Early in 2003, a woman from the village of Manyatta, Kenya began looking for a teacher and pastor. She and a small group had been meeting together, but didn't have anyone to teach them the truth of the Bible. She looked around locally, but did not find anyone suitable. Then in faith, she reached out on the Internet. In April, she came across the Website of the then Church of God, Colorado, now called the Great Commission Church of God. She wrote to the Pastor and after he replied, they began corresponding via e-mail.

This relationship bore good fruit and it was the beginning of our coming to know the truth. On 16 May 2003, pastor Terry and LeDean Bruns agreed to oversee our congregation, operating remotely from the United States of America. On 30 May 2003, Pastor Terry sent us his first sermon - an introduction to the Sabbath. Shortly thereafter, he suggested that we name this newly formed congregation of believers the Church of God, Manyatta, in order to conform with the biblical name of God's Church. As of 26 April, 2005, the name of our church changed to the Great Commission Church of God (Click here to view the Certificate of Registration).

We all agreed and that is how we became Church of God members. Up to that time, Pastor had taught us nothing but the truth of God's Word, so we agreed with one heart to change our services from Sunday to the Sabbath. We agreed to follow all of God's commandments, including the fourth which we had not understood correctly. Our first Sabbath service was conducted on 19 July, 2003. Keeping the weekly Sabbath proved to be a tremendous blessing to us, and we were soon to be introduced to God's seven annual Sabbaths.

In the fall of 2003, we were very excited as we kept the Feast of Tabernacles for the very first time. God's Holy Days were very new to us back then and in our area such a thing had never been seen. That is why we see it as a very good occasion for us to invite our neighbors from the surrounding community.

All of these teachings were in our Bibles, but we had not known the truth. We had been reading our Bibles without a teacher. We were just like the Ethiopian Eunuch without Phillip (Acts 8: 35-37). The eunuch humbled himself to be taught. We have humbled ourselves to be taught the truth of the Word of God by Pastor Terry who has become the Phillip of God's Church in Manyatta, Kenya.

We would like to thank God for giving us such a committed pastor and his wife. They have spent much of their time to help us know the truth. We also thank God for not only giving us a pastor but a man of God who is not ashamed of rightly dividing God's word when teaching us. He has humbled himself so as to fit in our shoes, sacrificing himself to teach people with less knowledge, spiritually, materially and also financially but still he has agreed to be our teacher.

So may God bless and strengthen Pastor Terry and LeDean Bruns as they fulfill their commission through teaching God's Word to us. We are here today because of the truth that God has revealed to us through them.