“Bishop Evans Mrima: The Trailblazer of Kenya’s Pentecostal Awakening”
“From Kilifi to Nairobi: Bishop Evans Mrima and the Birth of Urban Pentecostal Fire”
Bishop Evans Mrima (1948–1989) was one of Kenya’s most iconic and influential Pentecostal leaders during the rise of Newer Pentecostal Charismatic Churches (NPCCs) in the 1970s and 1980s.
A Chonyi by tribe (part of the larger Mijikenda ethnic group from the coastal region), he was born on September 14, 1948, in Mbuyuni, Kilifi County, as the youngest child of Nzivo Kosholo and Nimwande Nzivo. His family home was near Ribe, the site of the first Methodist mission in Kenya, which initially drew him to the Methodist Church.
Mrima experienced racial prejudice during his formative years amid Kenya’s colonial Emergency period, though the Coast was less affected than Central Kenya. He later spoke out against such condescension. He converted quietly in his room while at Kenyatta University College (KUC) in the late 1960s (around 1968), joining the vibrant Christian Union there. This student movement, marked by enthusiastic volunteerism and aggressive evangelism among multi-ethnic youth, profoundly shaped his ministry style.
Disillusioned with traditional mission church hymns and formal worship, which he felt lacked engagement, Mrima left the Methodist Church early after conversion. He married Fanny Mwakachola (1953–2021), a nurse-in-training from the Taita community, in 1975; they had five children: Joel, Jimmy, Joy, Joses, and Jerry.
In 1977, he founded Gospel Outreach (also known as Gospel Outreach Centre or Ministries), registered in January that year, where he served as bishop. The church pioneered innovative approaches: basing services in repurposed venues like Shan Cinema in Ngara (a former Asian-zoned area in Nairobi), holding multiple Sunday services, and sending members for outreach to hospitals, prisons, markets (e.g., Eastleigh), slums (Mathare, Kariobangi), and grounds like Kamukunji and Juja Road.
His ministry emphasized youth engagement, with Sunday afternoon gatherings featuring the Revival Flames Band (where he played guitar and sang, often joined by his wife and children). He controversially invited a converted young dancer to perform secular-style routines with gospel music, stirring debate among churches. In the mid-1980s, he prayed for the breakup of the popular secular band Les Mangelepa to recruit professional musicians; soon after their Malawi tour fallout, members like lead vocalist Bwami Walumona (“Le Captaine”) converted, forming the Hallelujah Band. Others, such as Tito (ex-Les Wanyama) and Otieno Pettie (ex-Ochieng Kabasellah), joined the Revival Flames, elevating worship standards.
Mrima’s preaching was charismatic: vivid life stories, biblical propositions (often from the King James Version), repeated keywords for emphasis, and modeling glossolalia (speaking in tongues as initial evidence of Spirit baptism). Services featured healing prayers (a hallmark distinguishing his ministry), live translations (Chonyi native, fluent in English and Swahili), and urban-relevant narratives on relationships, conflicts, and victory through faith. He used cassette recordings and radio broadcasts on Voice of Kenya (VOK) to reach nationwide audiences before 1990s airwave liberalization.
Influenced by figures like Joe Kayo and some televangelists, he was pragmatic yet somewhat anti-intellectual, prioritizing personal calling over formal theology. In 1988, he enrolled at Bethel College in California for training but critiqued its materials as outdated for African contexts. He strongly advocated African self-reliance, independence from Western funding, and Africa’s potential (“Africa is blessed”), urging self-sustaining evangelistic missions.
Tragically, Bishop Evans Mrima died in a road accident on September 5, 1989. His death caused shock; grief-stricken members held a three-day vigil praying for resurrection, reflecting the deep faith he instilled. His legacy endures through mentored leaders, transformed lives, and the revival he pioneered in Kenya and beyond, remembered as a passionate evangelist ahead of his time.
