On a Sunday afternoon, a group of young people stood in a circle at Uhuru Park, eyes closed, voices lifted in worship as they sang hymns.
There was no stage, no lights, no fancy equipment, just a solitary acoustic guitar, fervent prayers, and Bibles. The meeting stretched late into the evening, hours after the usual Sunday Service in churches across Kenya.
“While we were doing our last set of hymns, we sensed a deep need for prayer, and we carried on,” says Johnpaul ‘JP’ Kiminda, the 25-year-old founder of the fellowship that is now known as The First Love (TFL).
Within the first 24 hours after its WhatsApp group was created, the membership was already well beyond 100 people. In subsequent weeks, it has gone up to 1,000 members and counting.
“It’s mixed, both young and old, but the majority are people aged between 15 and 25 years old,” says JohnPaul. “Another interesting thing about it is that the members are not just from Kenya. We have some from Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Benin, and even the United States of America.”
Johnpaul 'JP' Kiminda, 25, who founded The First Love fellowship, says it was motivated by desire to return to intimacy with God.
Photo credit: Pool
Unlike traditional churches, TFL has no resident pastor and is not affiliated with any denomination. They also do not collect offerings or tithes. JohnPaul, who is a sales and marketing professional, insists that he began the group simply out of passion.
“It started from a love of God and the desire that my generation would come to know Him,” he says.
“What if there was a group of young people who met, sang hymns, prayed, and studied the Word of God together?” he asked a friend.
Her response had been positive, but Johnpaul hesitated for months, worried that hymns, which are widely thought to be outdated, wouldn’t resonate with today’s youth. So he took to creating scripture content online. One day, he shared the idea online, and the response took him by surprise.
“The inquiries started immediately, with people asking me to please start the group.”
This was in October. He took the time to pray on it, and on December 19, he reached out to everyone who had made an inquiry and began the group.
“I was going home from work, wondering what to call this fellowship, when Revelation 2:4-5 came to me. The verse, which is part of a letter to a group of people, talks about how they have abandoned their first love for God. We get so busy doing Christian things that we forget our first love - God’s love, which compels us to live right.”
But in an age of beats, one would wonder, why hymns?
“Hymns are old, but they are very rich in scripture,” Johnpaul says. “Today’s music is enjoyable, yes, but it is often diluted. You may not always know what you’re singing.”
The longing for substance over hype, he believes, is what is drawing the young people in.
Today, TFL meets online every Wednesday evening for Bible study. Currently, they’re walking chapter by chapter through the book of John. The sessions are participatory, with less preaching and more teaching, discussions and questions. They also have in-person meetings twice a month, every second and last Sunday of the month. The meetings, which are often held in public spaces, have been in Jeevanjee Gardens and Uhuru Park so far. Their next meeting will take place at John Michuki Memorial Park.
“In our Sunday gatherings, we introduce ourselves, participate in an ice-breaker activity, then go into our first set of hymns,” says Johnpaul. “After that, we talk about the group to new members, then do the second set of hymns, Scripture study, a final set of hymns, and close it up with prayers.”
Johnpaul receives messages every day from members sharing how their lives are being transformed. From quitting shisha to stepping away from sexual sins and addictions, and even cleaning up language and music choices, the testimonies keep coming.
“I’m seeing a deep thirst for intimacy with God,” he says. “People are tired of being told only about prosperity. They want to experience the love of God.”
The rapid growth has not been without its challenges. With an increase in membership, moderating conversations and maintaining a spiritual focus have become harder. In response, TFL has formed eight departments, all led by volunteers.
Asked where he sees the fellowship in the future, Johnpaul says, “I honestly don’t know. All I know is that the Lord is working.”
According to him, the heart of the fellowship is obedience, humility, and relationship.
Teddy 'Big Carter' Orebe, 25, who led ‘worldly life' says the group has anchored his return to faith and spiritual discipline.
Photo credit: Pool
For Teddy ‘Big Carter’ Orebe, finding The First Love was not accidental; it was an answer to prayers.
“It came at a time when I was desperate for God,” Teddy confesses. “I had just given up a wild lifestyle, and I didn’t want to go back.”
Teddy, 25, had been doing drugs and drinking alcohol, even though he knew about God. In fact, Teddy recounts, there were times when he would encourage his friends with Scripture while they all chewed khat (jaba) .
His carefree lifestyle never sat right with him, and he kept telling himself that he should quit. This inner conviction eventually led him to a quiet but firm decision, one night after his partying sprees.
“I told God, ‘I don’t want this life anymore, I want to please you,” he recalls.
What followed was a lonely but familiar road for many young believers - cutting off old habits, distancing himself from former hangout circles, and trying to grow spiritually without a community that truly understood where he was.
“I didn’t want to fall back,” he says. “But I also didn’t know how to grow.”
Like many other young Kenyans, his search unfolded online. He would engage with TikTok clips of sermons, which, he says, had this uncanny precision.
Nudged further, he began studying scripture on his own, and used ChatGPT to understand some of it. He went on in this way until he stumbled on Johnpaul’s content on Tiktok, “some young man with dreadlocks, spitting scripture verses.” And when Johnpaul finally posted about starting a group for young people, Teddy needed no further prompting. He joined the group immediately.
“Having left my old life, the people I used to hang out with, and the things I used to do, this group was the only thing I had, so I was very vocal there.”
He shared scriptures, encouraged others, and when people came to his inbox confessing some of the habits they struggled with, he gave them his own formulas, the same ones he’d used to overcome his own habits.
“I started listening to full YouTube sermons from pastors like Joshua Selman and Michael Orokpo, my playlist changed to worship, I even started fasting, something I’d never done,” he says.
As he continued in the fellowship, he became challenged to grow deeper in Scripture and prayer. Today, Teddy is one of the fellowship’s most committed members, mentoring others, enlisting and welcoming new members, and holding space for people navigating similar transitions.
Stella "Amani" Mutuku, 29, a mother of one, says the fellowship offered a welcoming space for her and her daughter, and it now feels like family.
Photo credit: Pool
Stella ‘Amani’ Mutuku, had been seeking God for a long time when Johnpaul’s profile popped up on her TikTok. The 28-year-old businesswoman who runs a thrifted bag store had been in church spaces for years, but she’d always felt like something was missing.
“JP was reciting verses, and I can’t remember what he was saying, but there was something about his delivery that made me think, this is it.”
Like Teddy, she joined the group immediately.
Of the four sessions the group has had so far, Amani has attended only one physical meeting.
“I missed the rest because I was looking after my daughter,” she explains. “But I didn’t want to miss anymore, so I asked if I could bring my daughter along with me, and they said it was okay.”
At her first gathering, she was warmly received, and her child was accommodated without hesitation.
“TFL not only feels like a family, but it is also a family,” she states. “I also had other issues going on in my life, I have a sick brother who’s been on dialysis the past three years, and during the prayer session, I was prayed for,” Stella says the fellowship has had a positive impact on her life.
“I’m not forcing anything, no one is pushing me, I just feel like this is where I need to be.”
After years of trying (and failing) to grow her faith through different churches and seasons, she says that the simplicity of TFL has allowed her to settle. Amani has already stepped into leadership roles, serving in the community outreach and prayer and devotion departments.
Much like the rest, Annette Wanjiku, a 25-year-old nail technician, also found the fellowship through TikTok.
“There are many faith groups, but this one felt different because most of the people there are around my age,” she says.
Cautious at first, it was not until she joined the group and discovered their genuine commitment that she fully immersed herself. She now wears several hats within the fellowship, including praise and worship, event planning, and media. Annette says she has experienced a desire to pray more and spend more time with God.
“I was praying for friends,” she says. “And now I’ve found people who I can really talk to on a personal level.”
Having grown up in church, being part of TFL feels like a continuation, rather than a change.
“Growing up in a Christian family gave me a good foundation for my life, and I’m so glad that I am still building on it even as an adult.”
