Our philosophy of ministry is based on the following passages of Scripture that Jesus Christ fulfilled at His first coming. He then gave the command to His followers to go into all the world and preach this good news. This is what we endeavor to do at Hope Anew:
The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified. They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. -Isaiah 61:1-4
There are thousands of children who live in the hovels and the shacks of Mukuru Kayaba slum in Nairobi, Kenya who
are captive to sin, some of them are brokenhearted and mourning and experiencing a spirit of heaviness in their circumstances. Generation after generation has found themselves repeating this cycle of poverty in the slums. This is the place where Francis Kamau lived for 10 years as a teenager and can identify with these children who live in hopelessness, spiritual darkness, as well as physical deprivation due to hunger and neglect. He can remember the daily struggle to survive in the crushing poverty of the slums of Nairobi and how trapped and downhearted he felt without any hope of ever being able to get away. This all changed when at 17 years old, somebody cared enough to introduce him to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them…?
-Romans 10:14
Though he continued living in the slums for another eight years, he now had a hope that God the Father, who created him, loved him and had a plan and purpose for his life. This plan unfolded as Kamau went on to become a missionary in, Russia, Ukraine and Zambia.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. -Eph. 2:10
Just as someone shared with Kamau and his life changed; we want to do the same for the children that we will minister to in Mukuru and other impoverished communities. Some of them will be orphaned, because the reality is that AIDS is still a huge problem in the slums. Some of them will be in dysfunctional family situations that will cause them to be vulnerable. A very few of them may have a relatively stable family life but an opportunity to hear the Gospel and to be introduced to Christ on a level that they can understand is not available to them. These children are also vulnerable to the lies of false philosophies , violence and all manner of abuse. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can make a positive, eternal difference in their lives.
We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord about his power and his mighty wonders.
…So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors—stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful refusing to give their hearts to God.
-Psalm 78:4-8
Hope Club Ministry
On November 21st of 2012, Hope Anew launched a Bible club ministry called Hope Clubs. These clubs are for children between the ages of 4-13 wherever children can be gathered together. During this time children receive a Bible lesson, sing songs, play Scripture memory and review games, and are taught to pray. They are introduced to Jesus Christ and the need for them to enter into a personal relationship with Him for salvation.
“Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”
~Matthew 18:14
Pastoral Program Instruction (PPI)
We are fortunate in that the Kenyan government makes allowance for religious instruction inside of the schools. This is an incredible opportunity for Christians in Kenya to reach millions of school children! Shortly after our Hope Clubs began, we welcomed this new aspect of ministry that became available to us. Please pray that God will open a door for us to continue in this outreach whether it is through using the Zoom meeting platform online or visiting schools.