Where Kenya’s Faith Journey Began: The Story of the First Anglican Church”
“Rabai Church: The Birthplace of Christianity in Kenya”
THE OLDEST CHURCH IN KENYA:
The oldest or do we say the first Church to be built in Kenyan Soil which is none other than the Anglican Church built by Rudwig Krapf 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 was 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 cripple and 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….The Church is gazzeted as a National monument and no alterations can be done to it without permission from the State.To God be the Groly Great things He has done.
