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THE KENYA EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
After having a very brief introduction about Kenya, I now wish to proceed and discuss the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church also in brief. The introduction made about Kenya, will assist us in having a better view of the happiness and sorrows shared by our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are struggling to keep the church of Christ alive, in this part of the globe. |
- Historical Background
While the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church is a recognized religious body in Kenya, it does not claim to be the founder of the Lutheran work in its area of jurisdiction. The Lutheran work was founded by German Lutheran Missionaries in the Machakos district, and Swedish Lutheran Missionaries in the Tana River District before the First World War.
Both the German and Swedish Missionaries left their mission fields at the beginning of the Second World War.
The young flock of Christians in these areas that was founded in accordance with the doctrine of the Lutheran Church, was then taken over by missions of a different denominational nature. |
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| While it sounded as if Lutheran-mission work had come to an end in Kenya after the closure of the missions of Machakos and Tana River, a revival of the work came into being in 1948 when the Swedish – Mission society, known as the Bible True Friends, started some Lutheran Mission work in Kisii, Western Kenya. |
2.Establishment of the work
When the Lutheran Mission work was taken over by missions of a different denominational nature, the Christian members concerned were never satisfied with the situation. They had always wished for a Lutheran Mission work to be re-established again for them. God heard and answered their prayers. After the East African countries (Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika (Tanzania) attained their independence at the beginning of the 60s; the East African Community was formed.
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This enabled a free movement of the subjects of the three countries which resulted in many Tanzanians moving from Tanzania to live in the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa either as employees or businessmen. Most of them were Lutherans.
While living and working in the two cities, they felt that they needed a Lutheran service and therefore, requested the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) to find ways and means of giving this needed service.
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3.Delegation From Tanzania
Following the requests, a delegation was sent by the E.L.C.T. to examine the issues concerning the call. The delegates included among others, the Executive General Secretary of the E.L.C.T; the late Mr. Joel Maeda and Dr. Daniel Triberg who was the Director for the Mission Department. They visited Nairobi and Mombasa in 1965. They also visited the Lutheran Church in Kisii, Western Kenya, to find out whether they would be willing to give the required services. Due to much commitment in Western Kenya, they were not ready to extend their services to meet the new demand.
The Lutheran church in Kisii, however accepted the suggestion that there should be a Board of Governors to oversee the work in Nairobi and Mombasa with a view to hading over the work to the Lutheran Church in Kisii later. The board had a good start and was financially supported by the Lutheran World Federation through the E.L.C.T. department for mission work.
The first Pastors who were sent to minister to the Christians in Nairobi and Mombasa were: Rev. Ernest Mhando, Nairobi, and Rev. Silas Jengo, Mombasa. They were later followed by Rev. Yesse Stefano, Nairobi and Rev. Nkanileka Pazia, Mombasa.
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4.Termination Of The Board Of Governors
The board of Governors operated for only one year (1965/66) and was terminated. The L.C.K. (Lutheran Church of Kenya) withdrew itself from the board claiming that the E.L.C.T. interfered with its work and that, they (L.C.K.) were contented with the area of their work.
Following the termination, the Department for World Mission of the L.W.F. carried out an investigation to find out the reasons behind the termination of the board of Governors.
The L.W.F. recommended therefore, that the two Churches should continue operating. The L.C.K. to the West while the E.L.C.T. to the East. That is how the problem was solved and the work of the lord continued to be carried out.
5.Change Of Original Aim And Approach.
When the cooperation between the E.L.C.T. and the L.C.K. was terminated, it became necessary for the services of the E.L.C.T. to be legally recognized in Kenya, hence, it was decided that the work should not be introduced as mission work but as a Synod which would then lead to the formation of an independent Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya. The synod was called Kenya synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – in short, E.L.C.T. – Kenya Synod. The Synod was officially registered in Kenya on 3rd July, 1968.
After the new synod was registered, the next step was to expand and localize it for its life, hence, mission work started in order to bring the church to the people. |
email: info@kelc.or.ke |
