Our History
Redeemer Bible Church (RBC) is the crystallisation of a conversation between Andrew Matoke and Dan Huffstutler, who desired to plant a church, on the one hand and Pastor Kenneth Mbugua and Emmanuel Baptist Church (EBC), who have an ongoing desire to plant healthy churches, on the other. Both parties felt burdened to increase access in Nairobi to churches which emphasise Gospel-centred, Bible-based ministry. This concern meant that Karen was a needful place to plant a church, since this approach to ministry was lacking in other nearby churches.
As EBC initiated an interviewing process with the prospective pastors to determine whether they were biblically qualified, the prospective members began to meet after Sunday services at EBC to establish the core team of around 30 people who would be sent along with the new pastors, most of whom lived in or around the Karen area.
By early 2018, the church was ready to set out, and therefore Pastor Andrew and Pastor Dan were commissioned at EBC, followed by the launch service of Redeemer on 14th January at Nairobi Montessori Preparatory School, where the church still meets today. The church was built up in its first year through consistently hearing the Bible taught from Philippians and John, and this pattern of expository preaching continues. Six months later, in June 2018, the church was constituted, and therefore it is now an independent church, even as it maintains many organic links with EBC.
Although the journey has not always been smooth, RBC is a flourishing congregation. Many visitors have come, heard the Word, been eager to return, become members, and joined the ministry in various ways, whilst a number have also put their hope in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. The future of the church is bright, as was well summarised by these words from Pastor Kenneth Mbugua (of EBC) with regard to his hopes for the church-planting venture that saw EBC plant RBC: “It’s about Christ and His glory and seeing themselves being faithful in the task that they’ve been given, so may the Lord give us that same…grace.”
Our Vision
As a church, we are a messenger and a mirror. A messenger, proclaiming the gospel through preaching and evangelism; a mirror, displaying the gospel to the watching world through our love for one another and our wholly following after Christ. God does this through His church.