From Cowhide to Cathedral: The Untold Story of Kenya’s First Church

Rabai 1844: Where Kenya’s Christian Journey Began

OLDEST CHURCH IN KENYA: Krapf Church in Rabai. In August 1844, Krapf met 12 Kaya elders led by Jindwa Mwanesa. Johann Rebmann joined him in 1846. They bought 91 acres of land by paying a cow and a calf. The cow was slaughtered. Its skin used to measure the church compound.
The building began in late 1846 through to 1847; Krapf himself conducted the first sermon in the church in 1846. People would come to pray but would not hear anything about converting to Christianity because of the reverence they had for the traditional Rabai religion.

Between 1848 and 1851, Krapf managed to get only one convert who was a crippled, sickly man called Mringi. Not long after being converted, Mringi died and Christianity was back to zero with no tangible results for years.

John Rebmann was the first to venture into the interior and went as far as Kilimanjaro, a time, which Krapf built his residential house. Krapf built an upper house, which served as the church office. Rebmann also built his house, which was more of a classroom.
Krapf ventured as far as Usambara in northeastern Tanzania. He introduced formal education. When Krapf went back to Europe, Rebmann took over the task of evangelization and built the current church between 1883 and 1887; 35 years after the first church had been built.