A Church in the Slums, a Light to the City
In Kisumu, Kenya, surrounded by the noise and difficulty of the slums, there is a church that has become more than a building. It’s a sanctuary. A place where the broken find solace, where children laugh, where the hungry are fed — and where Jesus is proclaimed as the only enduring hope.

Baraka, a local pastor serving with his family and fellow missionaries from Assistance Mission, shared a strong testimony of what God has been doing through the church in recent weeks.

Each Sunday, around 200 adults gather for worship — not counting the teens and youth who also attend. The services are filled with prayer, Scripture, and real encounters with God. After months of displacement due to flooding, many families have now returned home, and the church remains a place of comfort and fortitude.

During one service, a grandmother who had recently suffered a stroke was surrounded by the church in a prayer of healing. “It was a miracle,” Baraka shared. “God touched her — and we continue to trust Him for complete recovery.”

🌿 On Easter Sunday, the church hosted a special concert of praise and worship. As more parents bring their children to church, Sunday school has become a vibrant space of joy and learning. Thanks to backing from partners, extra rooms now host both a Sunday school and a toddler room — allowing parents to stay in the main service, while the children are cared for.

💬 Baraka also met with the ministry leaders to encourage and pray with them. Many of these young leaders are growing in their faith and are now influencing others through their service. “We desire to see them grow in Christ and become a generation that transforms the community,” he said.

😭 Amid the joy, there was also sorrow. A young baby, the child of one of the church’s security team, passed away last week. The church came together to provide support, conduct the burial, and walk with the family through grief — reminding them that Christ remains faithful in every season.

👵 The church continues to care for elderly members by providing basic food items. “It’s a blessing to share with them,” Baraka said, “and it’s possible only because of the support we receive.”

🍲 One of the most impactful ministries remains the daily feeding program. Every evening, about 140 vulnerable people — many of whom go all day without food — receive a hot meal. The project has not only provided nourishment, but also created employment for local youth and opened doors for evangelism. “Lives are being touched every day. People meet Jesus through this meal,” Baraka shared.

He added with gratitude, “We’ve seen a visible change in our slum community — a decline in crime, in witchcraft, in despair. The church is becoming a beacon of hope.”

🙏 “Thank you,” he said to those who give, pray, and support. “Because of you, we are still here in the harvest field. Because of you, the Gospel is still being preached. And because of you, lives are being changed.”