For some young Kenyans, the church they grew up attending was chosen for them by their parents. It was where they went to Sunday school, made friends, participated in church activities and learnt about faith.
But as they grew older, some began asking whether the church they had known since childhood was still where they wanted to worship.
For Hillary Agidho, the experience of growing up in church was already shaped by two different traditions. His father is Anglican while his mother is Catholic.
As a child, he attended Sunday school in the Anglican Church, although he would sometimes accompany his mother to the Catholic Church, particularly as a teenager when he enjoyed participating in youth liturgical dances.
Hillary Agidho, an information science professional, grew up in the Anglican Church.
Photo credit: Pool
He later joined an Anglican-sponsored boys’ secondary school, where he became more firmly involved in the Anglican Church.
“I wanted consistency in how I worshipped, and that is when I truly came to identify with it,” Agidho says.
He preached several times while in school, an experience he says helped his faith grow. At university, however, he was exposed to different Christian ministries through the Christian Union and Net Ministries Trust, where he joined the evangelism team. Around 2019, he started wondering whether a Pentecostal church would provide the kind of spiritual environment he was looking for.
“I was invited to preach in several Pentecostal churches around university and during Net Ministries missions and admired the way they conducted their services.”
The thought stayed with him even after graduating from university. When he moved to Nairobi after graduating, Agidho eventually joined PEFA Church in 2024 after a period of prayer.
“I had long desired this, and I found it hard to fully live it out in the church I grew up in,” he says.
He says he wanted an environment where he could grow spiritually and use the gifts he had developed through ministry. The decision was not easy for everyone around him.
Some relatives and friends struggled with the fact that he was leaving what they considered a family church. His parents, however, were more accepting.
“They knew how seriously I take spiritual matters and trusted that I would choose wisely,” he says.
For Agidho, the experience has changed how he views the idea of children remaining in the churches chosen by their parents.
“It is normal for a person to belong to the church their parents took them to as a child, and later choose another out of personal conviction as an adult,” he says.
He believes young people should not make such decisions casually, but should pray and seek God’s guidance.
“Don’t simply endure a church that is not helping you grow,” he says.
For Joan Omondi, the change happened more gradually. She grew up in Nomiya Church, a Christian Luo church, and remained there throughout her childhood until Class Eight.
Joan Omondi, a young professional who chose a different church as she developed her own faith journey.
Photo credit: Pool
She remembers Sunday school, Bible studies and the friendships she formed there. Services were largely conducted in Dholuo, with an interpreter, and the church was deeply connected to her family and social life.
Her first serious thought about another church came in high school. She attended a Christian Union service one Sunday and remembers being struck by the experience.
“The songs spoke to me in a way I had never experienced before, and for the first time, I felt a deep sense of peace and closeness to God,” Joan says.
It was not that she suddenly decided her childhood church was wrong; rather, she began to understand her relationship with God differently.
“It was more of a gradual realisation as I grew older and began developing my own relationship with God,” she says. Joan wanted to understand the Bible more deeply, worship freely and develop a personal relationship with God rather than simply continue attending a church because it was where her family had always worshipped.
When she eventually started looking for a church, she considered more than the style of Sunday worship.
“I looked at worship, belonging, meaningful relationships, spiritual growth and opportunities to serve.”
Her father’s reaction was one of the factors that made the decision difficult. He initially struggled with the idea because he believed the family should fellowship together.
“It made the decision a little difficult because I understood where my dad was coming from, and I didn’t want him to feel like I was rejecting the way I had been brought up,” she says.
But with time, her parents came to understand that she was not rejecting them or the foundation they had given her. Her relationship with her family has remained intact.
“If anything, it has helped us understand and respect that everyone has an individual faith journey,” she says.
She also says her current church has given her a different experience through its worship team, discipleship, Bible study and fellowship.
“I feel part of a community that genuinely wants me to grow,” she says and adds, “Your faith journey is personal, and it’s okay for it to evolve as you grow.”
Ashon Musya is a youth leader at CITAM Valley Road. He left his childhood church in search of greater discipleship and spiritual support.
Photo credit: Pool
His mother initially raised him in the Catholic Church before later moving to Maranatha Faith Assembly, a Pentecostal church. Musya attended the church intermittently and eventually began considering it his home church. His father was not a believer during Musya’s early childhood but became one when Musya was in Form Two in 2016.
As he grew older, however, he began questioning whether the church was helping him develop spiritually. He says much of the teaching he encountered at the time focused on “rebuking the enemy, breaking and condemning”, while he was looking for a greater understanding of grace, salvation and discipleship.
“I felt like this was not my space because, one, nobody is following up on you after church. Two, nobody’s concerned about your spiritual life,” he says.
He also wanted young people to have more opportunities to participate in church. He felt there was little room for youth activities and that suggestions from young people were sometimes directed to older pastors or elders. His first experience of another church came after he saw an advertisement for an event at Universal Church in Globe featuring musician Hope Kid. He attended and was struck by the number of young people there.
“I felt like I could relate with them,” he says.
Universal Church initially became an option for him. He eventually found his way to CITAM Valley Road after a neighbour invited him.
His first experience there convinced him that it was different. There was an altar call during the service. Musya went forward, was prayed for and said he gave his life to Christ on August 26, 2018.
But what happened afterwards was equally important. A man named David continued following up with him.
“He would ask me how I was doing, what I was reading and challenge me to read the Bible,” Musya says. That follow-up helped him feel that the church was interested in his spiritual development.
“There is somebody who will always check up on you,” he says.
“I wanted youth support, discipleship, encouragement, spiritual counsel and a church focused on the Great Commission,” he says.
Leaving his home church was not completely straightforward. By then, his father was attending the same church and wanted the family to worship together. There were also practical challenges.
His new church required him to spend money on transport, and his father would sometimes give him the fare while questioning why he needed to travel to another church.
On some occasions when his father was away and Musya could not get the fare, he says he walked. Still, he says his parents did not prevent him from making the decision.
The move also came with comments from some relatives, including suggestions that the church he had chosen was mainly for wealthy people. Musya says he went anyway and formed his own view from the experience. He says changing churches ultimately improved his relationship with his parents.
“It affected my relationship with them in a positive way,” he says.
“I grew in the Word, I grew in Scripture, I grew in prayer,” he says.
“I would sometimes challenge them with questions related to the Bible,” he says.
He adds that his parents later became more involved in Bible reading and prayer, including online prayer meetings during the Covid-19 period.
For Musya, the church he attends today remains different because of its emphasis on discipleship and follow-up.
“If I miss two Sundays, there is somebody who will call and ask what happened,” he says.
He also points to youth activities, Bible study and the sense that people are concerned about whether members are growing.
“I made the best choice,” he says.
His advice to other young people who are questioning whether their current church is right for them is equally direct.
“Please, if you feel like you’re not fed enough, if you feel like you’re not growing enough, it’s okay to switch churches,” he says.
For the three, the decision to attend another church did not mean abandoning the faith they learnt as children.
Agidho says he wanted an environment where he could use his spiritual gifts. Omondi wanted to develop a personal relationship with God. Musya was looking for discipleship, support and follow-up.
For each of them, the decision came at a point when they wanted something different from their church experience.
“I wanted consistency in how I worshipped,” Agidho says.
“I simply reached a point where I needed to find a place where I could grow in a way that connected with me personally,” Omondi says.
