A Calling

God called Daniel into ministry when he was was single and just 24 years old. God sent Daniel to plant a church in his home village about 40 miles out of Nairobi, Kenya. Then, He led Daniel to plant several more churches before coming to the United States.

Daniel’s wife Ruth travelled to the United States with him. They met at a church in Juja, Kenya, where Daniel was invited to preach.

After staying in the United States for a few months, Daniel decided that he wanted to return to Africa to continue with his ministry. God had other plans.

The Plan

One of Daniel’s friends, who was a missionary to Ethiopia but had come for a short stay in California, suggested that Daniel visit his relatives who lived in Kansas City before leaving for Africa. There, God spoke to Daniel in a vision. The vision was clear: Daniel should start a multi-cultural church right there in Kansas City.

At that time, Daniel and Ruth were members of the Crossroads Church where Pastor Joseph Smith was their pastor. Although Daniel had pastored at a young age, he thought that he was using his gifts in other ways serving at the church. He was in no hurry to heed God’s call.

The Vision

Then Daniel shared with Ruth his wife the vision that God had shown him. Sharing the vision with Ruth was the smartest thing that he did during the entire process. That made Daniel accountable, and he could not simply ignore God’s instruction. He would obey.

Daniel asked to be released from his church so that he could start the new church. On October 5, 2003, the pastor and elders of the church prayed for Daniel and his wife at the front of the church. The Elders blessed them and released them to do what God had called them to do.

Crossroads Church opened their own youth church for the new group to hold services at 3 pm on Sundays. They started those services on October 12 of that same year, after simply putting out a banner so people could see the invitation.

It Started with a Hand Full

Those services started with just a handful of people. Some people attended just to see what the new group was trying to do. Other people went because God sent them to the service, and some are still with the church today.

After several months, Crossroads Church sold their building. Daniel’s new congregation moved the service to a Days Inn in Olathe, Kansas and the conference room in the basement became their church. It was very small, and children’s class was held in one of the hotel rooms. They even used the television in the room to play videos for the kids!

Our Growth

The congregation grew. The Days Inn was no longer big enough for them. The new church moved over to Overland Community Center in January 2005. There, they had the main hall to use and also rented additional classrooms. Many people had joined the church at this point. Eventually they outgrew that location and moved to the Holiday Inn on 87th Street in Lenexa, Kansas.

Home

After only a few months at 87th Street, the Elders and Daniel knew that it was time to find a more permanent home for their church. They were continuing to grow, and they needed to use their resources towards a real home, rather than renting and moving from space to space. God had plans for them, to continue growing, building, and thriving. Daniel had faith that God had a building waiting for them. They had little liquid resources, but they had their trust in God.

Then one day, Daniel saw the building, right there in Shawnee that was to eventually become their home. The church moved into that property in 2006. The church continued to grow to become what it is today, helping to save and baptize and bring many people to God.