Our story begun when Rv Kibathi visited the UK on Several occasions while attending church conferences or on transit from USA. He saw the need for a shepherd who would relate to the difficulties the people from East Africa faced when they came to the Western countries to study, or to work. There was also a need for a minister to the Presbyterians from East Africa because there were very few Presbyterian churches in England. God placed a burden in him which later became a vision.

Rev Kibathi shared this vision with some officials of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland Mission Board (PCI), the PCEA General Assembly officials and the Nairobi central Presbytery where he was serving then as presbytery clerk and also PCEA Eastleigh Parish Minister. The PCI graciously accepted to partner with Rev Kibathi through the PCEA Head Office to establish a chaplaincy Ministry in London. The

PCEA Nairobi Central Presbytery released him March 2006 —together with wife Anne Muthoni Mbugua, and three children namely Benard Kibathi Mbugua, Samuel Kihara Mbugua, and Joy Wambui Mbugua. They were commissioned by the PCEA 18Th General Assembly which was meeting at PCEA St. Andrews Church in April 2006.

They arrived in the UK on the 22nd of May 2006 and made Plaistow United Reformed Church (now Christ church) their spiritual home and started attending church services there. The congregation’s leadership after hearing their story and vision also agreed to partner with them to pursue the vision. The congregation assigned Elders Reuben John, Eld.Nowel Carey, Eld. Henry and Eld. Mrs Rebecca Wairebi to assist them to make the first ‘baby’ steps needed. Rev. Jane Bezelyn, who was then the minister of Plaistow church, was very instrumental during the initial stages.

Soon we started the work, it became apparent that there was a need for a Sunday fellowship. One of the most memorable days was 25th June 2006, when an eight-member congregation and four children gathered to hold the first church service at the Memorial Baptist Church along Barking Road. We were honoured with the presence of the then PCEA Secretary General Rev. Samuel Murigu who was visiting us on his way from Belfast.

We then moved to the St. Matthias Anglican Church building in Canning Town where we held a weekly Sunday worship. To God be the glory, we were able to hold Sunday worship with a congregation of about 35 members. The services were held in the afternoon for we wanted to avoid uprooting those who were attending Churches elsewhere but still wanted to be part of the PCEA fellowship. Mr and Mrs Simon Kangethe who had served as PCEA Elders back in Kenya later joined us and were appointed by Rev Kimathi as the first PCEA Elders of the emerging congregation which had taken the name PCEA UK Outreach. We began most of the church groups and observed the PCEA calendar as it were by then.

The challenges of getting a suitable place of worship to accommodate the growing membership saw us move from Canning Town to New City United Reformed Church on Coronation Road Plaistow in January 2007. Regardless, the congregation was still growing and by this time membership had reached 60. These comprised of both those who were members of PCEA and from other denominations.

In January 2009, we moved to another church building belonging to Plaistow United Reformed Church which had closed known as Brickfields and located near Stratford town. The congregation started district fellowships to enable it reach all at the grassroots. By then the congregation had reached 180 adults while at Brickfields and so the Minister and the existing Elders decided to addthe number of Elders. Rev Kibathi therefore ordained two more Elders in 2009.

We moved from Brickfields in September 2013 for the premise was put on sale and went to St. Matthew's Church Anglican Church building which was just nearby. In 2016 due to the growing numbers and the need to minister effectively to the children and the youth, we moved to Memorial Community Church near Canning town and where we are now. We pray that God will open doors for us to acquire premises where we will be able to offer more to our members and the communities around us.

Way Forward

Similar to every ministry, our outreach has grown, and the vision is to have an inclusive mission—reaching out to people from other nationalities and cities in UK and beyond. We hope to achieve this through empowering the members and releasing them to plant churches in those areas. As a church, we are in the process of strategizing on how to strengthen the youth ministry. We are aware of the hostile environment that young people grow up in and the challenges that confront them due to peer pressure; we want to be there for them.

The importance of reaching out to young people is twofold—they have the philosophy, education and language to reach out to other nationalities living in this continent, we are positive that our committed youth members will achieve this with our support through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our doors are wide open to people from all backgrounds, regardless of where they are on their spiritual journey.

Who We Are

The PCEA UK Outreach is a multiracial and multicultural dynamic Presbyterian church based in England United Kingdom. We currently have three Parishes which form the EUROPE Presbytery. They are: London, Barking Road Parish, PCEA Luton Parish and PCEA Reading Parish. In September 2020 a fellowship was started in Birmingham which we hope will become a Parish soon. The membership of the church is mostly from Kenya and several others from Nigerian, Zambia and England. Our vision is to see the membership reflecting the diversity and cosmopolitan nature of England. As a church, it is our desire to see every man; woman and child hear and be transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and live a fulfilled and victorious life. We have continued our mission of reaching out to African expatriates living in London and other major cities in the UK. We seek to achieve this by:

a) Providing a forum for them to attend regular worship in a familiar environment and language through our Sunday church services.

b) Providing an opportunity for them to meet and interact with people from their own country.

c) Providing, spiritual, moral and emotional support to those in need either through church services or at district fellowships.

The church holds regular church services that are conducted in accordance with the Presbyterian tradition but always listening to the younger generation without changing the Gospel message. We also hold home fellowships and visit our.members and others in need in their homes and sometimes in hospitals.

We are happy that PCEA Congregations in the UK are now a principal point of worship, providing a soft landing for those arriving from their home countries and for many who in most cases feel ‘uprooted’ from their communities back home. At the same time the fellowships serve as a bridge between cultures as the members journey towards integration into the wider community.

We work closely with local churches in the furtherance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and with the Kenya High Commission, London. We also work with various Kenyan, African and UK faith based and community-based Networks to support the strengthening of community values amongst the African diaspora living in the United Kingdom.