On their return to Kenya, Bishop Thomas and Rebecca Imende served as Senior Pastor at the Mariakani Christian Centre in Nairobi before the Lord called them to start New Hope Outreach Ministries in 1990. The journey of New Hope Outreach Ministries started in a very humble, yet miraculous way. When the Imendes left Mariakani Christian Centre they moved from place to place pitching tents and renti
ng meeting rooms to share the Word of God. All this time they were trusting God to provide land so that they could build a church to cater for the growing needs of the people whom they were serving. Bishop Imende went to Bishop Arthur Kitonga’s office to discuss the matter with him. To his surprise Bishop Kitonga informed him that he was taking a delegation of women to meet with the president of Kenya the very next day and would request that Bishop Imende accompany the delegation. After the meeting he presented the former president, Daniel arap Moi with his written request for allocation of land for a church. That is exactly what this country and city needs!" and without further discussion, the President stamped the letter, approving the request for land immediately. That is how the Imendes were allocated the land New Hope Ministries is headquartered. Of course it took more than a year of following up with the Ministry of Lands to formally get the papers but, thanks be to God, they finally did. New Hope Outreach Ministries services started in a small old rented tent, which the Imendes used to pitch every Saturday evening in preparation for the Sunday service. If it rained on Friday or Saturday before they had pitched the tent the cotton soil would become wet and sticky. When one would sit on the metal chairs they would sink about three to four inches into the ground. Pastor Rebecca remembers a lady whose chair sank so deep in the soil that she was so embarrassed thinking that it was because of her weight! Many times members of the congregation would have to move around on the grass to find a less soggy spot that would hold their chairs. That old rented small tent was quite a challenge. The first day they rented the tent it was so windy that Pastor Rebecca prayed all through the service that it would not give way and fall on the congregation. God graciously heard her prayer. Every Saturday they would pitch the tent and bring it down on Monday morning. Their metal chairs were stored at the house of one of their members, the Angakas, who were not too far from the church. For a whole year, Bishop Tom Imende had to wake up before dawn every Sunday morning to go and carry the 150 chairs from the Angakas house to the old tent and then return them after the service.er prayer and the tent stayed in place in spite of the shaking by the wind. However, when they came back for the evening service, lo and behold that old tent was flat on the ground. They had no choice but to hold the evening service under the open sky. Tom finally got a relief when a temporary structure made up of wooden walls and an iron sheet roof was put up. This was a faith venture and team work. Men, women, youth and children were all involved. Every Saturday members of the church worked together in harmony to get this structure up. In order for them to do the foundation, men went out to the nearby field to dig out stones. Youth and children used wheelbarrows to bring these stones to the site. Some women joined hands carrying heavy stones to the site. Other women carried one or two stones depending on their ability. Older women who could not carry stones made snacks for the others to eat during lunch break. During this break the members would fellowship together and bond. Finally, the foundation was done. The poles were put all around the foundation and the timbers to hold the iron sheets. The challenge was now to buy iron sheets for roofing. They did not wait until the entire roofing was completed. They moved in the unroofed structure and every week they would put two to three iron sheets depending on the offering that was received during the service. It took about four months to roof the entire structure but it was done and this was one of the church’s great accomplishments. The church had graduated from an old rented tent to a permanent structure. But there was more to be done because during the cold, windy, rainy season members would be rained on and so walling became a priority. They again embarked on putting up the wall, bit by bit, as offering was received to buy the timber, until it was completed. No more moving, no more carrying chairs to and fro. They were blessed, so favored. The church could not thank God enough for His faithfulness. building served the church for ten years. The ants then started to eat at the timber. The iron sheets started to rust and change color and have holes in them. Repairs were made. The church started praying for funds to put up a more permanent and durable structure. The church took a giant step of faith. Like David who faced a giant with confidence in the same God who had helped him kill the bear and the lion with his bare hands, they too trusted the same God. He had enabled New Hope to move from rented meeting rooms to owning their own place. He had helped New Hope out of an old rented tent to a wooden, iron sheet roofed structure. The church knew He was able to help them put up a decent, spacious house of worship. New Hope sought the assistance of a Christian architect to do a blueprint and lay the foundation. He trusted the church and so obtained the materials required on credit and negotiated for the church to pay in installments. Unfortunately he died in his sleep before finishing the sanctuary. This was a big blow for the church. It took a whole year to get someone else. This new architect looked at the funds the church had and suggested that the church buy a large tent instead. Like father Abraham, we refused to look on our financial strength and looked to God as the source of supply. It has been a long tough journey but God has proved himself faithful. We moved in our new Sanctuary in 2018 fully though we still have some parts not complete.
