Pastor Steve Osembe | Africa
My official name is Steven Osembe. I was born and raised up in the western part of Kenya, where I went to school and did my O level.
I was born again in December 1996, in a remote village, where my maternal grandmother lived. She was a godly woman who really wanted us to follow the ways of Jesus at the tender age. Yes, that we did. I accepted Jesus at the age of 13 years.
I started active ministry in 2001, while in High school. I was able, at that time, to preach in different schools, churches, overnight prayers and seminars.
By 2004, I had established a Youth Ministry, that brought together hundreds of youths from different Churches, within my region. By this time I was also active in Church ministry, as an interpreter, Youth Pastor, and an evangelist...
I am married with 3 Children Sebby 24, Daniel 15 and Beth 12 years respectively.
The call to ministry and pastoral work came strongly from 2005. By this time, I knew that God has called me to a more serious and engaging ministry. Several prophetic utterances from credible servants of God, concerning the ministry, came up during this time. I was and still I am, sure, that God , has called me to the ministry.
In 2010 December 20th , I began a church in Busia town, western part of Kenya, at the border with Uganda, where I stay and serve until now.
The first several years were tough, because I was in the middle of a slum. Response to Church was low and gradual. It took long to pick up.
I was ordained as a Pastor in 2012. I have also attended different theological colleges for Certificate, Diploma, Degree and now, postgraduate study on theology.
Our Church, TABERNACLE OF GRACE MINISTRY, was officially registered by the government of the Republic of Kenya in 2013. This means that our Church is legally recognised and registered organisation.
Current Programs/ Projects
We have grown over the years, from just 3 members to over 100 members.
I have been actively involved in the following ministry endeavours over the years, alongside the local Church ministry, where I Pastor and lead:
Prison Ministry. I am licenced by the government of the Republic of Kenya, to access a number of Prison facilities in Kenya. For the past 10 years, I have visited several prisons, and preached to thousands of inmates: male , female and juvenile prisons. Whenever I visit, I take to the inmates items for their personal care, like: soaps, toiletries, sanitary towels, milk sugar and pampers, for children. I also donate bibles to the inmates. I have been getting facilitation from ROL, especially the Bibles to Prisoners. I started receiving support for Bibles and Prison ministry way back in 2019. I have so far distributed over 1000 copies of the Bible to Prisoners.
Support for the local community: This was heavily supported by ROL especially during the COVID 19 pandemic, when there was lockdown over the world. We were giving out food supplies to Church members and the neighbors within the community, who couldn’t afford a meal during the pandemic season. River Of Life Church supported this initiative frequently.
Men’s Ministry. For the past 3 years, I have been engaged in Men’s ministry in my town. This involves having a time with men, for teaching and fellowship, over coffee or dinner. This has been one of the most successful ministries in my town, as it is not easy to gather Men, for the word of God. We have had occasions where we gather up to 200 Men for Men’s meeting. It has been incredible. I also received support from ROL towards this Ministry.
School Missions: This has been my trademark, from the days I was in High school. I have been visiting and preaching to different schools in Kenya and Uganda, both primary and secondary schools, to the university level. I have seen thousands of young people saying YES to Jesus, through this mission. There are those I preached to while in school, some years ago, who are today Pastors and some are senior government officials. Just a week ago, I had the privilege of sharing in Weekend Challenge for schools. A number of schools came together, with a population of about 3000 learners. It was a great privilege.
Open air Crusades : Together with school missions, this have characterised my whole ministry life. I am passionate about soul winning. I do all it takes to win souls for Jesus. With the support I have been receiving from ROL, this year alone, I have been able to hold 6 open air Crusades, the 6th one is ongoing at the moment. Every Crusade has seen hundreds of souls coming to Jesus. Some of them joins our Church, while others goes to other churches, but the key is that they are in the kingdom.
When we began the year, as a church, we had a vision and focus of winning 10,000 souls for Jesus this year alone. We are moving towards this and the support have been very handy.
Follow-up and discipleship for those who have been born again during our Crusades. This entails, teaching, water baptism and integration to the local Church. We also train local Churches on Soul winning and Evangelism, Discipleship and Follow-up methods in local churches.