Pastor Wilfred Lai (Born on 11th April 1956) is one of the most popular preachers in Kenya who has stayed away from scandals. He is among the first preachers in the country to begin media ministry through his program which aired on popular mainstream channel, KTN.
The lead bishop of Jesus Celebration Center (JCC) is vocal and was among the church ministers who openly spoke about their dissatisfaction with former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decision to close places of worship in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here is his career journey as told by WoK.
Career
He was called to serve God in 1982 when he was still an employee at the Standard Chartered Bank. He became a member of Life Ministry (Christian Campus for Christ) in Nairobi.
A year later, he was moved to Mombasa and made Director of Coast Province. At the same time, he served as an Assistant Pastor at the Redeemed Gospel Church.
In 1986, he became a senior pastor and also called it quits at Life Ministry.
At the beginning, JCC was a small church with approximately 60 members. Pastor Dr. Lai is credited with growing the ministry into the mega church it is today. The church boasts of a congregation of 10,000 members.
With a seating capacity of about 30,000, the church’s main office is in Bamburi, Mombasa. The ministry is said to have five pillars of Biblical truths: the word, faith, giving, prayer and fellowship. His first television service aired on KBC in 1992.
The preacher also founded a television channel named JCCTV which was registered in 2019. The channel shares a variety of Christian services from worship, praise to sermons and broadcasts in 92 channels.
The church operates four centers in Mombasa and two in Nairobi. He hopes to open even more centers and branches. JCC has four Sunday services hosting at least 120,000 members. All the church’s branches have a monthly Sunday service at the headquarter branch in Bamburi.
Family
The man of the cloth has been married to Rita Lai for decades and the couple are blessed with two sons, David and Daniel.
