Humble Beginnings…

A Calling…

The Promise…

Before Shine began, the dream for a world wide evangelistic ministry started in a small, rural Kenyan village. When Dr. Sammy Wanyonyi was just 8 years old, he had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, he knew that he had a calling in life to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world.

When Sammy was 13, he heard Reinhard Bonnke preaching over the radio. Sammy was stirred by what he heard, and he heard God say to him: “Sammy, just as Reinhard preaches the Gospel to the nations, so will you!”

As a young man, Sammy worked at the international airport in Nairobi. Sammy was praying one day saying, “Lord, you’ve called me to preach the Gospel to the whole world! But, I don’t know how to step into this calling.” Shortly after his prayer, one of Sammy’s friends called him and asked if he would escort Reinhard Bonnke to his connecting flight. Sammy couldn’t believe it! While walking with Bonnke, Bonnke looked at Sammy and said: “From today, henceforth, you will no longer work with an airliner, you will be on the pulpit.”

It was at that moment that Sammy realized that God was indeed calling him to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth. In 1998, Sammy took a leap of faith and flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota to attend Bethany Global University and later Bethel University.

In 2005, while a student at Bethel, Sammy launched the global evangelism and leadership mission, Shine. It exists as a vehicle to proclaim Jesus Christ to all lost peoples around the world, to mobilize and resource the local church in its passion to fulfil the Great Commission and to equip the present and next generation of leaders in their spiritual quest and service to God and society.

Since 2005, we have proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to over 8.8 million people across the world. Over 565,000 people have given their lives to Jesus and God continues to move through us as we surrender to Him!