The Nairobi Christian Church Singles Workshop

By Ken Allan and Carren Adhiambo

Photos: Dan Nyaoke

The singles in Nairobi Christian Church had their workshop at the Central Catering Unit on Sunday, the 22^nd September, 2019.

The event which started in high gear at 11:30am on a bright sunny morning, was a break from the cold season the city had experienced for a while brought together about 250 singles drawn from the four blocs namely: Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern.

The sweet melodious voices rented the air during the worship and praise songs before Christine Muthui opened with a word of prayer. Leslie Owiti and Susan Mwenda welcomed the singles who had traveled from different corners of Nairobi and its environs to attend this very important event.

Evangelist Samson Monda, who moved back to Nairobi from Dar es Salaam preached the message of the cross from Galatians 1:1-9 noting that Christianity is what it is because of the sacrifice God made to mankind. How much grateful are we because of this sacrifice? The Monda’s will be taking over Singles’ ministry leadership from Charles Omollo in December.

Douglas Haule, Victor Odero and Christine Munene then ran through the day’s announcements and reminders before ushering in teacher Julius Nguku to introduce David Mwenga, the speaker of the day.

David entitled his class, Dynamics of a Christian Single in this Era and had in three main points; Foundations, invisible barriers and authenticity-being real.

David Mwenga

He pointed out on the foundations that, we all have a heritage we draw from and we all are building a legacy for others to draw from. The kind of foundation we lay was compared with the rocky and sandy foundations in Matthew 7: 24-27 -24. Both houses had a similar external appearance and were both tested by floods and winds. In Heb 7 Abraham had a legacy for the Hebrews and the nation of Israel but his dad (Terah) was wicked (Joshua 24:2). He had a foundation of idolatry but he had to break from that to build a different foundation.

His second point on invisible barriers was that, they are extended from foundations and may include inheritance, witchcraft, blessings or family curses. The story of Gideon in Judges 6 we learn that during his call by God he was commissioned to go and save the children of Israel but he has to destroy his father’s altars first. Vs 25. Moreover, Moses anger that barred him from seeing the Promised Land, and this anger can be traced in his great grandfather Levi. As God’s children, we have the power to break from all invisible barriers by being aware of them and deliberately breaking apart spiritually. Breaking the barriers will not only set you free but also give other freedom

Finally, David talked about authenticity – being real and it was clear that we all admire heroes but not being heroes of our lives. Every hero was a zero until they discovered authenticity in their life. We were alerted that the higher we rise in life the easier we can easily fake who we are and how we feel because of pride. Some of the things that may hinder our authenticity include life Disappointments, Delays, Detours and Depressions.

After all the four life events, people tend to retreat into caves of silent frustrations, persistent addictions, and resilient disillusionments. Then they start medicating the situations with unhealthy ways such as money and material acquisition, power hungry, sex and drug abuse but in the end gain temporary relief and miss out permanent healing 

David articulately and accurately shared with the singles mostly basing on his life experiences as a Christian and Bible references paving way for group discussions and sharing in between.

After breaking for lunch, the shining stars had a session of Q & A and one of the questions that popped up was, how can one still be authentic in a scenario where they may be despised or it may bring harm to others? We were reminded to be like Jesus who was rejected and in the end murdered for who He was. He never retaliated or shied off from standing with the truth.

Couples who went steady at the singles event Wilson & Martha (left) Shadrack & Modester (right)

The sentiments sampled from a few singles after the workshop

Fiona Etiang had this to say, “The class was very informative though rushed after lunch. If possible next time, let’s have a venue from morning. I feel like noon is already too late to grasp a lot. I like what we did this time; it was not the normal messages of singles being better than marrieds. They addressed issues and people opened up. So let’s keep it that way – real issues!”

Phina Nandwa exclaimed, “It was phenomena! I felt like he, David, totally spoke our heart. I really connected to his message.”

Stanley Mwachi states, “The planning was excellent. The preaching was very organized and inspiring especially the shari

ng from personal life experiences. We stayed hungry but we were fed by the Word of God,” stated Stanley Mwachi.

“To me the workshop was super great and we need more of such to address some of the challenges of singlehood. For instance we are affected by what happened to us in the past life and may not know how to go about it. However, the moment someone points it out by referring to the scriptures, it helps us understand more about the love of God. The class uplifted my self-esteem and gave me the strength and courage to stand up and take the challenge of facing the dynamics of life” -Emily Adema.

The workshop ended up on a higher note with two couples going steady Shadrach Wandera Ogeta and Modesta Likhakasi; together with Wilson Otiali and Martha Wafula.

“I can’t forget the steady episode; it was lit and hilarious, seeing brothers doing their things for love. I was captivated too by how submission especially by sisters was explained as not a sign of weakness but as something attractive,” concluded Steve Owesi.

Fake it till you make it is a scam!