KIOKO MWANGANGI M.A. ’16, a Billy Graham Center International Christian Leader scholarship recipient, has been a pastor for 20 years in Kalamba, Kenya. He enrolled at Wheaton to cultivate new skills for his ministry. 

“I came to Wheaton to learn how I can reach out to new cultures and meet challenges facing churches today,” Kioko says. “People are different than they were ten years ago. My Wheaton education has made me aware of things I’ve been doing that I need to change or rethink.” 

After graduating last spring, Kioko returned to African Inland Church, his home church in Eastern Kenya, where he continues to pastor and mentor young evangelists. He also loves to farm.

“I connect many things in life with the farm and the soil, and wonder why everyone is not a farmer,” Kioko says. 

Kioko notes that his time at Wheaton “refreshed” him as a gospel minister and church leader. It also “re-energized” him to “build better relationships while seeking Christ and his kingdom in this century.” 

“Wheaton opened my mind. My classes, professors, and peers helped me to learn to be a listener—to listen to the culture,” Kioko says.

NAME: Kioko Mwangangi M.A. '16

DEGREES: M.A. in Evangelism and Leadership, Wheaton College (IL); M.Div. from Scott Christian University, Kenya; B.Th. from Africa International University, Kenya

HOMETOWN: Kalamba, Kenya

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: Sunday school and church services at First Baptist Church of Wheaton, weekly Billy Graham Center scholarship prayer meetings

FUN FACT: Kioko belongs to the "Akamba" tribe in Kenya, which has approximately five million members