Please pray for our new church members in Kosele!

We are happy to report an increase in church membership in our little church in Kosele.

Crossing the river for baptisms

During their visit to Kosele last August our friends from Chipping Camden Baptist Church and fellow trustees John and Vanessa Appleton baptised new believers into our church family. We are all excited by this addition to our church and ask that you would pray for them as they start their new life as followers of Jesus. We believe that the church has a critical role to play in transforming the community in Kosele. We take our inspiration from the book of Acts.

Baptism in the river

"All the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity - all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved."
(Acts 2:45-47 New Living Translation)

On a mission from God

As a Christian Organisation our faith is central to everything that we do in our work.

It is easy to sound very pious when you explain the spiritual foundations of an organisation like ours. Hope and Kindness is based on the very simple principle that the Good News of Jesus Christ does not simply improve lives - it transforms them beyond belief. Judi and Terry built Hope and Kindness out of their faith in Jesus and continue to be joined in the work by people in England, Scotland and Kenya who share that faith. Hope and Kindness is simply about faith in action.

Judi and Terry began their work in Kenya two years after they became Christians in 2002.

Terry takes up the story.

"When we became Christians we never dreamed that our lives would be so completely changed so quickly. Serving God is a humbling experience. He really is a God of healing and restoration. Before we accepted Jesus into our lives Judi and I had been going through a tough time. If we hadn't got saved I'm sure that we would be divorced by now. Jesus came into our lives at just the right moment. He turned our marriage around and then turned our lives upside down.

God doesn't do things by halves. Within two years of being saved Judi and I found ourselves on a plane to Kenya with our children Tom and Ellie. At this time God had already done a great deal in our lives - restored our marriage, given us a fresh enthusiasm for life and a new sense of purpose. We had become active church members. We were both involved in youth work and I had re-ignited my youthful passion for music through leading worship. God gave us such a lot back - it was as if he was trying to help us make up for lost time.

We never dreamt we would also be starting a church!

God clearly has an amazing sense of humour! Before the year 2000 I would have struggled to imagine myself in a church building other than for a wedding or a funeral - let alone preaching at a church I had started and leading Bible study classes. But that's what happened. The "Sunday School" we started for the children quickly grew into a small church.

The church at Kosele has continued to grow since then. We now have a "permanent" structure for our church services and a small but loyal congregation. We have been supported over the years by a number of friends from England and Scotland who have encouraged us and, more recently, by the Elim church in Kenya. God is good - all the time.

Ministry Vision

Hope and Kindness was born out of the experience of living and working in a rural community in Western Kenya.Hope and Kindness has been established to:

Declare the Truth In God's word

Seek Justice for God's people

Share the Peace of a Spirit filled life

The practical outworking of this vision is set out in Isaiah 33:16-20

“Live right
Speak the truth
Despise exploitation
Refuse bribes
Reject violence
Avoid evil amusements
This is how you raise your standard of living
A safe, stable way to live
A nourishing, satisfying way to live”
(The Message )

  It is our dream that by pursuing these biblical principles in our own lives and the working of the Ministry we will be able to establish Christian communities which allow people to enjoy:

“A quiet and permanent place to live – secure as a tent with pegs that cannot be pulled up and fastened with ropes that can never be broken”
(Isaiah 33:20 The Message and Contemporary English Version)

  In the context of our work with orphans and poor rural communities in Kenya we believe in the promise given in Zechariah 8:4.

This is what the Lord God Almighty says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem's streets with a cane and sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.

In troubled times the very old and the very young are often the first to suffer, but both groups are plentiful in this vision, filling the streets with their normal, everyday activities.

THIS IS A SIGN OF THE COMPLETE PEACE AND JUSTICE THAT GOD DESIRES FOR THE WORLD

We believe that by declaring the truth of God's word, seeking justice for God's people and sharing the peace of a spirit filled life we can fulfil Christ's Great Commission for us and help communities to enjoy the certainty of salvation and the abundant life that God has promised. To this end we intend to establish Christian communities whose members:

“Tell the truth, the whole truth when [they] speak. Do the right thing by one another …. Don't cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don't do or say what isn't so.”
(Zechariah 8: 14-17 The Message)

And in doing so keep their lives “ simple and honest ”
(Zechariah 8:17 The Message)

In our Church we teach
“Treat one another justly, Love your neighbours, Be compassionate with each other, Don't take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors and the poor. Don't plot and scheme against one another”
(Zechariah 7:10 – The Message)