The HillCity Story

Mavuno Church was birthed by Nairobi Chapel in 2005 and was initially located in Nairobi’s South C area. Driven by a desire to turn ordinary people into fearless influencers of society, and an approach to attract and disciple the unchurched men and women of Nairobi, Mavuno quickly grew from 300 men and women in 2005, to a few thousand within a few short years.

By 2014, the church was bursting at the seams. There were three weekend services on Saturday and Sunday, with hardly any capacity to accommodate more people. Spurred on by their vision to see culture-defining churches planted across Africa and the gateway cities of the world, Mavuno multiplied into five congregations while at Bellevue– three in Nairobi Kenya, and one each in Kampala, Uganda and Berlin, Germany.

It would soon become very apparent to the leadership at Mavuno that there was need for a permanent headquarters from which to lead what was quickly becoming a global movement of churches.

 “…I just began to feel that we must  have a headquarters.” said Muriithi Wanjau the senior pastor of Mavuno Church- fondly known as Pastor M. “…Even though Bellevue was a fantastic location, there was a lot of impermanence being in that rental space. I felt it affected the ability of the movement to do what God called was calling us to do…We needed to get a headquarters, a place from which we could launch out missionaries that would go across the world and impact the different nations.”

In no time, a team was put together. They had one task- to find Mavuno a home. They searched across Nairobi city, and eventually found a 20-acre piece of land in the Athi River area, on the outskirts of Nairobi.

It was the perfect fit to the church’s needs. There was just one problem. The amount needed to purchase the land was astronomical- a total of USD 3.5 million, loosely translating to KES 350 million. This saw the launch of a fundraising campaign, similar to the one we are currently running (Free the Future). Church members pledged to give to the cause and soon enough, Mavuno was able to put a down-payment on the land.

“I remember feeling so intimidated coming to ask God’s people if we could raise that money. But I’ll be honest and say that I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Mavuno. People pledged…we even got pledges that surpassed this [the KES 350 million] amount.

“…With time we were able to put down our deposit for the land and begin to develop it.” Pastor M recounted.

The next step, developing the land, would prove to be an adventure of its own. The 20-acre property was a desolate wilderness with nothing short of bushes, dust and vast emptiness. Outside of the eyes of faith, it was hard for anyone to see how the dreams God had laid down for Mavuno could come to pass from environs such as these.

But God would have His day. After much labour and preparation, a lot of which included sweaty days of grass-slashing, the Mavuno headquarters hosted its inaugural service on March 2, 2014.

Fast forward to a few years later and Hill City has budded into an oasis of discipleship and transformation. Since Mavuno’s settlement at this location, the church has gone on to plant over thirty different campuses spanning various cities in Kenya, and nations in Africa. Lives have continued to change through the different programmes such as Mizizi, LEA and NDOA. And those as the Fearless Institute.

Simply put, we have made great strides over the years. But even then, our future holds much more to conquer. There are more churches to be planted, more lives to be transformed, and more missionaries to be deployed. All these, along with the numerous other plans that God has in store for the Mavuno movement, lie at risk for as long as the matter of permanently having our own base remains unsettled.

We therefore call out to you Mavuno family to stand with us through your giving and prayers, and help bring to fruition the eight-year journey to owning our property. Only then can we surely realise the full capacity of what God has put into the hands of this movement.

To support the ‘Free the Future Campaign’ and give Mavuno a home, visit: www.freethefuture.mavunochurch.org

Quotes:

Pastor Muriithi Wanjau, Senior Pastor- Mavuno Church

“As we free our future, as we pay off the mortgage at the HillCity property, it is only  going to give us more resources to go into places that we can’t imagine [today].”

Pastor Michael Obbo Onen, Campus Pastor- Mavuno Kampala and network leader of the Mavuno churches in Uganda.

“It’s just important that we are part of the Free the Future campaign because we are able to free up resources to help us do more ministry. There is so much more outreach and discipleship that needs to happen. We need to plant more churches, more celebration points for fellowship and for gathering.  Very importantly also is to secure the legacy for future generations. I‘m talking about securing the church for our kids, our kids’ kids and our kids’ kids’ kids!

That’s why I’m part of the Free the Future campaign.”

Pastor Angela Kimaru, Campus Pastor- Mavuno South; Executive Pastor- Discipleship.

“Once we free the future. Once we own this property [HillCity], ministry is going to be accelerated.”

Pastor Daniel Flechsig, Campus Pastor- Mavuno Berlin.

“I’m excited at the prospect of completing the debt at HillCity, because I see the opportunity for impact across nations and even continents.”

“As long as Mavuno has debt on its headquarters, we will always be held back from impacting Europe and bringing the change that this continent needs.”

“I see HillCity as a place from where many world-changers will be sent out and begin to impact many European nations.”

Pastor Freddy Sebuyange, Campus Pastor- Mavuno Kinshasa.

“‘Free the Future’ is divine. We have to do this.”

To support the ‘Free the Future Campaign’ and give Mavuno a home, visit: www.freethefuture.mavunochurch.org