Anglican Church of Kenya

The history of the Anglican Church of Kenya goes back to 1844 when the first missionaries of the CMS (Church Missionary Society) arrived in Mombasa. The Diocese of Eastern Equatorial Africa was formed in 1884, including today’s Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The mission spread to central and western Kenya as of the year 1900. The work benefitted greatly from the East Africa Revivals in the first half of the 20th century, when mass conversions occurred. In 1927 Kenya became a diocese on its own. The first Kenyan bishops were consecrated in 1955 and in 1960 the Province of East Africa was established covering Kenya and Tanzania. The two countries became separate provinces ten years later. That same year, 1970, the first African archbishop of Kenya was installed. In 1998 the name of the province was changed to Anglican Church of Kenya.

The vision of the ACK is a strengthened Anglican Church built on the foundation of the apostolic faith in Jesus Christ with the ability to equip all God’s people to face the challenges of the new millennium. Its mission is to bring all people into a living relationship with God through Jesus Christ, through preaching, teaching, healing and social transformation and enabling them to grow in faith and live life in its fullness.

The church runs many educational and other institutions, e.g. a language school for expatriate and local staff, a community development centre for orphaned and destitute children, several theological colleges and a provincial programme of theological education by extension. St Paul’s United Theological Colleges (now University) in Limuru, near Nairobi, was jointly established by the Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists in 1954. The Church Army Africa is the evangelistic and social welfare arm of the ACK. The church has developed a five-year strategic plan which mainly focuses on evangelism and social transformation.