Our Mission
Background
Although about 70% of Kenyans identify as Christian, the majority are influenced by the Word of Faith movement, New Apostolic Reformation, false signs and wonders, and the so-called prosperity gospel. Very few have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A large percentage of Kenyans are biblically illiterate, and very few pastors have received any training. There is also great need for solid biblical resources to edify the Church in Kenya, and to help teach them sound exegesis from the Bible and not from traveling preachers who may also be misled or just plain charlatans.
What do Sundays Look Like?
Led by Pastor Jeff Bys, MBC holds worship services every Sunday under the main pavilion at our Mercy Ministries campus. At 9 am we open the gate for the children and families of the village to come and play on the playground before starting Sunday school at 10 am. During Sunday school we divide into 5 classes according to age, and each class prays, sings a hymn, recites a few catechism answers, and is taught a lesson from the Bible. We are currently going through Mathew’s Gospel in our Sunday school classes. The children are separated into 4 of the classes and are learning the same thing as the adults, just more on their level. The main service begins at 11 am. We work very hard to plan a service that edifies the saints and brings glory to God. Everything we do in the service centers around the Word of God. We pray, sing hymns and psalms in English and Swahili, read Scripture, and we close by partaking in the Lord’s Supper and singing the Doxology.
Following the main service we feed the entire church. We wanted to be a blessing in this way as there is no fast-food in our area, so each family attending our service would be eating lunch very late. We also allow the village access to our playground until 2 pm. This has drawn adults and children to our worship service who otherwise would not attend church, so we are thankful for this opportunity to share the Gospel with them each week. Please pray with us to reach many more, young and old alike, with the authentic Gospel message.
Outreach
Church Plants & Partnerships: We have planted a church in the nearby village of Tulumba. Mercy Baptist Church is a part of a network of churches called FARM (Fellowship of African Reformed Ministries) all working together for the advancement of the Gospel in rural Bungoma county and Western Kenya.
Each year in November we host a completely free Bible conference. We usually spend 2 full days covering a specific topic teaching men, women and children. We serve meals, pass out learning materials, and even provide a place for them to stay overnight if they desire to stay near the conference. We have been blessed with great visiting pastors to teach this conference each year. It is our hope and prayer that many would learn more and more about Christ through these conferences.
We also partner with Pastor Elly Achok of nearby Mumias. Elly and his team of lecturers run the Wisdom Training Center, which meets at the Mercy Ministries campus every Saturday. We are teaching many pastors with seminary level courses in theology so that they can earn a certificate or diploma and be better preachers and teachers of God’s Word.