Rapture Harvest Marks 3rd Year, Honors 2010 Graduates
Bishop Joshua Wambua ,second left, his wife, Dorcas Wambua (in blue) toast with Rev. James E. Collins and his wife, Brenda Collings of the Eagle heights church in revere, Ma, to mark the 3rd year annivesary of the of Rapture Harvest Mission International at a ceremoney held recently at the RHMI church in Wakefield. H.Maina/Ajabu |
By Harrison Maina, AjabuAfrica News, posted July 5, 2010
Growing from a few members to a busy, bustling church in three years has been an interesting journey to the founders of the Rapture Harvest Mission International (RHMI), a fete that was marked on Sunday May 18 and followed by a class of 2010 graduates appreciation day a week later.
Over 10 Kenyans who recently graduated from various colleges attended the graduation celebration, where they received accolades and gifts from the crowd.
Started in 2007 by Bishop Joshua Wambua and his wife, Dorcas Wambua, Rapture Harvest Mission International has grown by leaps and bounds from a humble beginning, temporarily renting a school auditorium at the Kennedy Longfellow School in Cambridge Mass., only for Sunday services, to renting a relatively large one storied building in Wakefield where they have total access, seven days a week.
Speaking during the three-year anniversary celebrations, the church pastor, Bishop Joshua Wambua told the more than 100 guests in attendance that “Rapture Harvest is pleased to have grown into a robust multi racial, multi-tribal and all nation church, boasting membership from many African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, Nigeria, and South Africa. The church is also blessed to have members from the African American and Haitian communities.”
However, the most striking feature of this growing church is the mix of several tribes from Kenya that attend the church. Such togetherness was recently displayed when the church organized a fund raising and eventual repatriation of the late Arthur Oduma, a Kenyan intellectual who passed away in his apartment in Cambridge, only to be discovered weeks later by the police.
Graduates cut a graduation cake as pastors and therir wives watch during the RHMI graduation celebration day. H.Kamau/Ajabu |
Since Oduma did not have connections to the Kenyan community in Boston, RHMI stepped up and played a major role in conjunction with AjabuAfrica.com and the Oasis of love Ministries to mobilize the Kenyan community and well wishers around the country to raise about $25,000 used to send the body back home for a decent burial.
Since then, a stream of members of the Luo community have since joined the few members of the community who were at the church when it was beginning, led by Mzee Joseph Mithiga, and now, together with other members of other communities like the Kikuyu, Kamba, Luhya and other African nationalities, make the present church’s congregation.
Perhaps the epitome of the intertribal fabric of the RHMI church is the union between Bishop Joshua Wambua, a Kamba, and his wife, Dorcas, who is a Luhya
During the recent 3rd year celebrations and the graduation ceremonies, this multiplicity of racial and ethic backgrounds mingled with pomp and color at display as excited visitors paid tribute to the church.
“I take this opportunity to congratulate Bishop Wambua and his wife, Dorcas for this special occasion to mark the 3rd year since this church was founded,” said Rev. James E. Collins, pastor of the well known Eagle Heights church in Revere, Mass. who was the guest preacher at both occasions.
Flanked by his wife, Brenda Collins, Rev, Collins said that it was a big blessing to have the opportunity to minister in an ethnic African church like the Rapture Harvest, and hailed the growing union of his church and the Rapture church as a great bond worth pursuit.
According to Bishop Joshua Wambua, RHMI started from humble beginnings in 1987 back in Kenya.
“We started as an evangelistic, non-denominational team preaching in open air crusades and doing weekend challenges in schools and colleges. In 1995, RHMI became a registered religious organization in Kenya and we started planting churches wherever the lord prompted us for to do so,” he said.
Bishop Wambua added that RHMI now has followings and sister churches in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and lately in Bukavu in DRC, where several churches have been opened.
“Our biggest church is in the Embakasi area of Nairobi with over 2000 members, led by Rev Patrick Kimanzi. We have others in Kakamega, Muranga, Mombasa, Nyanza and more are coming up,” Bishop Wambua told AjabuAfrica.com.
Guests enjoy traditional African food during the recent RHMI 3rd year celebrations . H.Maina/Ajabu |
He added that in 1999, RHMI started a conference ministry here in USA which took them to almost all the states in seven years.
“During this period, I pioneered organizations like the All Saints Church Alliance (ASCA) based in Ohio 2002, of which I served as the vice president and the International Church Christian Alliance (ICA) started in Philadelphia, of which I was the first president,” he said. Pastor Wambua added that both organizations are still operational and serve the same function as the fairly well known Kenyan Christians Fellowship Abroad (KCFA) which will be marking its 20th year anniversary this weekend.
“Actually, the ASA just concluded a weekend challenge recently in Philadelphia with Bishop Joshua Mulinge as the visiting preacher,” added pastor Wambua.
Bishop Wambua said that in May of 2007 the RHMI church started their first branch in Cambridge, USA and later moving to Wakefield. “This is where we are now as we celebrate God's goodness and grace for 3years,” he said.
He congratulated Kenyans who graduated form various leaning institutions here in America saying, “We have to honor and recognize those among us who have worked so hard and have now graduated.”
He added that the graduates are a great example to those who are still aspiring to go back to school. “You are never too old to go back to school and attain what you dream about,” he said as cheers followed by great music and food took over the event.
Due to his effort at bringing communities from different backgrounds together, Bishop Wambua has been nominated to receive an Ajabu Award during the upcoming Ajabu African Awards Gala that will take place on Sunday, August 1st, 2020 at the Hilton Hotel in Woburn, Ma.
Bishop Joshua Wambua of Rapture Harvest Mission International (left) takes a picture with class of 2010 graduates during a ceremony to honor members of the community who are graduating from various colleges this year. |
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