Founded in 1937, Nairobi Central Seventh-day Adventist Church is one of the oldest churches in Kenya. Only the church at Karura, founded in 1933 some ten kilometers from Nairobi, is older. At that time, Nairobi Central was a part of the Central Kenya Mission led by W. W. Armstrong. Some of the missionaries at the Kenya Mission Field congregated there.
A Hostel and a Church
The Nairobi church is informally known as “Maxwell,” a name
derived from Maxwell Adventist Academy that was situated on its campus for many
years. The school’s founder, Spencer G. Maxwell (older brother of Arthur S.
Maxwell), was the superintendent of the East Africa Union (1928-1941). He
arrived in Kenya in 1921 and worked tirelessly to establish the Adventist faith
in Kenya and also other parts of Africa. He left Kenya in 1942 for Nyasaland
(Malawi). In 1941, the East Africa Union Mission was re-organized under the
Southern Africa Division severing links with the Northern European Division.1 Maxwell
moved the East Africa Union Mission offices from Nakuru to Nairobi in April
1937. Shortly thereafter, he rented a house in a large compound on Crauford
Road (later renamed Milimani and now Jakaya Kikwete Road) to serve as a hostel
for the children of missionaries attending the Nairobi European School (now
Nairobi Primary School).
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, most Adventist missionaries’
children in East Africa attended the Nairobi European School. Since it did not
have boarding facilities, the church arranged for them to stay at the hostel
located at Crauford Road, walking distance from the school. Mrs. Pearson, the
wife of the secretary of the Kenya Mission Field, Gordon Pearson, was in charge
of the hostel.2
A School for Children of Missionaries
In September 1947, the Maxwell Preparatory School was
founded on the Crauford Road property, which was now sufficient to run a small
school. The school was meant to provide Adventist education for the children
whose parents labored in the mission fields scattered all over East Africa.
Beginning in September 1949, regular Sabbath services were held on campus.
Under the Highlands Mission
In 1956, the Highlands Mission was established by the East
Africa Union to expand the work among the Europeans of Kenya.3 It
was based in Eldoret where the first church in this area was established by
David Sparrow, a settler farmer who was the first Adventist on the Uasin Gishu
Plateau.4 He
settled there in 1911. The Highlands Mission soon expanded to Nairobi’s
Crauford Road and a church for the school and the European community in
Nairobi, was established. It became a branch of the Highlands church in
Eldoret. D. L. Ringering, who was the head of the Highlands Mission, served as
its first pastor and was bordered below by the Delamere Flats which were
constructed in 1951. Another church under the Highlands Mission was established
at Kitale in 1957. Two Adventist settler farmers, Hendrik W. Kruger and Thuys
de Lange—both Afrikaner Boers, acquired a five-acre plot within the township
for their church. They set about constructing a modern church using the exact
same design as that of Maxwell in Nairobi. Their numbers were low, and as many
settlers began to leave Kenya in the last years of colonial rule, they
abandoned the church project. The East Africa Union sold the property to the
Baptist Church who completed church.5
The Church on the Hill
In Kenya’s colonial past, the larger area where the new
church was situated was known as Nairobi Hill, an area exclusively reserved for
European habitation. At the top of the hill was Government House (now State
House Nairobi,) the seat of the government. Crauford Road itself linked Nairobi
Hill to the city of Nairobi.
The church at Crauford Road mainly served the school community
and the European missionaries, most of whom took advantage of Sabbath to visit
with their children. African Adventists tended to congregate in the Pumwani
Social Hall before moving to Chalmer’s Square (now Shauri Moyo). The separation
was not racial, but rather lingual. Educated Africans who did not mind a
service in English, were welcome there. Likewise, those Europeans who did not
mind a service in Kiswahili, were welcome at Shauri Moyo, which was in
Nairobi’s Chalmer’s Square.
The same compound at Chalmer’s Square housed the Central
Kenya Field offices established in 1953. Prior to meeting at Shauri Moyo
church, Adventists met at the Pumwani Social Hall in the African district. The
social hall was so heavily packed that a new church building had to be
commissioned. After completion, it was opened in March 1958 and dedicated on
the same day as the Maxwell church at Crauford Road.
The Coming of Independence
Due to its location, most of the attendees at the Maxwell
church were middle-class Africans, many of them senior civil servants,
professionals, and other prominent Adventists. The services were held in
English, the primary congregants being the school community at Maxwell School.
Meanwhile, Crauford Road was renamed Milimani Road, and it became a very
strategic location close to government offices and commercial establishments as
Nairobi expanded.
Maxwell became a transitional church for many people who
were new to Nairobi, or those on short stay. Many congregated there first
before moving to or forming congregations closer to where they lived. It was,
therefore, the mother church of many churches around the city of Nairobi. It
naturally became the nerve center of activity in the Adventist Church in Kenya.
In 1989, the East Africa Union relocated its offices from
Invergara Grove (now Vanga Road) in Lavington to Milimani Road. They occupied
the former facilities of the Maxwell Preparatory School, which had since moved
to a new campus on Magadi Road in Ongata Rongai. The Maxwell Preparatory School
was renamed the Maxwell Adventist Academy (MAA) and continues to offer an
international curriculum mainly for missionary children.
Growth in Membership
In the 1980s, the Adventist Church began a global
evangelistic campaign that saw tremendous growth in the church in Kenya. The
“1000 days of Reaping,” which began on September 18, 1982, and ended on June
15, 1985, added over 300,000 members to the Adventist Church.6 The
Maxwell church was soon overflowing, and in the late 1980s there was a need to
build a larger sanctuary. In 1995, a massive ultra-modern church was completed
and renamed Nairobi Central Seventh-day Adventist Church. Membership rose to
over 7,000 by the end of 2019, easily becoming one of the largest Adventist
churches in the world.
Mission
Make disciples of Jesus Christ who live as His loving
witnesses and proclaim to all people the everlasting gospel of the Three
Angels’ Messages in preparation for His soon return (Matt
28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Rev 14:6-12).
Method
Guided by the Bible and the Holy Spirit, Seventh-day
Adventists pursue this mission through Christ-like living, communicating,
discipling, teaching, healing, and serving.
Vision
In harmony with Bible revelation, Seventh-day Adventists see
as the climax of God’s plan the restoration of all His creation to full harmony
with His perfect will and righteousness.
IDENTITY AND IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR MISSION
Our Identity
The Seventh-day Adventist Church sees itself as the remnant
Church of end-time Bible prophecy. Members of the Church, individually and
collectively, understand their special role as ambassadors of God’s kingdom and
messengers of the soon return of Jesus Christ. Seventh-day Adventists have
enlisted as co-workers with God in His mission of reclaiming the world from the
power and presence of evil, as part of the Great Controversy between Christ and
Satan.
Therefore, every aspect of a Church member’s life is
influenced by the conviction that we live in the last days described in Bible
prophecy and the return of Jesus Christ is imminent. Seventh-day Adventists are
called by God to live in this world. Every action of the Christian life is done
“in the name of Jesus” and to advance His kingdom.
Implementation of Our Mission
Seventh-day Adventists affirm the Bible as God’s infallible
revelation of His will, accepting its authority in the life of the Church and
of each believer, and its foundational role for faith and doctrine. Seventh-day
Adventists believe that the Holy Spirit is the power that transforms lives and
equips people with abilities to advance God’s kingdom in this world.
Called by God, guided by the Bible, and empowered by the
Holy Spirit, Seventh-day Adventists, wherever we live in the world, devote
ourselves to:
- Christ-Like
Living—Illustrating the lordship of Jesus in our lives by moral,
ethical, and social behaviours that are consistent with the teachings and
example of Jesus.
- Christ-Like
Communicating—Realizing that all are called to active witness, we
share through personal conversation, preaching, publishing, and the arts,
the Bible’s message about God and the hope and salvation offered through
the life, ministry, atoning death, resurrection, and high priestly
ministry of Jesus Christ.
- Christ-Like
Discipling—Affirming the vital importance of continued spiritual
growth and development among all who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we
nurture and instruct each other in righteous living, provide training for
effective witness, and encourage responsive obedience to God’s will.
- Christ-Like
Teaching—Acknowledging that development of mind and character is
essential to God’s redemptive plan, we promote the growth of a mature
understanding of and relationship to God, His Word, and the created
universe.
- Christ-Like
Healing—Affirming the biblical principles of the well-being of the
whole person, we make healthful living and the healing of the sick a
priority and through our ministry to the poor and oppressed, cooperate
with the Creator in His compassionate work of restoration.
- Christ-Like
Serving—Following the example of Jesus we commit ourselves to humble
service, ministering to individuals and populations most affected by
poverty, tragedy, hopelessness, and disease.
This statement was voted by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Executive Committee at the Annual Council Session in Silver Spring, Maryland on October 13, 2014.