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Thank you to the 1,400 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 questions!
I hope reading 
7 Questions with Ken Kamau
helps you in your leadership.
Cheers,
Jonno White
7 Questions with Ken Kamau

Name: Ken Kamau

Current title: Senior Pastor / Multiplication Facilitator

Current organisation: Earlwood Baptist Church/ Baptist Association NSW

I am originally from Kenya where I served as lead pastor within the Nairobi Chapel Movement of churches.

As an Accredited Minister with the Baptist Association of NSW & ACT, I currently serve in a dual role as Senior Pastor of Earlwood Baptist Church and Multiplication Facilitator for Church Planting and Revitalization.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Bible & Theology. I am passionate about seeing new kingdom initiatives, multicultural ministry and leadership development. I am a practitioner and have planted churches. I am currently working with other church platers in the Southern Sydney Region and NSW.

I am married to Wacuka who serves as a Chaplain in Age Care. They have two kids Nate who is 15 and Nyambura who is 9.

7 Questions with Ken Kamau

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1. What have you found most challenging as a church leader?

The last year has probably been the most challenging for me, I'm sure this is true for many others in ministry. What has been most challenging has been the unpredictability and the fluidity of the ministry season. As a church leader my innovation muscle has been stretched. From how we do ministry (pivoting online) to how we do pastoral care and discipleship.

The past year has also brought to the surface deeper questions about the fruitfulness of what I have been leading. I have been grappling with the question , "when all that is "normal" is stripped away will what I have been doing still bear fruit that will last?

2. How did you become a church leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I had the privilege of being under an amazing leader, Pastor Oscar Muriu of Nairobi Chapel. He has a knack for identifying potential leaders and then selflessly investing in them. I was one of those he saw and called out.

I started off as a youth pastor in one of the church plants, was sent out to lead a revitalisation and ended up taking up a lead pastor role at age 27.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I am most productive early in the morning. So on average I am usually up by 430-5am. I love the silence of the morning , I am able to have some time in prayer and reflection. I spend about 1 1/2 on emails. I am the one who usually does the school runs so that cuts out a chunk of my morning.

My role is divided between leading Earlwood Baptist and leading church planting and multiplication across the State. Monday morning is usually set aside for my team meeting with the Earlwood Ministry team, with admin work and other pastoral duties following.

My church planting role is predominantly relational, so spend a lot of time meeting people, coaching church planters, recruiting church planters etc. Thursday is my sermon prep day, so I am usually working from my home office all day.

Friday I have the day off and spend it with my wife.

I am usually in bed by 9 on most weekdays.

4. What's one book apart from the Bible that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Hero Maker by Dave Ferguson.

I am passionate about championing other leaders and seeing them thrive. Hero Maker gave language and principles that allowed me to do this more effectively.

5. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?

Hold things with open palms. Seasons come and go, so be willing to adjust and pivot in different ways. what worked really well in the last season of ministry may not work in a different season. But hold your call and passion to serve God as the non negotiable.

6. How do you develop a healthy leadership pipeline in a church?

This is one of my passion areas!

You need to have a clear "why" you have a leadership pipeline.

You need to have the systems and process that undergird, support and grow the pipeline

The pipeline is comprised of people, so be open a fluid pipeline that may look different in different seasons

start small and build deep.


7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a church leader so far?

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the grind of ministry we forget the why. We ran an Alpha course a while back, and a gentleman signed up who wasn't from christian background. Throughout the studies he kept asking questions seeking to have a better understanding of the things we were talking about. What captured my heart was the gradual transformation of this man from week 1 of the course to the end. Just to see him wrestle with questions of eternity and though not having all the answers come to a point of surrendering his life to Christ by week 6.

Not only that, the freedom he experienced in Christ was so overwhelming that he went on to seek reconciliation with his kids whom he had a not so good relationship with.

He ended up changing jobs and moving state so he could spend more time with his kids.

His story reminds me why I do what I do, why I wake up and trust that today will be different .. that many would hear this Good News and be reconciled to God.

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