Greetings brethren, who are also fellow sharers of the heavenly invitation. I am James Mutulu, a Kenyan based in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya in E. Africa. I was born in 1960 in a mainstream Christian family where my father was a pastor. I am the fifth born in a family of seven brothers and three sisters. My father being a strong Protestant, made sure that we attended Sunday school, church choir and all church activities. Except for me, all my brothers were Sunday school teachers and some even became choir masters. I was very clever in school and so, was very good at reciting verses, in what they called memory verses in Sunday school. Only, they never had any meaning to me. The religion never got into my nerves and my father used to think of me as a stray child since, unlike my brothers, I wasn't serious in that faith. After schooling up to "O" level course, I dropped from school since my father could not afford to pay for my advanced learning. This was in 1979. So I quit schooling and went, to look for some way of earning living. I landed in the mines where I was employed casually and had to stick there for the next five years, which took me up to 1983. All these time I had quit religion completely and didn't attend any church nor touch the Bible. But something was very strong in my mind, that there is a God somewhere in heaven. On Jan,1984, I quit the mining job and came to Nairobi. But life became too hard that I had to quit and try elsewhere. On going back to the countrside, the feeling that I need a different life struck me strongly. So I thought; "I have tried every kind of life. The only one I no nothing about is Christianity because all through, i never got convinced that my father's type is it, and neither did i try it. I tried to engage in farming and at the same time decided to read the bible by myself without consulting anybody. After six months of a novel kind of reading, i found myself unable to finish a day without reading it. It was later in the year that I discovered how the seventh day is not Sunday but Saturday. I asked my father and he confirmed to me the same, only saying, it is for the Jews, but christians were given Sunday by Christ. I decided to start keeping the sabbath according to the commandment, but I had no idea about the day starting at evening, so I began to observe it from Satuday morning to sunset. After a month or so, the SDA's launched some campaign in that area and I soon joined them, joyfully praising God that He has shown me the right church. I immediately began to work on Sunday. This angered my father and he threw me out of the homestead. But I was decided to obey God, and so, I went away and settled someplace of ma own, in what today may appear to many as a wilderness, a place where Sabbath was not known. I preached and people began to convert to it. At this time, I was seriously studying SDA, literatures by Hellen G. White. After four years of fellowshipping with them, I discovered that White was speaking dreams and not the Bible. When I questioned the elders, I was again thrown out of the Church. So I decided to begin preaching what I know from the Bible and believed that, whoever will accept the Bible like me will be my brother. It was at this point, in 1988 that I met a man reading a booklet by Armstrong, namely, "The true gospel". I requested to see it and after going through the introduction part of it, I was attracted and asked him if he can get me one. He gave it to me without hesitating, saying he can get another one. On reading it, I found everything that I was reading in the bible. I also saw an address of the Worldwide Church in Nairobi and so, wrote to them. They answered back immediately and began to send me the Ambassador Bible Correspondence Course with more booklets. I studied the 32 lessons and was at last issued with a certificate. This was 1990. So I decided to get baptized but before I could do it, Tkach senior began to introduce a Triune doctrine, which we later discovered to be a going back to trinity belief. When I consulted with the minister, he claimed it was just a detailed revelation of what we believe. I promised to go back and restudy and if so, I'll go for baptism but if not, they will never see me again. I did disapprove them and that left me alone once again, until 1993, when i came across, "The world ahead magazine by Meredith, with the Global Church. I joined the fellowship the same year, and was immediately baptized, by a Mr. Sydy Hull of S.Africa. At the same time, I met a Minister Owino who was overseeing for global herein Kenya. After sometime, the global splintered and we joined a "Living Church of God, still by Meredith". At this time, I was seeing something terribly wrong with the ministry. Every time I read the scriptures and see the examples of Jesus' conduct and that of the apostles, it seemed very different from what the ministers were displaying. For example, even if something is proven by scripture but not acceptable by the office, then it’s not accepted. At the same time, it was said that, disobeying the church leadership is disobeying Christ, regardless of whether they be right or wrong!This brought me not a little fear and confusion at the sametime. Around,1999, I could not bear with it anymore and so I challenged the minister and was marked (as disfellowshipped). So I began to preach and got some new people whom I fellowshipped with and we gave ourselves the name of, "The true Church of God". When the minister of the Living church realised that our group is growing, he began another campaign against me and used a friend of mine to reach my brethren, offering them money and telling them falsely how I was thrown out of the Church because I am, a self seeker. Being young in faith, most of them saw sense in the money and joined Living. I remained with one member who is with us up to now. Afterwards, that minister left living and joined Restored church. After reading some of David packs booklets, i was attracted. This was 2004 and so , I reached the minister, even though he didn't like me, asking for fellowship. So he told me I can fellowship as long as I submit to the authorities. After studying with them, I discovered how pack has even gone further in this unconditional submission until it was impossible to have a free fellowship. The area minister also used this to become a real police. I endured there for some two months and around this time, I met Bill Goff who was attending a feast in Kenya with the "Church of God in truth", overseen by Evans Ochieng. After discussing with him, we exchanged addresses and began to communicate. This happened in 2005. So we fellowshiped through E-mail with Evans opposing me heavily and trying to convince Bill not to work with me, but Bill was convinced am in the truth. I never joined Church of God in truth but was just fellowshipping with Bill. Came the Feast of 2006, Bill came back to Kenya and invited me to the Feast. This is when we now had good time to fellowship and he was convinced that am not about people but for the truth. It is also here that he helped me realize how we truly don't need to be under a corporate body to be with Christ. This eased my fears and from that time till now, I thank God I am enjoying total freedom and fellowship with those that are in Christ regardless of group. At the same time, Bill also did quit the church of God in truth and we began the Voice in the wilderness church of God immediately. We also parted ways with Evans because he wasn't out for non-conditional fellowship, in which me and Bill had agreed that, "When proven wrong by scriptures, we should repent and change". We have continued with Bill until he introduced me to you brethrten, around which time, he has also began seeing things differently and introducing doctrines which to me are not biblical. Recently, He and Leslie visited this region and I was able to have Leslie for two weeks in a day and night kind of fellowship and did find him to hold the same beliefs as mine. At the same time, on arriving here, Bill decided to go back to Evans. So we went round with brother Leslie, while he went with Evans to groups which currently are church of God in truth, who are very different from us. I have been studying and listening to Cds from Leslie, Legers, Travers and now Coulter, and as I told brother Leslie, I have seen the Christian Church of God to hold to everything I believe in and so find their fellowship to be edifying. This is why I am freely working with them because, I believe they are sent by the same Christ who sent me and so, I am not ashamed to call them brothers. We are here now brethren. May God lead us until we meet Christ in the air that Day, whether by way of change or resurrection, depending on where Christ finds us, I mean, the grave or alive. Grace be with you all
James and Bill
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