The Nairobi Christian Church gathered for a Sunday worship service on 29 January that had added significance as it was the occasion for the send-off of Edwine Omaya as he proceeds to the seaside city of Mombasa to lead the church there as it is launched.

Edwine led the congregation's thoughts in observing the Lord’s Supper, focusing all on the fact that while we get sad as we read in the papers about deaths of famous people or tragic mass deaths, we often fail to be moved by the death of Christ, for which we are each individually responsible. As he read from Psalm 147:1-3, he asked the congregation, “We feel moved by accounts of death, disaster and injustice in the news, yet there is one death over which we tend not to feel deeply – the death of Christ; are you deeply moved by the death of Christ?”

Leader of campus ministry, in which Edwine was baptized and where he has been working in the eight months that he has been in the full-time ministry, Jarrett Odwallo, introduced Edwine to the church, after which evangelist Steve Mukenya sent Edwine off officially. Reading from 2 Timothy 2:1-7, Steve shared, “Edwine, you are the youngest on staff and we are proud to send you to win not only Mombasa but the whole of the coastal region.”

As Edwine was presented with a bible, the church bowed together in prayer. Steve prayed, “We will pray for Edwine daily and together we will accomplish the task.”

The send-off ceremony was concluded with the singing of the hymn, “Go,” which is a call for us all to “Go, … and teach all nations,” the commission that defines our mission as disciples of Christ.

Evangelist George Irungu then preached about “The Glory Of The Cross,” challenging all to have a renewed and daily focus on the cross of Christ and not on the customs of the church. “Our message today as disciples should be the glory of the cross,” George declared. “It was not just the apostles’ theme on the day of Pentecost, but every day of their lives and with every act of their ministry.”

With powerful singing and dynamic fellowship, it was an incredible morning of worship, the flames of which were fanned by the announcements of three weddings and seven baptisms.

In this year in which the theme in East Africa is “Jesus Is Lord,” we pray that the message of the cross will extend to areas where Christ has not yet been preached. Let us pray for the launch of the Mombasa church, which will take place on Sunday 5 February. There are already 13 disciples there, and now that figure is set to increase rapidly.