Reverend Teresia Wairimu Kinyanjui | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Wairimu |
| Church | Faith Evangelistic Ministries (FEM) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15th November, 1957 Waithaka, Nairobi County |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Denomination | Christian |
| Residence | Nairobi Kenya |
| Parents | Njeri Kinuthia and Kinuthia Kinyanjui |
| Children | Robert and Catherine |
Teresia Wairimu Kinyanjui (15 November 1957) is a Kenyan evangelist, the founder and director of Faith Evangelistic Ministries (FEM). She has over 20,000 ministry partners, with offices in Kenya, United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK). She founded FEM in 1989 when charismatic churches emerged as an alternative to the worship in mainstream denominations. Wairimu became the first female preacher to hold regular revival crusades at Uhuru Park grounds. She is cited as early proponent of the Doctrine of Seed Planting (DSP) in Kenyan Evangelical history.
Wairimu was born on 15 November 1957 in Waithaka, Nairobi County as the second child to Njeri Kinuthia and Kinuthia Kinyanjui. [1] Her grandfather, Kinyanjui wa Gathirimu, was a Paramount Kikuyu Colonial Chief. Wairimu was married on 25 November 1978, and has two children, Robert and Catherine, and five grandchildren. [2]
Wairimu attended Mukarara Primary School in Waithaka, Nairobi County, from 1964 to 1970 and later joined Ngiriambu Girls' High School in Kirinyaga County from 1971 to 1975. [1] [3] She worked as a kindergarten teacher and served as a teacher at Christ for All Nations (CFAN) School of Evangelism in Orlando, Florida, training ministers to be effective in ministry. [4] [5]
Wairimu became a committed Christian in 1977. [4] She founded Faith Evangelistic Ministry (FEM) in 1989, which started from small house gatherings and transitioned to large gatherings at venues like Nairobi’s City Hall, Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), and eventually regular Sunday crusades at Uhuru Park, where she preached on the second Sunday of each month for 14 consecutive years. [2] The ministry has been in existence since 1989. Wairimu was commissioned by German Pentecostal evangelist Reinhard Bonnke in June 1988, after one of his crusades in Kenya, in which "she witnessed the manifestation of God through him". [6]
Her ministry focuses on evangelism and incorporates elements such as healing, the doctrine of seed planting, [7] charitable outreach and public preaching, depicting true Pentecostalism. Wairimu emphasizes the practical application of Christian teachings, particularly in contexts of poverty and social need, [8] for instance, the establishment of Kikambala, an orphanage, which functions as a feeding center for orphaned and destitute children. [9]
Wairimu has expanded her Christian ministry activities beyond Kenya to several countries internationally. Her overseas missions have included visits to Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, India, Singapore, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, South Africa, the Faroe islands and Jamaica. [4] In recognition of her ministry work of evangelism and charitable outreach, Wairimu received the Martin Luther King Peace Award for Africa. [10]
It was early morning on 21 July 1985 at 3:00 a.m. when Wairimu encountered a life changing experience. Her room was filled with smoke and a loud voice called her name “Wairimu”. The glory of God filled the room and although she was fearful, she perceived that it was the Lord speaking. She sat up and the Lord spoke to her about her calling, her service to God and what He was going to do in the church through her ministry. One week later, at a Sunday service, God manifested His power to Wairimu through the gift of prophecy and word of knowledge. [2]
At that time in Kenya, there was no great manifestations of miracles thus there were no mentors to look up to. However, when Reinhard Bonke, a German-American Pentecostal evangelist, hosted a crusade in June 1988 in Kenya, Wairimu identified with that. After her call, she had ministered in High Schools, Universities, small social gatherings and Bible studies, but her dream came to pass on 17 May 1992 in Oslo, Norway, when she met Reinhard Bonnke and he laid hands on her. [11] Coming back to Kenya, Wairimu knew she had received something from God that money could not buy. She had been birthed into ministry on that day, and there was an evident explosion in her ministry. [2] [11]