From the official website of “The Repentance and Holiness Ministry”: The ministry’s founder and leader is referred to as God’s “two mightiest mightiest[sic] most dreadful & most glorified prophets” even though in truth he is only one man.
A so-called prophet’s repentance ministry in Kenya
by Daniel Ouko Orengo* • 1 June 2023
Repentance according to the Word of God is to make a change of mind, change of heart, and turn away from sin and return to God. Repentance begins with confession which is rightfully acknowledging and admitting that a person is wrong, and believing in God’s forgiveness to change path.
While repenting people express their regret for what they have done by being sorry and committing to change their behaviors. Repentance strengthens people’s faith which enables them to serve God diligently. It is through faith that people can believe that indeed God has forgiven them.
The “Ministry of Repentance and Holiness”
Most churches in Kenya advocate for repentance, however, there is one ministry in particular that is known for its emphasis on this matter of repentance. It's called the “Ministry of Repentance and Holiness”. It was founded by Prophet David Owuor (as his followers refer to him), in the year 2000, in the streets of Nakuru town.
Nowadays this ministry holds crusades and meetings countrywide. These meetings are led by their leader Prophet Owuor (as they refer to him). People come from far and wide, as far as from neighboring countries, Uganda and Tanzania.
Hotels and motels in the hosting towns are mostly fully booked, I remember one weekend during my football playing days, we had a tournament in Nakuru. My teammates and I were not able to get accommodation because all the hotels were fully booked by the attendees of the Repentance and Holiness Ministry crusade.
The ministry has grown over the years and has churches countrywide, they call them “altars”. They have branches spread across the country. I interviewed one of the pastors in the ministry who shed some light on their ministry.
Like many Kenyan Christians would, Pastor John Ondiek (not his real name, he was not comfortable with his name being used) started by saying that he is born again and Jesus is his savior. He is pleased and thankful to God for serving under The Ministry of Repentance and Holiness. According to him, this ministry believes in true repentance because sin is rampant in Kenya and has managed to enter the church, especially sexual immorality and fraud that is in the form of the gospel of prosperity.
Pastor John said that there is a need for repentance without a doubt, that’s why he is happy that their leader and founder is leading them on the path of repentance and holiness because once a person has repented he or she becomes holy.
Their founder Prophet Owuor (as they refer to him as a ministry) organizes meetings and outreach crusades across the country which the members endeavor to attend. “Luckily our ministry has grown and we can afford to transport our members across the country,” said Pastor John. They hold their services on Sundays and have midweek services as well.
Pastor John said that their ministry has managed to attract so many people, to an extent of pulling people from other churches. He attributes this to the message of repentance and holiness preached in their services and meetings. People have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Repentance is Biblical, “it is not a concept that was formulated by man, but rather it is a guiding principle from God to keep believers in check,” said pastor John. Jesus in his teachings told the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Any church or ministry that subscribes to repentance will meet the needs of many people. Pastor John said that people have a lot of problems in this world, and men and women are looking for a place where they can get help. The original purpose of the church is to bring hope and faith to a generation that is suffering. Therefore, if a person hears of somewhere they can be rejuvenated spiritually, he or she will certainly go there and that place is at the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness.
“Pastors and evangelists in this ministry do door-to-door evangelism, proclaiming the Word of God and informing people about the miracles performed by their leader at various crusades”, said Pastor John. This evangelism attracts people because they are eager to see the healing miracles and believe that their problems will be sorted out.
A notable reason why people have been attracted to this ministry according to Pastor John is their founder and leader. Pastor John said: “Prophet Owuor is a mighty prophet of God and most of his prophecies have come to pass for example he prophesied about the invasion of the locusts and the floods in Kenya, earthquakes in China and the US, and so many other prophecies”.
Pastor John said that the prophet has performed so many healing miracles, and people have testified of receiving the healing. These meetings are aired live on televisions and social media platforms, where we see people relinquish their crutches and wheelchairs. Others testify of receiving healing for terminal diseases like cancer and HIV aids. These healing miracles have seen people following prophet Owuor from one town to town another. Members leave their churches for good to follow the mighty prophet.
I sought to know if people repent, and pastor John was quick to tell me that indeed people do repent especially through prayers, they believe God hears their prayers and that they are forgiven their sins. They encourage their members to continue praying and always attend their fellowships and meetings to continue leading a righteous and holy life.
Pastor John said that the response from the community at large is good, people acknowledge the work of God being done by this ministry because people are repenting their sins and leading a holy life. The sick are getting healed, and the cripples are walking, however, some people are not pleased with their ministry, just like other ministries, they have faced resistance from people who say that the healing miracles performed at the meetings and crusades are not true and that they are fake. They claim that people being healed are paid to pretend to be sick or crippled. This has not deterred them from pushing forward with the work of God.
This ministry has a specific dress code whereby women wear long coats and long dresses, and cover their hair which is supposed to be short with a piece of cloth, while the men wear simple suits. Pastor John said that their style of dressing gives them an identity and makes them equal. It also makes them stand out from the crowd as people who are holy and righteous.
Response and perspective of other pastors
When the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness came into the limelight in the year 2000, pastors and Christians in Kenya welcomed their idea, vision, and mission. This is so because sin was rampant and had managed to penetrate the church, and therefore the concept of repentance and holiness was well accepted by the believers at the time. Everyone agrees that repentance is Biblical and for this reason, the repentance and holiness ministry has managed to attract the attention of the people.
As time went by, some issues started cropping up which made pastors, church leaders, and believers disagree with this ministry. The issues persisted resulting in resistance from pastors. I had a conversation with some pastors and this is what they had to say:
Pastor Eliakim Gisore (not his real name, he was not comfortable being quoted by name) started by saying, he is saved and Jesus Christ is his savior. He is a pastor in one of the churches in Kisii. He said that the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness is doing a good job in helping people to come closer to God, however, according to him some issues have emerged out of this ministry that are not so good.
“Followers of prophet Owuor refer to him as the mightiest prophet of the Lord, and that he is above all other pastors”, said Pastor Eliakim. This is belittling other men and women of God and it is not godly, because servants of God are supposed to be humble and simple and should not obtain names of high regard. Jesus was humble and he even washed his disciple’s feet. When Paul went into a city and performed many miracles, people were amazed at what he did and wanted to worship him, he tore his clothes and told them he is just a mere man like them, just that he had aligned himself to be used as a vessel of God. Therefore, church leaders should emulate Paul.
Pastor Eliakim went ahead and said that the acceptance of superior titles is not Christian because servants of God are supposed to be like Jesus who humbled himself to take away our adversities, he left all the power and glory in heaven that he may be subjected to shame and ridicule and later to be put to death because of our sins, this should be the model of our church, to serve people of God with humility. “Men and women wash and mop the road for the passage of their leader and his security and escort is larger than that of the government and state officers in Kenya”, said Pastor Eliakim. Jesus who we endeavor to become like, rode on a donkey, he did not have security, he had disciples. As much as servants of God should be accorded with respect, but not to the extent of making people wash the road for them to pass.
According to Pastor Eliakim, initially the repentance and holiness meetings and crusades were interdenominational but with time this changed and the attendees stuck with the ministry leader and started their churches which they call ‘altars’ under the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness. This made members from other churches leave their ministries and join this ministry. Of course this did not go well with pastors: They were agitated; it saw them lose a lot of members.
On the same note I met another pastor, let's call him Pastor Ken (he requested we omit his real name) Pastor Ken is a pastor in one of the Pentecostal churches in Kisii. He started by saying that he was a member of the repentance and holiness ministry when it was interdenominational for 2 years, he joined in 2010. He said that the leader of this ministry, prophet Owuor (as his followers refer him), told them then that God had sent him to churches; the catholic church, Pentecostal church, and the seventh-day Adventist church with a message, “repent, for the kingdom of God is near”.
As Pentecostals, they welcomed the prophet to Kisii and Pastor Ken remembers well that all churches were present in all the meetings held by the prophet. Pastor Ken with the permission of his bishop, continued supporting the repentance and holiness ministry by virtue of it being interdenominational by then, until one time, things started changing.
A group of people, who were members of this ministry but not affiliated with any denomination or ministry decided that they adopt the repentance and holiness ministry as their main ministry. They tried to persuade Pastor Ken to move from his mother church and join them, but it was not successful. Some members from other churches heeded the call and joined the repentance and holiness ministry fully. This move was sanctioned by the prophet.
Pastor Ken also remembers that his bishop, who was supportive of this ministry, was about to graduate with a master's degree in theology; the graduation day coincided with a crusade that was held in Nakuru town. The Bishop was denied permission to attend his graduation and the prophet told him, “I have come to destroy theology”. Such utterances made Pastor Ken, his bishop, and other pastors see that the prophet had a different hidden agenda and just like that they quit.
In my pursuit to know more, I also had a conversation with pastor Conrad Mugoya (not his real name, he requested we omit his real name). He is a pastor in one of the churches in Kisii. Pastor Conrad started by saying that repentance which the Repentance and Holiness Ministry advocates isn’t the only thing towards achieving the growth of the body of Christ, it's not the only element in the life of a believer. There are other important principles to be observed by a believer like mentorship, this is whereby a person who is experienced and has matured spiritually guides and directs another person who is a spiritual baby (new to spiritual matters) to the right path of righteousness in doing so to strengthen their trust and faith in the Lord. Pastor Conrad continued and said that another principle is discipleship, which is following Jesus as his disciples did. It is about becoming more like Jesus, christlike.
Mentorship and discipleship are long-term processes toward achieving the growth of the body of Christ and living a christlïke life as we all know it is good to trust in the process. Sometimes a person may repent but without proper spiritual guidance, the person will revert to the same sin or mistake.
Pastor Conrad continued and said that the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness doesn’t like praising God in their services and meetings. If you look at David in the bible, God is pleased with him because of the way he worshiped and praised Him. The Bible says “I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; teach me to praise you with my whole heart, Lord. Perfect my praise and cleanse my life that I may give you a life of praise, lifted in everything I do. I love you, Lord and I give you the offering of my lips today, the praises that you deserve” (Psalms 9:1-2). “Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him with the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy”. (Psalms 33:2-3)
God is looking at the heart that is willing to praise Him. “In the church of repentance and holiness”, Pastor Conrad says, “they are told not to sing high praises or even dance for the Lord. This prohibits the members from being joyous in the house or presence of God”.
Having a dress code in the ministry according to pastor Conrad is okay but to some extent, it is too harsh that if you can't dress like them, then you cannot worship with them. They claim, “if you don't dress like them, you'll not make it to heaven”. The issue of dressing is cultural, people across the world dress differently in some countries men wear skirts and even in the times of Jesus men wore skirts. Spirituality is not about fashion but rather about what goes in and out of the body. With that said a Christian should not dress in a manner likely to cause controversy but dress decently.
Pastor Conrad has noted with a lot of concern that most marriages in the Ministry of Repentance and Holiness are in jeopardy, this is so because one partner leaves another to go for the meetings and crusades which are mostly far from their homes and may take longer to conclude, they take up to one week. One week is long for a couple with trust issues. You’ll find a woman leaving her husband with the kids to ttend a crusade out of town for one week, this is a recipe for chaos in the marriage because the wife is absconding from her duties in marriage. The husband might grant the wife permission, but no man is comfortable when the wife is away for one week with other people.
Throughout my interviews with other pastors, it came out clear that the members of the Repentance and Holiness Ministry are stuck on repentance and they look too much to their leader, they adore and fear him. Even getting an interview from a representative of the ministry was a big challenge. In most cases they cannot make decisions on their own, their decisions especially on spiritual matters are inspired by their leader. As far as I am concerned, it’s only God that is supposed to be given such adoration.
Are the miracles performed at the “Ministry of Repentance and Holiness” true?
In my conversations with the pastors, it emerged that the leader of this ministry performs healing miracles in his meetings. This has elicited mixed reactions from people from all walks of life. On further seeking to know if these miracles are indeed true, this is what one of the pastors said, “You don't measure a man of God by the miracle he or she performs, there you will be led astray. What he or she teaches determines whether one is a true servant of God”. From this statement, you can tell that pastors are not coming out clearly about the miracles, they have no clear position on this matter, certainly the claims of the miracles are controversial. An online secular publication called Kahawa Tungu1 has an article about a former recruit of prophet Owuor testifying about false miracles performed at the ministry2. The article was written 3 years ago.
What the former recruit claims are false miracles includes “resurrecting” a woman from West Pokot in 2017. The woman and according to the former recruit, Prophet Owuor exploited this woman’s misery of having to fake rising from the dead to advance his selfish interests until she passed on in 2019 and was secretly buried. The “resurrection” of the woman was highly celebrated by the members of the Repentance and Holiness Ministry, but upon her real death, there were no celebrations or rather nothing was done. It went unnoticed.
Another incident is the “healing” of a blind schoolgirl in 2016. According to the article, it later emerged that the girl, who had just completed her primary school studies, later joined Thika secondary school for the blind. The question here is: how then can she join a school for the blind yet she was healed?
Exaggerated claims about prophecies
Owuor’s ministry makes hugely big claims about supposedly powerful fulfilled prophecies. Perhaps most notably, it is claimed3 under the title “The two most dreadful prophets of the Lord strike the earth again with a deadly plague: coronavirus” (even though in truth Owuor is only one man) that in 2015 he has prophesied the coming of the coronavirus pandemic. This claim is made with a link to a recording4 which apparantly is from 2015; there Owuor prophesied about a “severe distress of disease coming to India”. Curiously, in the referenced recording dated 2015, the prophecy is about India, while in the claim of fulfillment, Asia is referenced instead5. In the prophecy, Owuor said e.g. “I see lack of equipment and many people rushing to hospitals” which is something that could quite plausibly happen in case of any severe epidemic in India. There is nothing in the prophecy that is specific to the coronavirus or to the particular kind of illness that it causes or about the surprising pandemic where not just India (where that would not be so surprising) but some rich developed countries had situations with hospitals lacking sufficient equipment and capacity.
Compared to the strong claim of fulfillment, the actual referenced prophecy is shockingly vague. Another aspect is that Owuor has made very many such vague prophecies of calamities6, so that it is really not very remarkable when some of them have something in common with disasters that come to pass. Apparantly Owuor actually has a strong scientific background, in view of which he certainly should know better than to make strong claims about prophecy fulfillment on such a weak basis:
According to infoguideafrica.com7 Owuor holds a bachelor’s degree in science in molecular genetics and a Ph.D. in molecular genetics. After completing his Doctorate from the University of Haifa, Owuor joined the Centre for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Illinois, Chicago as a Postdoctoral Fellow where he researched and taught in the College of Pharmacy, and specifically the Department of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. This was before he started his ministry.
In view of his scientific background, Owuor certainly knows that his ministry’s claims of prophecy fulfillment are greatly exaggerated. Maybe a person with little or no education could be confused, but Owuor certainly understands that his ministry is dishonest.
Some of Owuor’s prophecies are quite wild. According to Slymedia TV, a secular news website, at some point he had said that the World was coming to an end on April 12th, 2020. Since that prophecy did not come to pass, Owuor then said that he had begged God to postpone the end of the world.8
Is this ministry the wrong kind of tree?
In the book of Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus is talking to his disciples and warning them that in later times teachers and prophets will emerge and some of them will be false prophets. The Bible says in verse 15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves”.
Verse 16 “By their fruits, you will recognize them, do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles'' basically Jesus is saying that good people or real people are not recognized by their outward appearance but what comes out of their teachings is evidence of what exactly is in their hearts.
“Beware of false prophets” is said in the sternest of measures, there will be and are false prophets and they are some of Satan's greatest weapons. “You shall know them by their fruits”, this is a test given by Christ as it regards the identification of false prophets and false apostles, and is a test that everyone should try. “Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles'', it is impossible for false doctrine, generated by false prophets, to bring forth good fruit.
Verse 17-18 says, “Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”, the good fruit is christlikeness, while the evil fruit is self-likeness. Jesus is looking for the right person with good deeds and intentions.
Therefore, Christians should be careful to pick the right information from the right person. All the same, if people are happy in Jesus and their spirituality is growing there can be nothing better than that because Jesus came to take away our sins according to John the Baptist.
Prophet or not, the leader of a ministry cannot fake spiritual growth among his followers. I looked for such true spirituality among the people who attend this ministry, but did not find it. Therefore, I am afraid that I cannot give a positive conclusion about this ministry.
Structural problem of a prophet leading a ministry
As I have been learning about this ministry, I can't stop wondering about a prophet leading a ministry. I have always thought that that’s the role of a pastor. In the concept of the five-fold ministry, which comprises the prophets, apostles, evangelists, teachers and pastors (Ephesians 4;11), the role of prophets and pastors are different and separate, they both serve important spiritual functions.
The role of the prophet is to warn, caution, or direct people as per the will of God; on the other hand, pastors guide, encourage, and mentor Christians into becoming what God intended them to become spiritually, socially, and economically. When a prophet is leading a ministry, it means that he or she will deviate from his or her primary mandate, which is to correct things that are going wrong and put people to realization of spiritual realities.
A prophet has a different calling from a pastor, he or she will be focused on guiding church members in the journey of spiritual growth towards their destination, because he or she will be focusing more on what God is telling him to do, or rather what God has shown him. That's why we see the Repentance and Holiness Ministry that is led by a prophet dwelling so much on the matter of repentance and the consequences of sin, forgetting that believers have other needs spiritually, socially, and economically.
Efforts to reach the ministry to get them to respond to the criticism were futile. They did not reply.
Next: Forgiveness cannot be bought, by Eric Bosire.
Notes:
About the image:
Screenshot of a small part of the homepage of
https://www.repentandpreparetheway.org/
which is the official website of the “Ministry of Repentance and Holiness”,
as displayed on 1 June 2023. Used on the basis of the legal permission to make quotations,
cf. article 10 of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
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* About the author:
The author is a Kenyan Journalist. This article is published under a pseudonym, in order to
protect the author from any repercussions due to the overly large influence and power of the
“Ministry of Repentance and Holiness” in Kenya.
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1 “Kahawa tungu” is a Swahili phrase meaning “strong coffee”. back
2 https://www.kahawatungu.com/former-prophet-owuor-recruit-speaks/ back
3 https://youtu.be/C5QkWRwjme8 back
4 https://youtu.be/kZ8Fj58cIe8 back
5 The change from India to Asia was pointed out by Jan Krohn in https://www.auferstanden.org/2020/08/03/faktencheck-wie-mega-sind-die-zwei-mega-propheten-des-herrn-dr-david-owuor/ [in German] back
6 cf. Jan Krohn’s analysis in https://www.auferstanden.org/2020/08/03/faktencheck-wie-mega-sind-die-zwei-mega-propheten-des-herrn-dr-david-owuor/ [in German] back
7 https://www.infoguideafrica.com/2020/10/prophet-david-owuor-biography-age-early.html back
8 https://www.facebook.com/slymediatv/photos/kenyan-prophet-who-said-the-world-was-going-to-end-april-12th-says-he-begged-god/2664211310503298/ back
Suggested citation:
Daniel Ouko Orengo: A so-called prophet’s repentance ministry in Kenya. MissionField News (ISSN 2813-2270)
https://missionfield.news/2023/5_Owuor
2023-06-01.