PHD prais-athon 2007 is Here

Its here... its going down this Sunday 28th October. The entire day from morning to evening will be a praise marathon!!! All services (8AM, 9:30AM & 11:00AM) at the St Andrews Church in Zimmerman will be full of praise!!

In the afternoon, the PHD (pullin' heaven down) prais-athon happens. The teams have been rehearsing for a while now. Indeed you are invited to the joint prayer meetings every weekday evening from 6-7 daily. An overnight rehearsal is slated for Oct 26th. Feel free to join in!!

On Nov 2nd from 9:30pm, the PHD happens overnite!!

Karibuni sana sana.

Invitational Poster::

Operation 25 Photo Gallery

:: Detailed Journal To Follow

What Does God Say About Me?

DEVOTION

Enemy of the State

By Missey Butler

CBN.com - There is a famous saying and it goes, “I’ve seen the Enemy and the Enemy is us.”

The other evening while strolling through the local Barnes and Noble bookstore, I happened to notice an eye-catching, glossy covered novel entitled, The Enemy Within.

Out of sheer curiosity, I picked it up and started thumbing through the pages all the while thinking, if a person truly is born of God, the enemy is anything but within, “Praise the Lord,” I whispered under my breath.

We are privileged to bear the name of Jesus Christ and are blessed to have His continual abiding presence, and there is absolutely no break in that divine union (1 Corinthians 6:17). How reassuring it is to know that we have this wonderful companion with us -- every moment-- of everyday!

One of my favorite descriptions of Jesus being our closest friend is so wonderfully described by a well known Chinese evangelist named Watchman Nee. In his best-selling books, he affectionately describes this constant companion as our “Resident Boss.” That loving, authoritative person of the Christ-head, whose voice is always gentle and re-assuring when He whispers,

"This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)

But unfortunately, the disturbing reality is that most Christian’s today do anything but personify a life full of freedom and deliverance from the cruel dictates of sin. The truth of the matter is our biggest enemy most often arrives in the form of three notorious S’s: that of Sin, Self and Satan.

However, as you may have already guessed, there is one of them in particular that we usually have the greatest struggle with, and it isn’t sin and isn’t Satan. You guessed it …it's “Self” with a capital "S."

We come straight from our mother’s womb, kicking and screaming making quite a ruckus, all the while insisting that our every need be met. Then as we are lovingly held and nestled, the next round of hunger pangs arrives and everything goes south in the diaper department, and before you know it ... the whole cycle starts all over again.

It takes many, many years of nurturing, discipline, love and patience before we develop and mature to the point where we finally become willing to take our eyes off of ourselves and begin to admit that perhaps it wasn’t meant for us to have the “starring role” in this thing called “life” after all.

When we purpose within ourselves to begin to focus on the magnificent, finished work of the Cross, that’s when we begin to realize that we have been marvelously delivered from the realm of darkness and brought into His marvelous Light.

“Awake thou that sleepest, and Christ shall give thee Light.” (Ephesians 5:14)

Our greatest challenge is gaining and maintaining our spiritual freedom by recognizing, who we really are and what we really have in n Christ Jesus.

We begin to see that the true enemy of the state is in reality, the enemy of the “State of our being!”

If we truly believe what the New Testament says about us, than it shouldn’t be long before we discover that we, at this very moment, have every spiritual blessing named under Heaven (Ephesians 1:3). Just to mention a few:

I am a child of God. (John 1:12)

I have been justified. (Romans 5)

I have been bought with a price and I belong to God. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

I am complete in Christ. (Colossians 2:9-10)

I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

I am free from condemnation. (Romans 8:1-2)

I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. (Romans 8:28)

I am free from any condemnation brought against me. (Romans 8:31-39)

I have been anointed and sealed by God. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me. (Philippians 1:6)

I am a citizen of heaven. (Philippians 3:20)

I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me. (1 John 5:18)

And the list goes on ... Understanding our true identity in Christ is absolutely essential to our achieving success in living out this victorious Christian life.

If you are born-again, then the things that are listed above are true for you! But it cannot, for one moment be appropriated until you recognize that there is an “enemy” who makes it his business to keep you from this knowledge,and the understanding of what your true state of being really is.

The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity! What will be the result? You will have defeated, the very enemy of Your state. And at last, find your long awaited for, Freedom in Christ

Jesus has already paid the penalty for your sin. He is asking you, in the quiet of your heart, to put your trust in Him and begin to know and experience once and for all the full life that He promises each and every one of us.

Won’t you begin today … to acknowledge your true Identity? All it takes is recognizing the truth of who you really are and what you already have in Him!

"A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10, The Message)

Operation 25 - 2007 Edition

StAY Alive’s mission cannot be attained without reaching out to the young people around them. Many social ills continue to affect the country’s young people and the group agree that they need to be an instrument of change to society. StAY Alive has identified the areas which our young are being affected most and have taken up the challenge to change this by impacting on the society around them and have zeroed in on what has affected them the most; sexual immorality and the related HIV/AIDS pandemic and drug abuse.

StAY Alive runs several programs including:

1. StAY Alive PEVU – A mentorship program

2. P2H (Penzi Halisi Husubiri) Program – A true love waits program (Sexual purity).

3. K-A-T-A-A Initiative - Anti Drugs and Substance Abuse program. K-A-T-A-A is an acronym for Keepin’ Away Threatening Abuse & Addiction.

StAY Alive's anti-drugs campaign climaxes each year in December with a day long-roadshow in and around Zimmerman Est. This years event will be the 6th with great achievements having been met.

As part of our commitment to raise funds each year we walk 25kms in an event dubbed Operation 25. This years budget for the event stands at 300,000/- and therefore we hope, with your support, to fund 50% of it through funds raised in the walk. The walk is slated for October 13th 2007.

We invite you to give me your pledge by reply email (stayalive@myrealbox.com) and a date when we can arrange to collect the same. Further if your organisation would be willing to offer support to this program please advise and I will pass info to the group to make an approach.

We will cover the walk from St Marks Church in Westlands through Spring Valley, Nyari, Gigiri, Runda, Ridgeways, Garden Estate, Thika Road on to ACK St. Andrews Church Zimmerman…

Route Map (not to scale):

Images from previous Roadshows:

PHD prais-athon 2007 in the works

Each year... (this will be the third year)... StAY Alive Fellowship in conjunction with the St Andrews Praise Team and a host of accomplished instrumentalists and vocalists hold a marathon of praise every October. phd [Pullin' Heaven Down] Prais-Athon is a live, inclusive praise and worship experience encouraging a personal encounter with God.

Preps for the day have began... an interesting turn is that the Nairobi Diocese youth arm has joined in and thus this years marathon happens TWICE... the annual afternoon affair takes place on Oct 28th starting at 2:30pm (EAT) and an overnight marathon happening on the night of November 2nd 2007 at 9:30pm to dawn.

Mark the dates, put on your praise armor and get ready to worship!!

Promotional Flyer:

Images From Previous prais-athons:

Some StAY Alive Events

The Vigil:
A concert style overnight event that takes place every year on the Friday of the week immediately before Easter. Themed around the Easter message participants are drawn to the reality of the message of the Cross and the suffering Christ underwent for the gift of salvation.
The event takes a participatory approach with attendants being encouraged to participate directly.

Madaraka Day Visitation:
While the group is involved in visitations through out the year the annual Madaraka Day Visitation makes a deliberate effort in involving the wider St Andrews Community in being part of it. Each year a home to be visited is identified which the group visits and spends the entire day with taking part in all their activities, giving a hand in chores and having time to spend with the visited individually and as a group. Homes that have been visited include the St Nicholas Home in Karen, Ebenezer Children's Home in Kiserian and Tumaini Mpya Children's Home Dandora .

Down To Beracah - The Concert:
This annual event celebrates the talent that God has bestowed on us. Growing from a Talent Show in 2000 to an Extravaganza in 2001 with membership participation only, the event now draws a wide range of guests with whom the membership interacts, learns from and exchanges ideas with. Some of the renowned artists who have graced the Down To Beracah Concert include: Voices United Choir, Chizi, Kamau Karongo, Webi, Wangeci Mbogoh, Mercy Masika, Nkatha, C-FU, Abraham, Spiritual Boosters, The Brothers Family among others. Beracah takes place in August to coincede with the annual Youth Week.

phd PRAIS-ATHON:
In conjunction with the St Andrews Praise Team and a host of accomplished instrumentalists and vocalists, StAY Alive holds a marathon of praise every October. phd [Pullin' Heaven Down] Prais-Athon is a live, inclusive praise and worship experience encouraging a personal encounter with God. The first of this annual event took place in 2005!!

StAY Klean & StAY Alive Anti-Drugs & Substance Abuse ROADSHOW:
Under the KATAA program, the Roadshow emphases on reaching out with a message against drugs. The event involves a run through the neighborhood with performances, talks, information distribution, counseling sessions etc

StAY Alive Dinner & Liberty Awards Nite:
A formal evening outing aimed at celebrating the achievements of the group and recognizing the efforts made by several individuals & / or groups throughout a given year. The evening is also aimed at introducing the membership to formal events. It is also a great moment to meet older members of the group - the StAY Alive Pevu. The event is held every year on or around the evening of December 12th.

StAY Alive Intro

StAY [St Andrews Youth] Alive Fellowship is the Youth arm of the ACK St Andrews Church in Zimmerman Nairobi. StAY Alive Fellowship exists as an arm of the Church to proclaim the message of Christ through prayers, fellowship, mission and training enabling the youth to mature spiritually to fight as good soldiers of Christ and thus attain the crown when Christ returns.

The group runs various activities and programs in order to achieve its objectives. Some of the activities (which are divided to weekly, monthly and annual activities)include:

Weekly Meetings: Fellowship, prayers, debates, discussions, et al
Monthly Meetings: Prayer walks, Visitations, Training & Seminars
Special Events: Annual Vigil, Annual Down to Beracah Concert, Annual Liberty Awards & Dinner Nite, the StAY Klean & StAY Alive Anti-drugs and Substance Abuse Roadshow.

Some of the programs include:
Penzi Halisi Husubiri (p2h): Program on HIV/AIDS and Sexual Abstinence.
Kataa: Program on Drugs & Substance abuse.
Mentorship: Program on developing all rounded leaders in every aspect of life.

The group has associations with the Kenya Anglican Youth Organisation (KAYO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

These associations enable the group to draw on a wide range of skills and experience for particular activities and programs.

History / Background
The importance and place for youth in the Church has always been recognised. It can therefore be said that the St Anrews Youth group has been in existence since the inception of the St. Andrews Parish in 1982. However, StAY Alive as it now exists was conceived in the Year 2000. The need to set itself apart by creating an identity a vision and mission led to this move.

The foundation of StAY Alive is based on Faith and deep, consistent Prayer.

Identity: StAY Alive Fellowship means more than just St Andrews Youth Alive Fellowship. A closer look at the motto Get Alive – StAY Alive will give insight as to the identity of the group.

Getting alive is rising up with heads and shoulders high proclaiming boldly what we believe in, while Staying alive is doing so consistently and always improving.