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NAKURU, Kenya - A fifteen-minute drive East of Lake Nakuru will take you beyond the dazzling flamingos, hay-colored grass, scrubby acacia trees, and into city streets paved with garbage bags and trash.
This is the ugly side of Nakuru, the backdrop of Parkview church—a congregation whose growth is about as impressive as the 20-ft evergreens that line the manicured lawns; remarkable since, like the trees, Parkview was planted just five years ago.
“We are focused,” says Pastor David Maina, a jolly man with a perpetual grin.
Asked how he explains 250 church members and counting, Maina says outreach and evangelism have been the dual foundations of his church.
Pastor David Maina
“We are not just taking care of the flock,” he says.
Evangelism & Outreach
Imagine a Toronto-area pastor finishing his sermon and announcing an afternoon of door-to-door evangelism to his already hungry and fidgety congregation. Picture the turnout.
This, however, is what it’s like on the first Sunday of every month at Parkview. Church service means an afternoon of community outreach.
Two days a week the church also hosts a children’s immunization program at its very own clinic.
“When those people come, they are not just given medical service,” says 33-year-old elder George Nganga. As mothers wait in line, church volunteers meet and share Christ with them.
The church has come a long
way since meetings were
held in a small classroom
down the road.
Challenges
As with any church, Parkview faces challenges. A steady flow of new believers has meant a lack of discipleship, admits Pastor Maina. Also, people are not used to giving.
“This robs us of development,” he says. Asked how he deals with these problems, Maina says it’s up to the church leadership to set a good example.
“There’s a song we sing in Kikuyu,” he says. “‘Tell me now and then the Good News of the Word of God so that I might know its value.’
“We as leaders should not get tired of telling people more and more.”¤ |
