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Baptist Chapel is a Lottie Moon Story. It is a story of God’s special multiplication plan. It is a story of how obediently carrying out the Great Commission leads to many Great Commission Stories!
Baptist Chapel celebrated her 8th birthday and sanctuary dedication on November 16, 2008, but her Lottie Moon/Great Commission Story begins much earlier. When David Kiatu from Mwingi North (eastern Kenya) migrated to Nairobi seeking work, he joined Kariobangi Baptist Church – one of the first Kenyan Baptist churches, which like many of the first churches, was built with Lottie Moon Funds. Daniel Munyao, Kariobangi’s pastor and an early leader in Baptist work, discipled Kiatu, who by the late 1970’s was working for
a seed company and served as a deacon in his church.In the early 1980’s, Baptist missionaries dreamed of meeting the need for job training in Kenya. Jim R., the missionary who led in making this dream a reality, asked Kiatu to be the director of the new Kariobangi Baptist Youth Centre. Machines, tools, etc, were purchased through Lottie Moon and Cooperative Program funds and the centre began training carpenters, seamstresses and others.
While working at Kariobangi, Kiatu became the pastor of one of the many churches planted by Kariobangi, Highridge Baptist Church. During this time, he and his wife, Rose, raised their children
and many nieces and nephews. Kiatu baptized one of those nephews, Euticauls Wambua, in August, 1987. Kiatu’s love and concern for children grew and in the late 1980’s, he helped start the Mali Saba Children’s Home and then he pioneered the birth of the Baptist Children’s Centre, which the Baptist Convention of Kenya (BCOK) operates today in Nairobi, offering a home to 60 orphans.The story now skips to 1995 when another missionary dream became a reality as Clay Coursey led the missionaries and BCOK in the “Every Church Start a Church” project. Lottie
Moon and Cooperative Program funds provided the needed support and materials. Hundreds of Baptist volunteers from the United States came in the summer of 1996 to help with this project as they took part in the Greater Nairobi Evangelistic Effort. Highridge Baptist Church asked for volunteer assistance in planting a church in the nearby Lakisama or Lucky Summer area. Euticauls Wambua, Pastor Kiatu’s nephew and disciple, who now serves as the Director of the Kariobangi Baptist Youth Centre, was asked to be the bi-vocational pastor of this new church.
The name of this new church: Baptist Chapel. In their 8th Anniversary/ Dedication bulletin, the church describes itself as over 250 members who “strive to fulfil the scripture” to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20). And they are doing this! Three church plants are listed in the bulletin: Kijawa Baptist Church, adopted August 2004; Malili Baptist Church, planted on 28th March 2005; and Kamuwongo Real Life Church, planted 5th September 2007. Plans are underway to plant other new churches in Kyuso District on the edge of Eastern Province.
Baptist Chapel is very much a result of the past investments of time and prayer by missionaries, volunteers, and other Southern Baptists. Baptist Chapel is also a real return/outcome from past investments made to the Lottie Moon Offering and Cooperative Program – BUT their church plants and the financing of their structural buildings did not come from Lottie Moon funds – they came from monies raised by the members and friends of Baptist Chapel and other Baptist churches in Kenya. They are now fellow workers in sharing our Father's love and salvation in their nation and beyond. They are a true sign of the great returns from past investments of Southern Baptists committed to God’s multiplication plan – our Saviour’s Great Commission!
