Church planting is so important and we continuously see how it connects with our mission of partnership and holistic development. One such example of this is the Kibera School.
The journey of the Kibera ICCM school began in Kenya in 1998, with seven people joining together to worship in a home church. Within a year, that small home church grew into a vibrant congregation with their own church space!
One of the important ministries of this congregation was feeding the children in the slum neighbourhood within Nairobi. As a result of the feeding program, the children started attending Sunday school and learning about God, and the Kibera church grew because of the love of Christ shown through the church community!
Soon, the church members wanted to do more than simply feed the bodies of these children; they wanted to feed their souls and develop their whole being. So the Kibera ICCM school was formed! It started as a preschool and each year they added new grades. Now, the Kibera school has students which sit for the national elementary exam every year. The dedication of the church members who volunteered to teach and care for the children has allowed this school to flourish from a small seed planted many years ago, to what is it today.
The partnership of the Free Methodist Church and ICCM around the world allows church plants to grow, impact their communities and work for the Kingdom. In the Kibera church and in many other FM church plants around the world, partnership is mutually beneficial. We get excited when we can connect people and congregations in Canada to new churches – especially in countries where the gospel is not widespread. We can all be a part of seeing the gospel’s transforming power working in children, families, and communities for His glory!
Paula Moriarity,
Director, International Childcare Ministries