Visiting our global mission partners in Ireland and Kenya

Ireland is rich with Catholic and Protestant history. Beautiful cathedrals that adorn the countryside were once home to worshippers of strong faith. But today, these same churches are basically tourist attractions. Ireland's “post-Christian” culture suffers because most of the formerly strong churches now have little impact on their communities.

First Church has built relationships with Discovery Church in Galway and Tuam, Ireland, and also with the Donemana Presbyterian Church in Donemana, N. Ireland.

Discovery Church has a goal to plant one church every three years in areas that don’t have a vital Christian presence. The church planting team researches specific villages and towns and choose the site for new locations. They strategically and prayerfully plant churches that will serve as a light to their communities.

Gretchen Bashforth recalls, “We went along to scope out a new site for a coffee shop ministry. It was a moving experience to pray with the church planting team and ask the Lord to prepare the ground for His work. We covered the site with prayer and asked the Holy Spirit to bless the location and give wisdom and direction.”

A vital component of church planting is music ministry. The First Church mission team encouraged their Irish counterparts by coming alongside them and leading worship at churches in Tuam and Donemana. The First Church team also blessed Discovery Church with a gift of $2,300 for the purchase of new instruments.

A priority of the Donemana Presbyterian Church is ministering to locals who are homebound. Our First Church mission team traveled to various homes and spent quality time talking and ministering to the lonely. By caring and sharing the love of Christ to the homebound, our team’s generosity was well received.

Highlights for the team included attending the Getty Music “Sing: Europe” worship conference in Belfast and hearing renowned Oxford professors John Lennox and Jeremy Begbie speak on the deep connection of music, mathematics and worship. Our First Church Tulsa mission team had the privilege of worshipping with thousands of Irish Christians in the massive arena at the Getty conference. The group also reconnected with Ross Wilson, artist of the Calling of Lazarus exhibit.

Rev. Wambugu Gachungi, together with Rev. James Estes, led the Kenya mission team to vital ministries throughout Kenya. The team visited churches, NGOs, schools and homebound persons to support the work of mission partners in the country.

In contrast to Ireland, Kenya is full of vibrant churches. Rev. James Estes said, “Culturally speaking, Kenya’s society can be compared to how the United States was 100 years ago. Kenya’s religious leaders are highly respected both spiritually in their churches as well as socially in their communities. Having strong Christian faith in Kenya brings with it honor and deference.”

Rev. Wambugu and Rev. Estes delivered sermons at local congregations in the capital, Nairobi, and in a village to the north called Bondeni. The team visited partners including Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) and Kariobongi South Congregation, Nairobi; PCEA, Bondeni Congregation in Nyeri; and International Justice Mission in Nairobi. Each of these organizations are growing and actively furthering the Lord’s work in Kenya.

“The church of the global south has a passion, conviction and spiritual maturity that encourages and inspires. When I learn what they are doing with so little, I want to get involved and encourage however I can.” 
– Rev. James Estes

First Church Tulsa gives tangible gifts to these mission partners. Monetary gifts have funded a new fence around the growing Bondeni church facility as well as the mission director's monthly salary. First Church mission ministry has given thousands of dollars to the local church schools for scholarships and mission gifts.

“It was very special for me to introduce First Church friends to my hometown, some members of my family and even to my grade school teacher. We were encouraged after seeing first-hand the depth of faith in our Kenyan brothers and sisters,” said Rev. Wambugu Gachungi.

When Kenyans in the mission partner churches receive a visit from a First Church Tulsa mission team, not all of them may know what money, supplies or logistics were brought to support them. But we can trust they feel the love of Christ, knowing someone from far away cares about them and is praying for them. We are mutually encouraged by each other's faith, even from the other side of the world.

About the author: When Paul Marsh is not designing communications materials for First Church, he and his wife, Wynne, love to travel in their RV, hike and explore beautiful campgrounds, both near and far. They have two grown children and they cherish family time with them when they come to visit.