PCEA Urisho Church in Arusha, Tanzania was dedicated in June with a happy celebration. The church is located on top of Mount Meru, just outside Arusha.
From our base in Kikuyu, it took all day to drive to Arusha for the dedication. We got to the border at noon, and it took about two hours to cross because of the paperwork for the vehicle. The main language of Tanzania is Swahili, and very few people speak English.
Read MoreThe Outreach Foundation has come alongside the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) to help them build churches in difficult areas. Once these churches are established, members do mission work in their communities like building schools and ministering to those in need. Coordinating this work is Outreach’s East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross, who works closely with PCEA leadership. Stu recently sent the following:
Last Sunday, October 16, Simba Cement Church was dedicated. The church is located in Maasai Land near a large cement factory, thus the name Simba Cement Church.
Read MoreWorking closely with PCEA leadership, Outreach’s East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross coordinates the construction of many churches in East Africa. Stu sent this note about one of the newest PCEA churches:
The dedication of Kianjau Church was very different in many ways. The group that helped build this church was from TOLI (Touch of Love International). We have been partnering with them for about six years. They do micro-loans and have been working in the Kiandutu slum next to the church. They have already given out over forty loans and by year’s end will have given out over one hundred. Many of their loans are going to single mothers with few skills and few opportunities. They not only provide loans but also provide training on how to run a business, open a bank account, and choose a sustainable enterprise.
Read MoreStu Ross, East Africa Mission Consultant, recently sent this note about the dedication of PCEA Churiri Church in Kenya. The church was built in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA); Memorial Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC; Mid-Atlantic Synod Men’s Council through the Nendeni Outreach Program; and The Outreach Foundation.
Read MoreClean drinking water is a much sought-after commodity in East Africa. The Outreach Foundation and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) have partnered to bring water to thirsty villages. East Africa Mission Consultant Stu Ross recently sent a report on this life-changing partnership:
Water is life! Over 50% of Kenyans don’t have piped water. It has to be fetched, mainly by women and children, in 20-liter cans. The water may be up to 15 km (10+ miles) away, which makes this an all-day job, two-three times a week. Consequently, mothers are not at home and children miss school. In Maasai land, where water is far away in many villages, children and adults aren’t able to wash regularly and skin disease is common. Diarrhea and dysentery are also widespread diseases where water is either not available or not clean.
Read MoreStu Ross, East Africa Mission Consultant, recently sent this note about the dedication of PCEA Ndagara Church in Kenya. The church was built in partnership with First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN.
Dear friends,
Today, February 6, 2022, we dedicated Ndagara Church in Laikipia Presbytery, which is about a six-hour drive from home. Although we have already built six churches in the Presbytery,
Read MoreWe recently received this note from Stu Ross, Outreach’s East Africa Mission Consultant.
The Matasia Boys’ High School library is the seventh library we have built. On January 20, we placed and organized 2,000 books on the shelves. In schools where we have built libraries, students’ grades have improved.
Read MoreDear friends,
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many churches could not be dedicated after they were completed. So, we recently dedicated four churches and have about ten more to be dedicated soon. The four churches are located in Kieni West Presbytery, a very poor, dry area that has not received much attention. The Very Rev. Jesse Kamau, a past Moderator and good friend of The Outreach Foundation, dedicated the churches. The Rev. Kamau is known as the father of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).
PCEA Imani Church
Mugunda Parish in Kieni West Presbytery
Dedicated October 7, 2021
Imani Church started in 1984 in the Rutunguru Primary School. Soon after its inception, a church member donated the land and a wooden structure was constructed around 1990. The wooden structure served the congregation for many years but was leaning due to termite infestation. Over the years the church grew and was vibrant in the community. But they needed a larger church that would survive termites. The new church will allow the congregation to grow and thrive.
Read MoreOn February 21, we dedicated PCEA Kirathimo Church. Because of COVID, the congregation waited a year for us to complete the church. The foundation stone was laid in November 2019 in anticipation of a group coming in March 2020 but they were unable to travel, so The Outreach Foundation completed the work in January 2021. The project included the church and two classrooms.
We first dedicated the two classrooms for the 71 children that currently attend. They would like to continue building two classrooms a year until eight are completed, which is a complete primary school.
Read MoreDear friends,
Today, January 10th, we dedicated PCEA Kiburuti Church. The first picture shows the former church building and the second picture is their new church. EVERYONE was very excited about “their new modern church.” It was completed in about three months with the congregation doing all the masonry work and then donors through The Outreach Foundation finishing the upper part of the church.
When the construction started at the end of October, the church had 40 members. By the time the church was completed the congregation had increased their numbers to 60. I predict the church will grow to 100 by year’s end.
The church is located in Central Province about a five-hour drive from our home base. It is at the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains, beautiful countryside. Despite the beauty, the people living here are subsistence farmers and have very little.
This is a very special church for all of us in Kenya and our Outreach colleagues in the U.S. since it honors The Outreach Foundation’s recently retired Executive Director Rob Weingartner
Read MoreStu Ross links U.S. congregations with East African partners to strengthen the church for God’s mission. Through these efforts, over 300 churches and over 150 schools have been built, hundreds of girls have been cared for and over 500 evangelists have been trained. The following report from Stu includes information about partnerships between the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and The Outreach Foundation:
PCEA Church Construction
PCEA Mabati School Construction
Girls’ Education and Rescue Centers
Clean Drinking Water in Kenya
Despite COVID and curfews and masks, the work of The Outreach Foundation continues – cautiously – here in East Africa. Travel and work during this time have been difficult. We currently have about 125 workers and no positive COVID tests.
This year we will complete twenty churches and three schools. Many of the churches were great distances from our home in Kikuyu. Many were in very isolated areas.
Read MoreBased in Kikuyu, Kenya, Stu Ross is responsible for partnering through the Mission Projects Committee of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) in a ministry of building schools, churches, and girls’ rescue centers as well as managing water projects. Stu helps link U.S. congregations with East African partners to strengthen the church for God’s mission. We recently received the following update from Stu:
Everything in Kenya has been shut down since March 23. Kenya has a dusk to dawn curfew which is strictly enforced. There is no movement allowed between counties. This has affected our church construction work in Kenya since that would involve moving from one county to another. Consequently, construction has stopped on ten churches that were in the process of being built.
Read MoreOn November 1, we dedicated Itangi Church. This was the fourth baby of the mother Gateway Church in Embu, which was built in 2007. Itangi Church was started in 2014 in a rented 8 x 8-foot metal structure. They celebrated their first Holy Communion on April 15, 2014. Then in 2017 they struggled to buy a one-acre plot of land and constructed their old church. After a while, their 65 members couldn’t fit into that church so they visited me to see if we could partner in building a new modern church.
Their new church will seat about 500 members. It is a very different feeling going from a mud floor to a nice, clean tiled floor. At the dedication, the church was filled with worshipers, about 400 spaced somewhat for COVID. There were also four tents outside with another 300 people. There were many visitors and many more from other parish churches.
Read MoreIn partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda (EPR), The Outreach Foundation has helped build several new sanctuaries in Rwanda and complete a few more with roofs, windows, and doors. Here are excerpts from a note that Outreach Africa Mission Specialist Frank Dimmock received from Kicukiro church pastor the Rev. Julius Ngendahayo:
I'm happy to hear from you and for your commitment to the partnership between Outreach and EPR. This will be helpful in the development and growth of the church. May God be with you. I will be with you in prayer.
As you mentioned, the most urgent projects are the construction of churches. Kicukiro, Ndera, and Kiruhura are the three churches that need your prayers and support. The rainy season is coming and church members are not able to complete these projects by themselves but they are doing their best to raise funds. Your advocacy for these projects is highly appreciated. Here are updates on the ongoing construction projects:
Read MoreThe Outreach Foundation and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), along with various local churches, have been partnering to provide clean drinking water in Kenya. Much of this work has concentrated on Maasai households in the Loodokilani Mission Area. The work provides water tanks to families and boreholes in communities.
The PCEA Women’s Water Tank Project in Loodokilani Mission Area was initiated by Presbyterian women in 2015 in partnership with The Outreach Foundation. This project is a wonderful mission agent, bringing many Maasai to Christianity through the Presbyterian Church in Kajiado West Sub-County.
The focus of the project is to address the acute need for water in the Maasai community. Through this project, 441 water tanks have been distributed to Maasai households (88% of the targeted 500 households). The Presbyterian women, Maasai families (the beneficiaries of the project) and PCEA Loodokilani Mission Area thank Outreach and U.S. Presbyterians for the generous financial support that has led to the success of the initiative.
Read MoreDear friends,
Several years ago, we partnered with Books for Development, a great organization in Houston that collects and sends books to needy schools and organizations. They have sent us two containers of books which have filled the shelves of two Linda’s Libraries and will fill two more we are constructing this year.
Thogoto Primary Library is one of our first primary school libraries and we are very happy with the outcome. We previously had a relationship with this school because we provided computers for their computer lab, which is now part of the new library. Our second primary school library is in Shalom Academy.
We have changed our library strategy slightly. We are still building Linda’s Libraries, two more this year, but we are also building smaller libraries at primary schools like Thogoto and Shalom.
Read MoreDear friends,
We recently received this joyful report from Stu and Annie Ross, The Outreach Foundation’s East Africa Mission Consultants:
Yesterday was a very eventful day for us. We dedicated PCEA Manyatta Church, the 300th church that The Outreach Foundation has assisted in building in East Africa. This is a great milestone but we reached this milestone only with the help of many partners and donors....and of course, God protected us and was with us throughout. As we do this Kingdom work, we move farther from our base to very difficult, remote and sometimes dangerous areas. Our aim is to spread the gospel to many that have not heard and to add capacity to those that have heard and can reach out and spread the good news of Jesus Christ themselves.
Read MoreDear friends and partners,
Gandini Church was dedicated on October 12. This church is unique in many ways. Located about 90 minutes north of Mombasa one hour off the Mombasa highway in the bush, it is in a heavily Muslim area. Quite remote! So far not too unusual but here comes the uniqueness. The four-acre plot that the new church sits on was donated by a Muslim, Mzee Piro, and his wife who are now church members. Piro said he wanted to have an altar that his people could go to. Also unique about Gandini Church is that half of the members came from the Islam faith and 97 percent are from the Duruma tribe. This is the first Duruma church with PCEA.
This church started in 2004 under a tree until a mabati structure was built. The original structure blew over once before their new church was built. In 2012, they began building their new church. I received a call from the Moderator of the General Assembly last June asking if we could help with the cement floor. We agreed to help, and when I visited and learned the story about Muslims being converted, we decided to find funds to help complete the church with the assistance of the Pwani Presbytery.
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