The History of the Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA) and Its Ties with the South African Dutch Reformed Church (DRC)

From the history of the Reformed Church of East Africa

In the early 1900s, some people from the Boer republics in South Africa moved to Eastern Africa after the Anglo-Boer War. They didn't want to live under British rule, so they settled in Kenya. These migrant farmers were part of the Reformed Churches in South Africa. They formed their own congregation called Vergenoeg in Eldoret, Kenya. The land there was fertile and perfect for farming. At that time, Kenya was still a German colony called German East Africa, but it would soon become a British colony after World War I. 

Rev. M. P. Loubser became the first minister of the congregation. He, along with other farmers, established a ministry among the farmworkers. In 1944, the congregation decided to call its first full-time missionary. Rev. Loubser had left money in his will specifically for mission work, which made this possible. They bought a school building called Broederstroom, which is now known as Plateau, to be used as a mission station.

On October 27, 1944, Rev. and Mrs. B. B. Eybers arrived as full-time missionaries. This marked the official beginning of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) mission in Kenya. They made changes to the old school building and renamed it the Bwana Loubser Mission Station. Rev. Eybers had previously been a DRC missionary in Malawi for 16 years, so he had experience in mission work. He used a comprehensive approach to the mission work in Kenya, including preaching and teaching the Word, education, agricultural skills training, and medical care. He also provided Christian literature in Swahili, such as lessons from the Bible, a catechism, and hymn books.

Four evangelists joined Rev. Eybers in 1947, and they focused on establishing schools as the first outstations of the mission. The first converts were baptized in 1947. Rev. Eybers also started a theological training school, and in 1956, the first three ministers were ordained and sent to their new mission fields. The mission work expanded steadily.

In the early 1960s, most of the South African migrant farmers left Kenya due to the struggle for independence and the actions of the Mau-Mau movement. Rev. Eybers retired in 1960, and the work was officially handed over to the Gereformeerde Zendingsbond (GZB) of the Netherlands in July 1961, about 50 years after the first mission initiative.

Today, the Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA) is a vibrant and growing church. It continues to bear the fruits of a wide range of ministries.

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