Brackenhurst Ministries Information

Brackenhurst Ministries is committed to come alongside and support the ministry of Kenyan nationals. Our current work is in and around the Bungoma area of Kenya's western province, where we have a partnership with Pastor Edwin Wanyama and Mission Link Ministries. Pastor Edwin oversees a network of 37 churches and the Rehema Children's Home. Our team is supporting evangelism, church planting, and community development through a variety of training and education projects, as well as several feeding projects. Click here to learn more about the history of the project and read a letter from Pastor Edwin. What is currently being done to care for orphans? Rehema Children's Home provides for the basic needs of 140 orphans. The site is also the home of Rehema Academy, where in addition to the orphans, 150 children are in school. The AIDS epidemic has affected this area so badly that the number of orphans is far greater than the capacity of a single orphanage to care for them. Therefore 19 of the 37 churches in the network have started Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centers to feed and educate orphans who are living with their neighbors or relatives, and our team is committed to helping provide food for these children. Click here to learn how you can partner with us to sponsor an orphan or support orphan care in general. How are we involved in community development? The vast majority of church members within the network are living in abject poverty, often leaving them without food to care for their own families, much less any extra to care for the area orphans. Since 2006 we have been involved in emergency food relief for the orphanage and area families. We are also seeking to create sustainable feeding programs that will enable the communities to produce their own food. The Cows for Christ program began in 2006 and has to date provided 120 cows for area pastors and needy families. We are also implementing chicken coup and farming programs that will enable the communities to support themselves. Click here to learn more about Cows for Christ and the other feeding programs. Education and training are key components of both our spiritual and physical development. In the developing world, these programs provide hope for the future. Sadly, many area pastors and teachers lack the training they need. Therefore we have begun to support the training of these key individuals. 34 pastors and women's ministry leaders have been through a year of Bible college and as funding allows we would like to send more. We are also working to provide additional training for teachers, directly impacting the education that orphans and area children are receiving. In the upcoming months we are hoping to expand the training we are offering. Through short term teams we are planning to introduce business training to help those who are running small businesses or who are trying to start one. How are we involved in Evangelism? Bukholi Church, under Pastor Edwin's guidance, saw the need for a church to be planted in each local area. They began commissioning and sending out pastors in 2000. Our team began our partnership with Mission Link Ministries in the summer of 2003 and since that time our involvement with the project has continued to grow. We believe in Pastor Edwin's vision to reach the people of Bungoma with the Gospel, taking care of their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs. Rather than trying to do everything and anything to help, we have chosen to focus our work on evangelism, education/ training, and feeding. "My names are Reverend Ben Sindani, pastoring Kharanda Baptist Church. I want to take this opportunity to thank sponsors for the milking cow I am having in my home. I am getting enough milk for my children. I am very happy and proud with this ministry, it found me in a very bad living standard, and now my living standards have improved because of this ministry. Thank you for the theological college I have undergone, I am now able to deliver the right message to my church members. I am able to make a sermon and I have seen many people coming to Christ because of this training."