What to Expect at an African Church Service in Southern California
Wondering what your first visit will be like? Here is a warm, practical guide to worship at Church of Amazing Grace International in San Bernardino.

Sundays 11:30 AM. 829 N Mount Vernon Ave, San Bernardino.
Grace has been a CNA in Fontana for nine years. Her mother was buried in Murang'a on a phone screen while Grace was on shift.
Nobody at work knew.
The women here did. They drove to her house that night.
Names and details changed. This is who we are on a Tuesday.
Come as you are. Someone will greet you by name at the door.
Sunday | 11:30 AM to1:00 PM
Sunday | 11:30 AM to12:30 PM
Sunday | 11:30 AM to12:30 PM
Sunday | 10:00 AM to10:45 AM
Wednesday | 8:00 PM to9:00 PM
Thursday | 8:00 PM to9:00 PM
Worship Location: 829 N Mount Vernon Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92411.
Fifteen years ago, a small group of Kenyans gathered in someone's living room in San Bernardino. They prayed. They sang. They believed. That seed is still growing.
CAGI concluded its partnership with the Presbytery of Los Ranchos on February 28, 2026, and was received as a New Worshiping Community under the Presbytery of Riverside on May 16, 2026.
We are making our home at 829 N Mount Vernon Ave, San Bernardino, rebuilding the ruins together. The chapel has been renewed. So have we.
CAGI was established in December 2009 as Kanitha wa Utugi wa Magegania wa Gikuyu (KUMG), the only fellowship of its kind in Southern California. A small group of Kenyans from San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties gathered monthly to worship in their native Gikuyu language.
As the community grew, so did its vision. The church relocated from a pastor's residence to the Downtown Community Center in Anaheim, then to First Presbyterian Church in Santa Ana. By 2015, the name changed to Church of Amazing Grace International, to reflect the growing diversity of African immigrants joining the congregation.
CAGI concluded its partnership with the Presbytery of Los Ranchos on February 28, 2026, and was received as a New Worshiping Community under the Presbytery of Riverside on May 16, 2026. The congregation makes its home at 829 N Mount Vernon Ave in San Bernardino, deepening its roots as a diaspora community anchored in Reformed faith.
CAGI's theology blends Reformed convictions with the African philosophy of Ubuntu. "I am because we are." Shared life. Mutual care. A church built not just for Sundays but for real immigrant life in Southern California.

Build a strong and rooted African Christian community serving African students and immigrant families living in Southern California.

Reach African immigrants living in Southern California for Christ.

Worship began at 829 N Mount Vernon Ave on August 2, 2026, in a chapel rebuilt by the giving of this congregation. The Presbytery of Riverside owns the property and has entrusted its use to CAGI. What lay in ruins is being restored. So are we.
Harvest Sunday, October 11
Senior Pastor
Rev. Dr. Johnson Kiriaku wa Kinyua is the Senior Pastor of CAGI. Born in Kenya, he holds a PhD in Religion from the University of Birmingham and teaches ethics at Saint Leo University. He and his wife Mary have three children,Milkah, Ayub, and Eunice.
Pastor Kinyua has served congregations in Africa and the United States, building deep intercultural pastoral experience. His Reformed convictions are shaped by Africa's "I am because we are",a theology of community, healing, and mutual accountability.
He preaches, teaches, and leads with the conviction that the church exists for the world, not only for itself.
The Leadership Council works alongside the pastor in the care and shepherding of the congregation.

Pastor

Chair

Clerk

Elder

Elder

Elder

Assistant Clerk

Elder

Elder

Elder

Finance Officer

Director, Youth & Children

Chair Development & Men

Media

Chair Women

The people who visit when you are in hospital and nobody else knows.

Amazing Women
The women who show up at your door before you have asked.

A place to be Kenyan and American at the same time and not have to choose.

Men who say out loud what they are carrying and are not laughed at.

Sunday School where your child hears the songs you grew up with.

We believe in the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scripture, justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and in the priesthood of all believers. As a community of believers, we are called by God, shaped by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be a community of praise, love, and service. Our Christian theological beliefs follow reformed tradition and informed by the African philosophy of sharing and mutuality guided by the motto 'I am because we are.'
We believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His death and resurrection. We believe in Jesus as the Son of God. He is the Savior of the world. Repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is the means by which we are forgiven our sins. We also believe in One God, who exists eternally in three personalities: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
We believe the Church is the family of God that comprises those 'called out.' They are 'called out' from sinful lives into the pursuit of God's righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ. Hence, they are 'a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.' The church refers to a community 'called to be saints',a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a spiritual house.
We believe in Salvation through Grace. God has offered us salvation because He loves us. We know that we do not deserve such a great salvation. However, we also know that through Jesus, who was without sin, God redeemed us. The Bible declares, 'There is no salvation by anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved' (Acts 4:12).
We believe that the church is called to serve God and his people. Ministry and service at CAGI is derived from the ministry of Jesus Christ, given by Him who came to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. We believe it is the duty and privilege of every member to realize one's adoption into the family of God and to rejoice in salvation through Jesus Christ.
We believe that evangelism means taking the Word of God to where the people are. God sent His only begotten Son and the Holy Spirit and now He sends us. We seek to reach the whole person with the whole gospel. Evangelism fulfills the great commission and announces redemption to every area of life,body and soul, mind and spirit, family and community.

A congregation of nurses, drivers, students and security guards put a roof back on a chapel that had none. On October 11 we give thanks and keep building. Chief Guest: Rt. Rev. Patrick Thegu Mutahi, Moderator, PCEA 24th General Assembly. Special Guest: Amb. Ezra Chiloba Simiyu, Consul General of Kenya, Los Angeles. 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM. 829 N Mount Vernon Ave, San Bernardino.

Patron, Harvesters Christian Church Kenya · General Secretary, Senior Spiritual Fathers Foundation, Kenya

Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 11:30 AM (Pacific). 829 N Mount Vernon Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92411. "Rebuilding the Ruins Together" (Isaiah 61:4). Guest preacher: Rev. Dr. George G. Gitahi, Senior Pastor, Kenyan American Community Church (KACC), Atlanta, GA.

Preaching & Teaching by Rev. Zipporah Wairimu Maina, Kent, Washington. Part of our Rooted and Rising: Rebuilding Ruins Together series.

Historic Service: "Relocate, Yet Stop Over" by Rt. Rev. Patrick Thegu, PCEA Moderator of the 24th General Assembly, Presbyterian Church of East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.

Guest Preacher: Rev. Simon Githiora, PCEA Githunguri Presbytery. Message: "ASK BIG, YOUR KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE!"

Bishop Stephen Gachengo. Message: "Roots that anchor and propel."

Co-hosted with Soil Merchants. Speakers: Rev. Dr. Johnson Kiriaku, Rev. Lucy Gacheru, Chairman George Mungai. Topics: diaspora investment, real estate, faith-driven entrepreneurship.

Dr. George Wachiuri, CEO & Founder of Optiven Ltd. Message: "Power to Create Wealth". Faith-driven entrepreneurship and possibility.
Faith and life for the Kenyan diaspora and African Christian community in Southern California.
Wondering what your first visit will be like? Here is a warm, practical guide to worship at Church of Amazing Grace International in San Bernardino.
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CAGI streams worship worldwide, connecting Nairobi, New York, and Fullerton in real-time praise and teaching. Our media team manages live video, digital mixing, camera switching, and lyric display from every service.
Whether you're joining us in person or from across the globe, you're part of our community. Follow us on social media to stay connected throughout the week.
Recent services from Mount Vernon Avenue



"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."Romans 12:12