is also getting traction as it popularly runs under the HTCHoliday Teens’ Church – Brand. This last holiday the teens ministry saw 30 teens attend the service regularly. And more importantly, we can see discipleship and transformation in the lives of the members of the church. We have run many vibrant and exciting series such as “Mbele Iko Sawa” a series on faith and spirituality and “mSwali” a series on Money. This month we are doing an exposition on the book of Colossians entitled “A letter from Prison.”

All our ministry teams from the worship team to the hospitality team are growing exponentially as Plug-In graduates “plug-in” to ministry and serve passionately. We can humbly yet proudly say that TCR is a volunteer fueled church without whom we would not be where we are. There is much more to celebrate, including the growth of our numbers; our settling in this space and the permanent tent; the volunteer base that works so hard to keep the church running; the multitude of parents and children; the life and joy of fellowship; the privilege of visitors; the sounds of laughter and excitement before, during and after service; the opportunity to be ministered unto both corporately and individually . . . and much more. Ebenezer is a fit response as we celebrate our first anniversary. Thanks to all who have made TCR such a fellowship through their time, treasures, talents and care. We pray that God would bless you immensely, and that you will not tire from your labor of love. We pray that God will give us much more to celebrate. And that He will keep us focused with our Mission – Growing DEEP to Reach WIDE. There is still much more to be done, much more ground to be covered, much more evangelism, much more discipleship. In the coming season we seek to make inroads into atleast 5 more campuses, make major impact on the secondary and primary schools in the area, minister more effectively to couples in the community, reach out and empower the local business community towards more holistic practices. But today we pause to say thanks to the Lord for the wonderful year. Ebenezer!

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Late last year as we prepared to celebrate the birth of our Lord, we were met with shocking news, we would no longer renew our lease with Milele Beach Hotel our then landlords. We had been having weekend services in this venue for a year, we had grown to full capacity at our meeting place, we had looked around for other venues but were met with either hostile responses or just closed doors. Yes it was a church looking for space and because of religious covert intolerance; most people were unwilling to open the doors. We called on God help, and until the last month we had not secured a new place. Because God cared so much and wanted the church to thrive and have impact, he gave us a plot for lease right next to our former meeting place, we had not seen this property for the longest time we were here, and off course it had tenants then. Fast forward, we secured the place for church meetings, a Beach plot. Isn’t God Faithful? Yes as if that is not enough He favored us and we embarked on a building project which 2 A9 A

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we finished in 2months and within three months we did not experience a fall out but grew by 50%. We continued to aggressively reach our city; we saw in that period about 1500 accept Christ in their lives and we extended the love of God to our community through the events “Crazy Love”we were looking for a way to create room for conversations with people of other faiths and religions who are directly or indirectly hostile to Christianity, this was our Easter way of showing love: giving people free shoe clinic while setting a conversation about the love of Christ. “If it is not crazy don’t do it”: this has become a common saying at TCMsa today; we believe that the Love shown by Christ, the reason why we have eternal life today was so crazy we will never comprehend it. How a man would lay down his life for the whole world which he called friend, is Crazy, and we feel that we are called to show love not in similar manner as to die for others but at least to show crazy love to the people around us. It is the only way people will know we belong to Christ.

How you can prayer for Trinity Chapel Mombasa 1.

3. 4. 5.

Pray for laborers, yes we have committed not to close doors to any laborers, anyone with the vision for the harvest that is plenty. Pray for courage and focused leadership that will engage our city (Mombasa) with Love and without fear. Pray for salvation and our vision to disciple at least 1 in every 5 people in Mombasa Pray for resources that are vital for ministry. Economic stability as most of the members who work in hospitality industry have been affected by recent travel ban

We have now the vision to use our natural reach to reach up to 4million visitors to our beach each year which translates to mission opportunities that affect other parts of our nation and the world. We believe that everywhere the lord leads will always be too small for what He is doing in and through us. With this we keep creating room for God to extend his influence among us. We deliberately refuse to be reactive but proactive as thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what faith demands. Trinity Chapel thrives and we are now 19 months old. In our little time of existence we have grown and have courageously sought to help prepare the ways for people to find God and deeply fall in love with him to the extent that they will be greatly compelled to spread that love wide. Our definition of DEEP and WIDE. Now by the grace of God we are called the Church by the Beach. Recently our Crazy Love event; that seeks to create a Love space for missions within our society managed to reach hundreds with the love of God through acts of kindness within Mombasa town. This not only surprised us how most people of different faiths felt the Love of God but also that it went on national television and newspapers. We are now celebrating a stronger team of staff and volunteers and the growth in discipleship through our 7 E-groups scattered around Mombasa. We are now ready more than before to engage Mombasa unapologetically.

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by Desmond N. Gichuru Some years ago, a London newspaper carried an interesting advertisement placed by a famous explorer. It ran thus: “Men Wanted for hazardous darkness, and constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” The newspaper reported that the advert attracted an overwhelming response. Commenting on this, Warren Wiersbe, an American pastor, wrote, “If Jesus Christ had placed an advert for workers, the announcement in it might have read something like this: ‘Men and Women Wanted for difficult task of helping to build My Church. You will often be misunderstood, even by those working with you. You will face constant attack from an invisible enemy. You may not see the results of your labour, and your full reward will not come till after all your work is completed. It may cost you your home, your ambitions, even your life.’” And what do you suppose would have been the response reported? Well, according to christian researchers Scott Thumma and Warren Bird, in their book The Other 80 Percent, only 20 percent of most church congregants do 80 percent of the work. The rest are mostly spectators who make minimal, infrequent or no contribution at all. Surely an uneven proportion.

Ordinary people’s extraordinary achievements

As you read about the first church in the New Testament, you meet with a contrary scenario. Whole churches were so vibrant that they attracted both the admiration and persecution from the world of their time. Paul wrote of the Corinthian church, “For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia... and your zeal has provoked very many...” (2 Corinthians 9:2). You also notice that out of the seven churches appraised by Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3, six were praised for their zeal in service. And consider the Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th century, a movement sparked by Martin Luther,

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William Tyndale and many others. These were solitary individuals and small bands of poor and simple folk who changed the course of the history. And waves and waves of persecution, rather than quell, only fuelled the energy of Christianity’s progress and brought forth great church leaders. For example, the little-known revival that swept through central Kenya during the in the Mau-Mau uprising (1952-1960) produced such virulent personalities as Obadiah Kariuki. He became a christian leader at a time and place where it was most inconvenient: because he stood in peril of the Mau-Mau for refusing to take their blood oath; and in peril of the colonial government, on suspicion of harbouring the Mau-Mau. He was just a shepherd boy who would, in his later life, organise the first national, interdenominational prayer meetings to pray for Kenya’s peace and unity during the colonialism-independence transition. There was nothing really charismatic about these people or noteworthy about their family lineage. It is evident that God glorifies Himself in picking out very unremarkable people then turning them into unquenchable firebrands —simple saints who spread the fragrance of Christ everywhere they went. Many of these crowned their service for Christ with martyrdom. In those days, it was a bad gamble to be a christian in name only, or just a Sunday attendee. Tertullian, an early church historian, had said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” As we look back at them from our time it almost seems as though they belonged to a different religion altogether. So what changed? The irony of modern life is that modern conveniences have made our efforts for Christ’s Gospel so few and weak. Perhaps we may say that we are not adequately gifted spiritually. But while we may not know our spiritual gifts, we certainly cannot say that we have no gift. Pastor Oscar Muriu, in his September 2013 sermon series Get Connected, declares that natural talents are possessed

by all human beings, and that spiritual gifts are possessed by all christians. To do your part in building the Kingdom of God, he says, you only need to be faithful, available and teachable. And usually your natural and spiritual abilities are complementary. For instance, a christian with a flair for public-speaking is likely to have the gift of pastoral ministry; and one who has great interpersonal skills will excel at hospitality. This Jesus showed in the parable of the talents, how the master gave to each servant according to his ability. When the master came back to reckon with his servants there were those who had multiplied what was entrusted to them, and those who had been too afraid to venture out.

Going out on a limb

We know that everyone who has ever distinguished himself or herself in history first rose from their resting position. They then stepped forward as a prospect of faith at the risk of failure, embarrassment or certain death! Fear is the greatest limitation to any venture any of us would make for the glory of God, and it is usually the first

enemy that must be challenged. While fear cannot always be mastered, even by those who have already done great exploits with their gifts, it can be resisted every time it rears up before us. Courage, remember, is not for the fearless; it is for those who are honestly and completely terrified! The early Christians also kept their eternal reward in view — what Pastor Muriu calls, “The Oscars in Heaven.” Aiming to make your mark in history with our natural talents is building on sinking sand; but bringing your natural and spiritual gifts to bear for the sake of the Kingdom of God is building on the Rock of Ages. At the end of your life you can, like Paul, say “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that Day” (2 Timothy 4:8) And with that end in mind, you can step out. Sources references: 1. Our Daily Bread, June 18 2. Thumma, Scott, The Other 80 Percent, 2011 3. Muriu, Oscar, Get Connected, September 2013, Nairobi Chapel 4. Smoker, Dorothy W., Ambushed by Love, 1994 5. Scripture citations from the King James Version

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MAY GOD MOVE OUR HEARTS * The layouts and diagrams depicted here are a proposal. No actual plan has been completed or agreed upon.

ll the g of Persia, in order to fulfi “In the first year of Cyrus kin ved mo RD LO the , by Jeremiah word of the LORD spoken tion ma cla Persia to make a pro the heart of Cyrus king of to put it in writing.” His throughout his realm and d of se words “The LORD Go proclamation included the he kingdoms of the earth and heaven has given me all the lem usa Jer at a temple for him has appointed me to build in Judah.” after spoken many years These words were the ried car Jerusalem and Nebuchadnezzar destroyed th dea as captives but after his Jews away to Babylon king by Persia in 539 AD and Babylon was overthrown time. ruling authority at the Cyrus of Persia was the was it h, we a servant of Yah And although he was not d use be 45:6 that Cyrus would prophesied in Isaiah 44:28to true s to their homeland. And by God to return the Jew exiled the rn retu to through him the prophecy, God worked ke a ma to rt by moving his hea Jews to their homeland m the ir return, giving proclamation allowing the

protection, money and the temple articles taken Nebuchadnezzar. by This proclamation also allowed the Jews to work together accomplish to the huge task of the rebuilding Temple. heart to rebuild When God moved Cyrus and the people of God to go up the Temple, Cyrus called “the lem. Scripture states that rebuild the Temple in Jerusa the and sts prie the Benjamin and family heads of Judah and ed par pre ved heart God had mo Levites-everyone whose ” lem usa se of the LORD in Jer to go up and build the hou at h others, to accomplish wh (Ezra 1:5). Cyrus moved wit tures rt because significant ven God had placed in his hea n is ctio fun ry because eve require team work simply us to an task. This would me required to accomplish the ility responsib that we can make it our lling God’s fulfi s ard to call others tow before but , purpose for our church y that pra calling them; we need to rts to desire God will move their hea rt’s desire to be used to fulfill the hea church. our of the most High God for inning of a This year marks the beg the Nairobi season in our vision as in setting beg Chapel where we a permanent foundational plans to build rship that we structure, a place of wo d has placed have all longed to see. Go leaders, he our this desire in the hearts of start dreaming has moved their hearts to t to accomplish and planning of how bes

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this huge task, but just like Cyrus, they are calling us to move with them towards fulfilling this dream to build a place of worship that will serve this generation and the generations to come. This task calls us to organize a capital campaign and in brief the capital drive timetable is as follows: 1. 2014 – Complete Master Plan 2. 2014 & 2015 – Put the Funds Team Together 3. January 2016 – Begin the Capital Drive to raise funds This means that already, the leadership is in the process of planning for the capital campaign, and some of the tasks involved include forming teams that will run with the vision, seeking the best way to communicate the details and also finalizing on the master plan. This will eventually lead us to a season of intense giving beginning the year 2016. As we move towards this period our prayer is that God will move our hearts such that we will move with what He has given us to build His temple because this project will requires a wide range of resources and gifting. You will notice in Ezra 1:6 that the people going to rebuild the temple were assisted by their neighbors with articles of silver and gold, with supplies for the journey and livestock, and scripture records that they gave them many valuable gifts in addition to all the freewill offerings. As we pray God to move our

hearts and the hearts of others, may we also pray that God will provide all the required resources for His work. May we also be prepared to support God’s work according to God’s blessing and favor upon us. May this testimony in Ezra 2:69 be given of us “…according to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work…” We pray that the first way God will move you to give towards his work according to your ability is through your prayers, you will therefore receive a lot of information on the different ways we will call you to stand in the gap for this project because we strongly believe that prayer moves mountains. You will also receive a lot of communication on the capital drive, which will be aimed to transfer the understanding and commitment to the vision from the Leadership, the staff and to the rest of the Congregation. The communication will include clear details on the project design, project architect and the project manager. The aim will be to keep you informed on what the big picture will look like, what the project entails, the project phases, the timelines, to keep clarity of the vision of the building, to clarify where this building is taking us and what Ministries will be facilitated and also to clarify what next in terms of the cost of the Project – In Total and in Phases – and to clarify the Ministry benefit to the Church. We will also update you on the gift mobilization strategy as we seek your support to identify and begin conversations with major gift donors as we aim at the goal of building a Network of Partners for Chapel’s Long term Vision: Not just people with Means but people connected and networked with people of means. Railway Station

Dedicated Bus Lane

Recreational Parks

Dedicated Bus Park 10 buses

Amphi - Theatre 1000pax

Parking Silo 9 Levels 3000 cars

Food Courts & Rental Offices Existing Road

Parking

Conference Halls & Church Sanctuary Shopping Mall & Church Offices

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MEET THE CHAPEL

FINANCIAL COMMITEE RAPHAEL LEKOLOOL Mr Lekolool holds a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales College of Cardiff, Cardiff Business School, U.K. A Bachelor of Science in Financial Services from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and a Degree in Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He is a certified member of ICPAK, and ACCA (Association of the Chartered Certified Accountants), ACIB (UK) Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Certified Internal Audit Quality Reviewer (IAA). Presently he is the Head of Internal Audit at Faulu Kenya Deposit Taking Microfinance. Mr Lekolool is the acting Chairman of the Financial Commitee

JACKIE HUNJA Mrs Hunja is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and an MBA in Strategic Management. In addition to this she has a Chatered Financial Analyst designation from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts. Jackie has also undertaken a Senior Finance Managers Module by Bottler Investment Group of Coca-Cola Company that covered operational excellence and supply chain management. Presently she is the Financial Planning & Analysis Manager (Business Unit) at Coca Cola Central, East and West Africa.

GERALD GAKIMA Mr Gakima holds a Bachelor in Commerce Financial Management and is currently pursuing a Master in Business Administartion. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of Certified Public Sectretary (CPS). Over the years he has undergone various management courses that assist him to better accomplish his tasks and responsibilities. Presently, My Gakima works as a Finance Manager at KPMG Kenya. KPMG in Kenya provides Audit, Tax, and Advisory services, delivering a globally consistent set of multidisciplinary financial and accounting capabilities based on deep industry knowledge.

DAVID OBULUTSA Mr. David Obulutsa holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Currently David works as a Tax Manager at the British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya Limited.

C H A P E L I T E S AU G U S T 2 0 1 4

NJERI NDEHI Miss Ndehi holds a Masters in Banking and Finance Law. In addition to this she has a Bachelor of Law. Over the years she has attended various courses in Leadership, Coaching, Relationship Management, Selling, Credit and various others. On 2 consecutive occassions, she was awarded the distinction among the "Top 40 under 40â&#x20AC;? Women Leaders in Kenya. Presently, she is the Director, Quality Assurance & Strategy at St. Hannahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School. Before this she worked at CfC Stanbic Bank as the Head of Corporate Banking.

OSCAR MURIU Pastor Oscar has served as the Senior Pastor of the Nairobi Chapel since 1991. In this time he has seen the church grow from a mere 20 people, to over 3,000 people with over 50 church plants. His personal mission is to raise up a legacy of African leaders for the Church of Christ worldwide. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of Delhi in India and an Masters of Divinity from the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST).

NICK KORIR Pastor Nick holds a Bachelor of Science in AppropriateTechnology Degree from Kenyatta University, and a Masters in Leadership Studies Degree from International Leadership University (ILU). He is passionate about investing in emerging Youth Leadership in Africa through Discipleship, Mentorship and Leadership Development. Pst Nick serves as the Executive Pastor of the Nairobi Chapel.

JANE MUNGAI Jane is Certified Public Accountant, a member of ICPAK, and holds a MBA in Strategic Planning. She is currently pursuing a course in Project Management. She had worked as an accountant in the Civil Service for many years prior to joining Nairobi Chapel in 2007. Jane is the Finance & Administration Director at Nairobi Chapel.

ESTHER NGUGI Esther is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of ICPAK. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi. She is currently pursing a Masters Degree in Finance & Investment. Esther is the Finance Manager at Nairobi Chapel. She also serves as the Secretary of the Finance Commitee

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TOTAL NON DESIGNATED INCOME: 177,092,672 28,262,087

CHURCH PLANTING

22,306,076

CAPITAL ACQUISITIONS

10,628,378

24,154,991

WORSHIP &SERVICES

OVERSIGHT

10, 427,408

PASTORAL CARE & EGROUPS

18,242,908

46,842,699

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

FINANCE, HR & ADMIN

16,228,125

QUEST, XP & BLITZ

TOTAL DESIGNATED INCOME: 61, 015, 986 21, 337, 479

Church Planting Support

11, 044, 571

Other Designated Activities

10, 091, 396

Jubilee Scholarship Fund Frontline Ministries

7, 047, 037

Plug-In program

4, 778, 847

Youth & Children Self funding

3, 581, 574

Marriage Ministry

3, 153, 082

AVERAGE SUNDAY ATTENDANCE

47% 2012

Average Sunday Attendance 37

C H A P E L I T E S AU G U S T 2 0 1 4

2500

2013

Average Sunday Attendance

3674

DECISIONS FOR CHRIST IN 2013

WEBSITE STATISTICS

QUEST SUNDAY SERVICES & PPI PROGRAM

CLUB XP SUNDAY SERVICES & HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY

AVERAGE MONTHLY WEBSITE VISITORS

OVER

BLITZ SUNDAY SERVICES

800

366

2013

9181 2012

OVER

32,521 PLUG-IN RETREATS

PEOPLE

4000

PAGES VIEWED MOST

AVERAGE MONTHLY NEW VISITORS

1300

2013

MISSIONS & OUTREACH

30,000

3787

52% 30%

HOMEPAGE

SERMONS

K-KREW HIGH SCHOOL MISSIONS

NEW CHURCH PLANTS & CHURCH PLANTING SCHOOL PLANTED

PLANTED

CHURCH PLANTING SCHOOL

12 Trinity Chapel Churches

Peri - Urban Churches IN KIBERA, KANGEMI, KARATINA & KARIOBANGI SOUTH

VIRAL CONFERENCE 2013 both 300 delegates local and

students admitted

international.

successfully completed the course

to the 80 responded call to plant churches during.

TRINITY CHAPEL RUIRU TRINITY CHAPEL KIGALI AVERAGE COMBINED TOTAL NUMBER OF VISITORS ON A SINGLE SUNDAY FROM THE ADULTS, QUEST, CLUB XP & BLITZ SERVICES

JUBILEE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

210 STUDENTS

2013

*Now 300 in 2014

SCHOLARS EVENTS

GRADUANTS JOINED THE TERTIARY COLLEGE PROGRAM

200

MENTORS

STUDENTS SAT FOR FINAL HIGH SCHOOL EXAMS

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Deloitte & Touche Certified Public Acountants (Kenya) Waiyaki Way, Muthangari P.O. Box 40092 –GPO 00100 Nairobi, Kenya

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT ON THE SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS TO THE MEMBERS OF NAIROBI CHAPEL – NGONG ROAD The accompanying summary financial statements, which comprise the statement of financial position as at 31 December 2013 and the statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in funds and statement of cash flows for the year then ended are derived from the audited financial statements of Nairobi Chapel – Ngong Road for the year ended 31 December 2013. We expressed a modified audit opinion with an emphasis of matter on those financial statements in our report dated 4 June 2014. The summary financial statements do not contain all the disclosures required by International Financial Reporting Standards. Reading the summary financial statements, therefore, is not a substitute for reading the audited financial statements of Nairobi Chapel – Ngong Road.

Elders’ Court Responsibility for the Summary Financial Statements The Elders’ Court is responsible for the preparation of a summary of the audited financial statements.

Auditors’ Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the summary financial statements based on our procedures, which were conducted in accordance with International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 810, “Engagements to Report on Summary Financial Statements.”

Opinion In our opinion, the summary financial statements derived from the audited financial statements of Nairobi Chapel – Ngong Road for the year ended 31 December 2013, are consistent, in all material respects, with those financial statements. The emphasis of matter on audited financial statements is described in our audit opinion in our report dated 4 June 2014.Emphasis of matter is based on the fact that the Chapel derives substantial proportion of income from voluntary contributions which are not susceptible to independent audit verification until they have been captured in the accounting records. However, we have reviewed the controls relating to the receipt and the recording of voluntary contributions to ensure that they have been adequately recorded. The emphasis of matter is to draw the reader’s attention but the opinion was not qualified in this respect.

Deloitte & Touche Certified Public Accountants (Kenya) 10 June 2014 Nairobi

AA 39

C H A P E L I T E S AU G U S T 2 0 1 4

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME 2013 2012

Ksh Ksh Income Tithes and Offerings Designated income Other incomes Sale of sermon CDs and books Interest received Total income

173,617,688 61,226,739 12,039,871 1,990,594 378,065

142,984,018 32,984,371 17,591,379 87,794 347,604

249,252,957

193,995,166

Expenditure Staff costs 82,542,826 76,288,293 Ministry expenses 94,603,642 61,123,527 Administration costs 55,386,153 51,523,741

Total Expenditure

232,532,621 188,935,561

Surplus for the Year 16,720,336 5,059,605

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION 2013 2012

Ksh Ksh ASSETS Non current assets

Property and equipment 91,262,641 81,897,574 Intangible assets 219,334 150,374 91,481,975 82,047,948

Current assets Deposits and prepayments 3,392,098 1,981,558 Grants receivable 161,827 Cash and bank 31,191,229 23,121,672 Total assets

126,227,129

107,151,178

Borrowings Payables and accruals Unexpended funds Long term liabilities

823,614 11,138,447 11,828,687

713,064 9,028,098 10,870,352

23,790,748

20,611,514

FUND BALANCES AND LIABILITIES Current liabilities

Borrowings 30,026,248 30,849,867 Fund balances Accumulated fund Balance 72,410,133 55,689,797

Total fund balances and liabilities

126,227,129

107,151,178

MESSAGE FROM THE ELDERS COURT The above financial statements are extract from the records of Nairobi Chapel – Ngong Road. They were approved by the Elders Court on 4 June 2014 and were signed on its behalf by:

Gerald Macharia James Kaniaru For Chairman Treasurer

C H A P E L I T E S AU G U S T 2 0 1 4

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 2013 2012 Ksh Ksh Cash flows from operating activities Surplus for the year

16,720,336

5,059,605

Depreciation of property and equipment

10,877,924

9,383,196

Amortisation on intangible assets

85,540

27,003

Loss on disposal of motor vehicle

118,750

Assets write off

1,362,090

Cash flows before working capital changes

29,045,890

14,588,554

Increase/(decrease) in deposits and prepayments

(1,410,540)

10,233,254

Increase in payables and accruals

2,110,350

4,727,569

Net movement in designated funds

796,507

2,464,914

Net cash flows generated from operating activities

30,542,207

32,014,291

Purchase of property and equipment

(21,605,081)

(64,932,739)

Purchase of intangible assets

(154,500)

(162,036)

Proceeds on disposal of motor vehicle

600,000

Net cash flows used in investing activities

(21,759,581)

(64,494,775)

Proceeds from borrowings

32,000,000

Repayments on borrowings

(713,069)

(437,069)

Net cash flows generated from financing activities

(713,069)

31,562,931

Adjustments for:

Working capital changes

Cash flows from investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities

(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents

8,069,557

(917,553)

Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January

23,121,672

24,039,225

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December

31,191,229

23,121,672

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CALENDAR

Aug - Oct 2014

AUG

1st eNight

11th -15th Quest Adventure Camp 17th Vuma Graduation Day

2nd Aug - 20th Oct Couples Enrichment Focus Season II 11th -22nd Kawangware Reading Camp 23rd Volunteers Fun Day

31st Aug - 2nd Nov Pre Marital Counselling Class Season III

SEPT OCT

3rd -5th Naynet Youth Conference 3rd eNight

3rd Man Enough Graduation 18th -22nd Quest Johari Camp

24th eFair

3rd - 4th Teacher’s Trainees Retreat

VUMA: Ex Candidate Program Volunteers Fun Day: We celebrate our volunteers with a day of fun activities and team building

13th Man Enough Launch

5th Plug-In Mid Season Launch 5.

30th Quest Sports Day

8th - 10th Plug-In Season II Retreat Prt 1

16th - 17th Jubilee Scholars Day 31st Launch Of Plug-In Season III

27th Plug-In All-Star Seasons Challenge

28th Oscar Awards

18th - 20th Weekend Couples Enrichment

eNite: A prayer night held at the Church sanctuary after every two months. Runs from 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Quest Sports Day: A day of sporting activities for the

Oscar Awards: An annual event where we celebrate the people who serve among us in various ministries.

children at sunday school

Naynet Conference: Youth workers conference.

Chapel’s Day Out: A family fun day that will see the close

Teachers Training: Training that seeks to better equip

to the Big Month of August

PRAYERS Tuesday 6:00pm - 8:00pm We invite you to join us every Tuesday at our Green House Offices for evening prayers and devotions. Bring a friend.

Sunday 9:00am and 11:00am Every Sunday we hold prayers during the first and second services. Join us at the Church Prayer Tent located at the back of the Hyperdome

Fourth Saturday of Every Month 6:30am-8:00am We extend an invite to all to join us every 4th Saturday morning at the Church Hyperdome for prayers and devotions. Bring a friend. AA

15th - 17th Plug-In Season II Retreat Prt 2

24th Plug-In Graduation

6th - 8th Nov Pre Marital Counselling Classes

4th - 8th Medical Camp

31st Chapel’s Day Out

3rd Grill & Grill

C H A P E L I T E S AU G U S T 2 0 1 4

the teachers who serve in the children ministry.