KENYA – Out of Homa Bay, a passionate pastor who was once a prisoner is going back to the prisons to bring Christ’s love and freedom. His ministry is equipping the inmates with discipleship, bringing joy, and kindling holy fire inside the prisons with the Word of God. He is also training them to prepare for their return to society with a God-given master plan that includes spiritual and natural support, mentorship, and care, to remind them they are not forgotten.

Pastor Kennedy Odeny, of Makongeni Pentecostal Evangelistic Fellowship of Africa (PEFA) Church, Homa Bay, a born-again, Spirit-filled pastor, is preaching the gospel of Christ making a difference in Kenya, church, schools, hospitals, and most of all…the prisons. For the last 15 years he has been doing prison ministry which has encouraged, helped, and saved many. He provides support spiritually by preaching and naturally by providing supplies to them.

“What I am doing, my ministry is more about the vulnerable, the hopeless, like the prison ministry. Prison ministry has been very effective and impactful. I have a passion for that,” shared Pastor Kennedy.

He wants to bring awareness to the world about the great deal of challenges inmates face while they are in prison, which often gets worse when they are released back into civilization. Inside the prison, some of the inmates are not visited, causing them to feel deserted and forsaken. This can cause them to lose hope. For those who are released from prison, it can be hard for them to get acclimated back into society, because many people remember their past crimes, and don’t accept them. When this happens, the released prisoner feels rejected and frustrated, which makes them susceptible to fall back into their old ways of crime. This in turn, eventually leads them back into prison. With all this in mind, Pastor Kennedy has purposed within his heart to be there for the prisoners to let them know, they are not alone and not forgotten.

“I give them hope by way of support. There are some of them that nobody visits, there are things they need while they are in there. When they come out of prison, I mentor them and try to connect them back to society,” says Pastor Kennedy. “The greatest challenge, is that when somebody leaves prison it’s not easy for people to accept them back.”

As Pastor Kennedy visits the prisons, he has church gatherings and services, which involves worship, preaching, altar calls, and one-on-one discussions. They do this to give the prisoners an opportunity to experience God right there in the walls of the prison. During these services, the inmates are shown love, they are offered the gift of salvation, and receive the joy, forgiveness, and freedom that comes from Jesus Christ. This makes them eager and expectant for the next visit from his ministry.

Makongeni PEFA Church, Homa Bay places a high priority on the prisoners who have it the hardest. In usual cases, those who have committed serious crimes, are the ones who have the potential to be rejected the most when returning back to society.

“Depending on the crime, it is not easy to be accepted back. Like cases of murder, robbery, violence and rape, those are the people we are entrusted with. We try to give them hope after they are born again and support them,” shared Pastor Kennedy.

While those who are in prison have a few days left to come out, Pastor Kennedy begins to prepare them by connecting them back to society. In order to identify the categorized set of inmates who are high priority, they speak with them individually. The ministry also works side-by-side with the prison department, who will provide leads about some of the inmates to help with the process of identification.

“There are some cases, that the officers will share with us and tell us about the cases. They provide details about the prisoners, so they can tell us to counsel them. We always go to do missions, they gather, and then we do service and that is where we identify who,” stated Pastor Kennedy. “After they get born again, we disciple them. So we have one-on-one talks with everyone. That is when we make the identification.”

During these talks they find out their backgrounds, where they are coming from, if they are married, or have children back home, and then they identify those who have special needs according to the crime they have committed. Once the high priority inmates are identified, they provide classes, mentorship, training, counseling, and follow-up in preparation for the day when they are introduced back into society. They go through trainings like carpentry, machinery, and more. They buy tools for them, so when they come out, they can be responsible members of society. They get capital so they have something to do.

When they know someone is about to get out of prison, they begin to raise funds months ahead so they can have a shelter for them that the prisoner can call a home. They also go in and maintain relationships, they involve family members, bring them together, and if there is any forgiveness necessary they counsel these families.

There are specific dates that Pastor Kennedy is allowed to go and meet with the prisoners. He also works with women prisoners. Sometimes, when they are arrested they are pregnant, so they have to have the child in the prison. He stated that there are children inside the prisons who also live there. If the child is under five years old, the mothers are required to stay with their child.

“You have to stay with the child right inside of the prison. These children need clothes, baby lotion, and soap,” said Pastor Kennedy. “Even the other day, they were crying for lack of beds. Because you find the child will be sleeping on the floor on a small mattress. Right now, we are trusting God so they can have a place to sleep. Anytime we go to the prison, I budget for both the men and women.”

There are two separate prisons for the men and women. While they are in jail, they provide tissue paper, soap, and toiletries. Since there are some that nobody visits, they make it a purpose to go there with supplies for all 500 inmates.

“When you go there, they see you like a family member.”

Pastor Kennedy Odeny

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No matter if they have family or not, they budget to help everyone. He writes business letters to request for help to supply these prisoners and partners with other countries.

The prison ministry is really making a difference in the lives of these prisoners. Especially when they are released from prison. One of the Saturdays, among the 500 prisoners, a number of them came forward for the altar call. One of the men confessed he murdered someone and wanted God to forgive him. He had been doing a murder case for three and a half years and was scheduled to go to his ruling. Pastor Kennedy prayed for him. After the prayers, they were certain that God forgave him.

The following Monday, the man went to the courts for the ruling, and God moved in his favor. The judge gave a ruling, saying that there was no evidence. The man was then released from prison. Pastor Kennedy was in town on Tuesday. As he arrived, the strangest thing happened. Someone ran to him shouting and gives him a hug. It was the inmate that he ministered to during the church service in prison. He began to testify that he was released from prison. He then asked Pastor Kennedy for help with transport so he could return home.

“Such a person in that case, you can’t just leave them like that. I had to make sure I had to look for his transport to go home,” said Pastor Kennedy.

Pastor Kennedy had to find transport, and then found the wife and the children to link him back up with them. Some come out of prison, and don’t have homes. So in those cases, his ministry has to get involved and look for a way to get homes for them, which requires financial support. He mentioned that he has partnered with ministries and organizations in distant nations. However, it has been somewhat of a disappointment. He said some take advantage by taking pictures of the prison ministry, go back home, and get support for the ministry, but don’t give it to them. They only help once which presents a challenge. He emphasized that the prison ministry, needs continuous support and he is hoping that he will one day be able to reach that goal. He knows that not everybody can get involved with ministry inside the prison, but he knows that people can send the support for someone to go there. He desires for these inmates to always have hope and know that they are always accepted. He is so passionate about it because he was once in prison too and understands due to his own experience. While he was in prison, he lost hope to the point of wanting to commit suicide, but God came in and saved him right on time. Here is how it all began.

Pastor Kennedy Odeny’s Life Story

He was born July 7, 1977 in Homa Bay, to a family of a very humble background. His father died when he was three-years-old and he was their first born. His mother was working as house help for someone and then she did a small business later which would support the children. In their home, they were left with their uncle, who was not in good terms with his mom. The uncle accused Kennedy’s mother of killing her own husband, which was Kennedy’s father. Because of these struggles, they couldn’t stay in the home and had to move away. His mother later died when he was about fifteen-years-old. He had no place to go and began to join crime, did drugs, and became a robber.

At the age of 20-years old, he went to commit a crime in the night, by breaking into a shop with his accomplices. He was on the inside and his accomplices were outside. At one point, his accomplices heard noise of people coming, and left him alone. When this happened, the security of the area came and searched the compound around 2:00 a.m. He tried to get out, but was not able to escape. At the time, security was calling out and a crowd of people came and then found him.

“So they started beating me. They beat me up, until I was, like I’m dead,” Pastor Kennedy Odeny. “The police came and picked me up. So, I was later taken to the hospital. I was in the hospital for two weeks. I couldn’t move my body, blood was everywhere. Later, I was taken to prison. I did my case, and I was jailed.”

He had to do his case in prison, but had no lawyer. He didn’t admit his crime which caused him to be in prison for nine months. Nobody was there to help with his bail. He was later found guilty and jailed for five years. While he was prison, it wasn’t far from his home. After three years and some months, nobody came to visit him. Due to this, he began to lose hope.

“I felt like nobody needs me. Even if I leave prison, where will I go? So I said, the only thing I can do is to end my life. Maybe I can have peace, when I’m no more,” Pastor Kennedy sadly stated.

In prison, there are halls where people sleep on the floor. Around 60 people could be in one hall and within the hall there is a toilet. There are blankets used to cover themselves. In the night when the inmates were sleeping, he got up and used his blanket to create a rope. He went to the location of the toilet and attempted to hang himself with the rope he made. Even though the majority of the prisoners were sleeping, God was not, because he raised up inmates right on time in the prison who were born-again believers.

“While I was struggling above the toilet trying to hang myself, one of the prisoners who is born-again, God woke him up. Like he wanted to go to the toilet same time. So when he came to the toilet, he found me struggling,” expressed Pastor Kennedy.

He came and held Kennedy and asked him why he was trying to kill himself. Kennedy told the born-again inmate that if the inmate leaves the prison he will go back to his family, but he personally had nowhere to go. So he wanted to end it there because he was tired. But the inmate replied, “Even if nobody loves you, Jesus still loves you.“ When that happened, it changed Kennedy’s perspective.

“That word came into my mind like a shocker. There was a power that came on me. It became real. ‘Who is this Jesus that loves me?’ So he spoke to me and talked to me. On that night, I got hope to live again.”

Pastor Kennedy Odeny

That day, he began to know God that day. In prison, people pray. The only thing that can be done in prison is to pray, which is what Kennedy eventually learned to do. He spent the rest of his sentence until it ended and was released from prison. At the age of 25, he was released from prison but had no place to go. He left the city of Homa Bay, and went to another city called Kisumu. He wanted to stop crime but he had no certificate, so he couldn’t get a regular job. However, he did know how to cut hair, so he became a barber. Around the age of 26/27, someone took him to a Pentecostal church.

“In all my life, I’ve never gone to a Pentecostal Church, all the shouting, and I was like a stranger. I went and sat at the backseat next to a door in the back,” expressed Pastor Kennedy as he motioned his hands as if he was pointing to the back of a room. “I was fearful, I was not used to this. The people are crazy.”

Then the unexpected began to happen. The minister began to preach, which caused him to look past the feeling of being a stranger. He was drawn in by the message. This is how God got his attention, which would change the trajectory of his life.

“He preached my life. It was like I was the one God was speaking to that day. I don’t know I can’t explain, how I left the back seat and went straight to the altar and I was down crying and calling on the Lord, ‘God if you can carry burdens, these ones of mine are heavy, if you can carry them, I’m leaving them here today.’ Did you know that is the day my life changed?”

Pastor Kennedy Odeny

His life indeed was changed that very day as he gave his life to the Lord. After his experience at the Pentecostal church he went back to the house, got his things, and went back to the place of his birth in Homa Bay. That is when he joined the church he is currently serving in now.

Life After Receiving Salvation

At the time, the church he joined used to worship under a tree. They had no building. The first ministry he did within the ministry was being a dancer on the praise and worship team. Then he became a translator. He was not only translating, he became the best at it, translating for many Americans. He came to realize that there are things that God put him through to prepare him. It wasn’t about school, it was about the grace God gave him.

During this time, the first ministry that began was a hospital ministry. He organized a team that would visit hospitals and do visitations and pray bed-to-bed in the sector that was sick. It came to a point he went to hospital administration to ask if he can hold a service there every Monday through Friday for 30 minutes. He wanted to pray with them first before they started giving the patients treatment. So it happened, every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m, they had church service. People were getting healed and saved.

In 2006, he got married, and together he and his wife now five children. In 2007, at the age of 30, he started the prison ministry. Then he was given a post as youth pastor. He began the prison ministry in December 2009 during Christmas. In December he celebrates Christmas in prison with the inmates. There is no year that he has missed. During the Christmas celebration visits, they slaughter a bull, take a music session, dance, celebrate, and eat. He explained his reasoning for going back to the prisons to do ministry.

“Why I went back to the prison ministry is the experience I had after leaving. When I left prison, it was like I came back to prison again. Nobody wanted to accept me. Everybody knew this was the robber. I had no where to go. That is the painful part of it. That when people see you they see a criminal. Nobody accepts that you are transformed. That is what I don’t want those prisoners to go through. It is just by the grace of God, that I never went back to prison.”

Pastor Kennedy Odeny

He began to explain that it is very easy for someone to go back to prison after leaving, because of the kind of rejection they meet when they are released. So if there is someone who can only give them hope, accept them, and give them a second chance, it would help these prisoners out greatly. He reflected on the days he was released from prison, he knew that God’s hand was upon him to be where he is today.

“If it was not God that got a hold of me, me reaching here today is a miracle. This is what makes me believe that God is real. So, I want one day that someone can give a testimony…that through me God transformed his life…and that is enough for me.”

Pastor Kennedy Odeny

In December 2014, he was sent to open his own church that he has faithfully pastored for the last 10 years.

The work he has been doing for the last 15 years, has been done passionately from his heart. Not only in prison but even those who have left the prison. With some of them, the only person they know as family is Pastor Kennedy. Because of this, they always go to him for support and help. But due to the economy, it makes it hard. He is desiring to get support on a consistent basis. Monthly support can help him reach the children, the women, and the men inside the prisons who are desperate and hopeless. They only need someone to go and tell them God still loves them.

“I can remember when I was in prison I personally lost hope. I wanted to finish my life. But somebody told me ‘God still loves you’. That is the reason why I am also giving hope. There is somebody inside there who is just waiting for somebody to tell them ‘God still loves you.’”

Pastor Kennedy Odeny

That is what he is doing sharing the love of Jesus in the prisons, but it doesn’t stop there. He also does school ministry in the high schools and colleges, speaking to young girls and boys. He goes there to encourage them to walk in the ways of the Lord. Many people who almost gave up have been given hope.

He also reaches out to widows and orphans by providing materials.

He also does radio ministry, speaking on subject matters such as marriage, family, parenting, and things that affect the youth. He goes on air every Sunday morning from 7:20 a.m. to 8:30 a.m Kenya time in the local language. The radio broadcast reaches out to over 2 million people. To listen in, you can go to @Girwa Fm or @Evangelist Kennedy Odeny on Facebook.

He began to share how he is a pastor, but still maintains the title of evangelist on his Facebook profile. He has had the profile for over 20 years and never updated his title to remind him that an evangelist is where he started in ministry. He emphasized that he will always be an evangelist, because he still goes out to preach and do crusades. Some even call him an apostle, but he goes by pastor because he pastors a church.

“We are all about evangelism, reaching out to people, and winning souls for Christ. That is our main mission…I’m not after wealth, I don’t want to be rich. I don’t want to drive big cars. I don’t want to build big houses. I want to reach many people. My joy is to preach the gospel.”

Pastor Kennedy Odeny

Current Conditions in Kenya

According to Pastor Kennedy Odeny, the Body of Christ in Kenya is effective, the gospel is preached. There is a lot of church growth, building up churches, a great movement of the Holy Spirit, and revival in the land. However, there are a lot of challenges and wars going on between ministries, and between the Body of Christ.

“But you know, when the church is effective the enemy will try to bring wars and division, but the Body of Christ and the gospel is preached. We see many people coming to church right now and many churches are being planted,” said Pastor Kennedy.

He also mentioned there are certain prosperity gospels, strange doctrines, that deviate from the true Word of God, teaching errors which is misleading the people. This causes division and fighting among brethren. Even so, he is optimistic about it, he understands the bigger picture which was foretold in the Word of God long ago.

“But all in all, we see the Glory of God, anytime there is a move of God there is always challenges,” emphasized Pastor Kennedy. “Christ is being preached. As you know we are nearing the end times and all these are prophesied, The end times we will be seeing division, self love, the love of money. So we see the bible of God being confirmed in our times.”

His ultimate goal is to one day build a rehabilitation center, where prisoners can have a home after they leave the prison. So they can have a place to stay before they go home. They can do trainings and mentorship. He wants to reach all the prisons in Kenya. It has been a prayer that one day his testimony will be shared in America, which is actually happening through Horns of Heaven Global News. He believes that people in the states can know that God is still at work, that God can transform the life of a criminal, who can one day pick up a bible, become a preacher of the gospel.

If you want to support Pastor Kennedy Odeny and Makongeni PEFA Church, Homa Bay, you can connect with him on Facebook. He will provide the details of how to support once he gets the message. He also will follow up with how the funds are being put to use by filming what he is doing with the prisoners live.

This is Sharlene, reporting from Horns of Heaven Global News, letting the power of Jesus be known, by sounding the Trumpet of News from God’s People to God’s People across the globe. It’s all about the Kingdom of God and connecting the believers of Christ through clear communication and the real life stories told around the world! ADONAI ECHAD! ANACHNU AM ECHAD! HEBREW FOR “GOD IS ONE. WE ARE ONE PEOPLE!” 👑