In February 2019, Pastor Dean received an email from an aspiring pastor in a small village in western Kenya which would ultimately set in motion an partnership between our own Creekside Bible Church and a church on a hill in Nyabondo – and an amazing work of God’s Holy Spirit and demonstration of the Father’s provision that continues today.

Kennedy Omondi, a young man with a loving wife and two (now three) beautiful girls, had previously served as an associate in a church in Homa Bay. During his time at this “prosperity gospel” church, Kennedy began to search the Scriptures and discovered a large disconnect between the gospel preached by Jesus and that being displayed in the church he was a part of. Kennedy began to ask questions, which led to his being dismissed from the church and even spending six months in prison for “preaching without a license”. Shortly afterward he reached out to Creekside, anxious to find someone – anyone – who would be willing to walk through their Statement of Faith and help him understand the real “good news” of Jesus Christ.

Kennedy had a burning passion to preach and to share the gospel with others, but he faced a number of obstacles: he had no formal training, he had no “sponsoring” affiliation with a church, and he had no building and no congregation. At the time, he and a few others would meet for “church” in their rented home – but quietly, since they weren’t legally able to actually hold church services.

Dean reached out to Kennedy in response to Kennedy’s email, and soon they were having weekly discussions where they walked through Creekside’s Statement of Faith in great detail. Creekside’s elders were in complete agreement with the idea of helping Kennedy gain a theological education, and Grace School of Theology had the remote learning options to make that a reality.

Over the course of the last three years, we have seen God’s hand moving in a mighty way in the life of Kennedy Omondi and his fledgling church, christened “Creekside Hilltop Bible Church” (CHBC).

From the seemingly miraculous provision of land on the hilltop by a widow in the area, to support of efforts to raise crops through droughts and floods, to the construction of a church building (which has since needed to be expanded due to being at full capacity!), to the provision of a parsonage (where Kennedy and his family routinely provide hospitality to multiple widows and their children), to the construction of a chicken coop to provide food for the community, Creekside has been able to financially partner with and support the work of God at CHBC Kenya. On any given Sunday, CHBC provides spiritual and physical nourishment to a huge congregation, including nearly 70 children and orphans who are able to be fed.

Despite the pandemic conditions, a drought, and skyrocketing food costs, CHBC has still been able to send six young people to high school with Creekside’s support – something that previously these young men and women would never have dreamed of being able to do. The challenge today is that there are more youth that want a shot at going to high school than either CHBC or Creekside have the resources to support!

Since partnering with CHBC Kenya, we here at Creekside have been privileged to walk with them through their joys and their sorrows, celebrating the birth of a new child or mourning with them as they bury a beloved member of the church. We’ve seen them overcome spiritual opposition, like that experienced by Nehemiah rebuilding the wall and temple in Jerusalem. We’ve seen them minister to families who had literally nothing to eat, and without even a mattress to sleep on but just a pile of rags on a muddy dirt floor.

Even today, through our prayers and financial gifts, former members of Creekside continue to walk alongside Creekside Hilltop Bible Church as they minister to widows, to orphans, to youth, and to families in very difficult conditions in and around Nyabondo, Kenya.

We would like to invite you to “come on God’s mission” with us as we work with Pastor Kennedy and CHBC Kenya. God is doing great things through CHBC, and we would love for you to be a part of it. To learn more about how you can help, you can visit Kennedy’s support page through Modern Day Missions.