Dagaga Gemachu, ALWM missionary to Kenya

Rev. Dagaga Gemachu, his wife Bruktawit and 3 year old son Naga live in Nairobi, Kenya. Originally from Ethiopia, Rev. Dagaga is a Global Worker for the NALC and ALWM. He is Lead Pastor of Oromo Christian Fellowship Nairobi, serving in Word & Sacrament ministry as the only ordained pastor on staff. This church is engaging in fruitful, frontline ministry with Ethiopian refugees in Nairobi waiting to emigrate around the world, as well as with the unreached among the Borana people!

The Oromo Christian Fellowship Church in Nairobi (OCFN) was started as a home prayer group by some Ethiopian refugees residing in Kenya mid to late 1980s. No one imagined it would last 30-plus years, let alone it was destined to do such a substantial mission work in the Kingdom of God. The plight of Oromo refugees from the tyranny and dictatorship of the Ethiopian government(s) in the last 30-plus years continued and there was a constant increase in the flow of migrants into neighboring Kenya.  This little church has grown mightily over the years, with solid ministry in the city, and beyond.

Rev. Dr Gemechis Buba, NALC Assistant to the Bishop for International Mission, visited OCFN in 2022, which began the connection with the NALC. He found the congregation to be struggling for lack of a spiritual leader, and in need of mission leader to be stationed in Nairobi and do Word and Sacrament ministry to this rapidly growing number of Oromo immigrants to Nairobi, Kenya, and other parts of Kenya.

Rev. Buba wrote, “That congregation in Nairobi is doing a phenomenal work in spreading the word of God among the Borena community in the northern part of Kenya, where that community has been unreached by the gospel for many years. Now having Dagaga as a missionary in Nairobi is going to help the congregation in Nairobi plus their immensely impressive mission expansion work in the northern part of Kenya.”

The immigrant population in Nairobi is often headed elsewhere in Europe or North America after a season of time, so as Pastor Dagaga and his team share the Gospel and make disciples, the impact of OCFN ministry extends around the World. In addition, they have a powerful ministry among the Borena people in Northern Kenya, nomadic peoples largely unreached with the Gospel. There are 11 preaching points that Pastor Dagaga and his team visit regularly. In early 2024, there were 152 baptized during an outreach, with another 51 people who were inaccessible due to torrential rains are waiting for the next ministry team to come!

The anticipated finances from a key source didn’t come together, so there is a critical need for more support so they can stay and serve!  For more information about how to support them click, donate here.