A senior Seventh Day Adventist pastor from Nyamira Conference has defended the role of the church in helping the poor and underprivileged in the society.
Recently, a number of people, mostly SDA worshippers from the region, had accused the church of concentrating on getting hefty salaries and driving classy cars at the expense of believers who were giving tithes and offerings.
Pastor Henry Nyamwanda on Monday told church followers that the church was committed in serving its purpose, pointing out their efforts to give relief food to the hunger hit northern Kenya.
“The role of the church is well stipulated not only in the Bible but also in our doctrines. We are committed in preaching the Gospel of God besides helping the poor and the needy across the county. Our support is not just limited in Kenya because we also help people from other nations,” he said.
Mr Nyamwanda urged worshippers to remain intact in the church and feel free to ask whenever something was not clear in terms of management of the funds.
“What they have done is commendable. Many faithful shy away from questioning accountability of the church. We are very transparent and that is the way to go. Ultimately, our returns are international and I guess we submitted our records recently at the annual conference that ended last week in San Francisco," he said.
According to him, pastors are paid in form of allowances and no pastor gets a fixed salary, contrary to speculations of many followers.
“SDA church isn’t a rogue church. Our pastors are paid according to the hardship they face when evangelizing hence no fixed salary is given. They are paid in form of allowances,” Nyamwanda said.