Title Deed for Ayego Baptist Church.

Storming the Gates of Hell!

During our first visit to Kenya in 2004, we visited the offices of the Southern Baptist International Board.  We had just begun the work of ministering to the orphans and people of Oyuma Kenya.  The church planter we met with told us they were interested in working with our ministry because we were to be located not far from an unreached people group, many of whom had never heard the name of Jesus.  That meeting stayed in our memories, but as we built our ministry to orphans and widows, it was little more than a memory until God reminded us of His calling.  He started putting things together to send us out.

The development of the Houses of Hope concept, a reminder from a Sunday School teacher, teams who came to build houses and share the Gospel, the miraculous giving of funds for this purpose and many daily reminders moved us to get busy fulfilling God’s calling from so many years ago.  In 2023, we began working with John Oloo and the Kenya Baptist Convention to identify this people group and their location.  John found the Waregi people of western Kenya near the border with Tanzania.  They are officially unreached with less than 2% evangelized. 

John also found three widows who needed new homes.  In 2025, we built Houses of Hope for those widows.  Along with the faithful service of a young man named Mark Kasera Onyango, a new church was born.  He is teaching Bible studies and is the new pastor of Ayego Baptist Church.

Ayego Baptist is important for several reasons.  First, it ministers to the unreached Waregi.  Second, it provides a center for outreach in the area.  Finally, it gives an opportunity to share the truth in an area of Kenya that is darker spiritually than any place we have ever seen.  While we visited, we noted an absence of any evangelical church throughout the area.  We saw only one church building, a Roman Catholic congregation.  While visiting people of the area, we repeatedly encountered those who believed they could earn their way into Heaven by doing good works.  No one could explain the saving work that our Lord and Savior did on the cross and the free gift of salvation that only He can offer.  NO ONE understood that!  Finally, we learned the area is heavily influenced by the Maria Legion cult, a group that believes in another Jesus, a man who once lived in this area.  This is truly a spiritually dark area with people who need Jesus.

Since our visit in June of 2025, much has happened.  We had a team of faithful Kenyans search for a piece of property to use for a church building.  We have now purchased a 3.9 acre tract of land near to the town of Ayego.  We now plan to construct a fence, storage building, and a church building.

While building a building is a great achievement, it is not the most important part of a church.  That comes with Jesus and His people.  In June, we held the first worship service under a shade tree at one of the Houses of Hope we built.   25 people prayed to receive Christ.  Pastor Mark is teaching the Bible to nine families.  Over 20 people want to join this new church when the building is completed.

Our plans are to teach the Bible to all members and to share this truth around the community.  We will need to teach discipleship and evangelism.  We hope to return in June 2026 to teach and evangelize.  Let us know if you would like to be a part of what God is doing in western Kenya, Storming the Gates of Hell.