Rebuild Fellowship-IE is led by a team of elders-in-training under the leadership of Pastor Kimani Gathere and his wife Lydia. Kimani and Lydia have resided in Corona, CA for the last twelve years and have raised their family there. They have also been members of Northpoint Evangelical Free Church since 2004, and have participated in various ministries of the church. Previously, they were members at Grace Evangelical Free Church and served as Mission Elders at Willingboro Christian Assembly (Brethren) in New Jersey and Elder/Deacon at Redeemer Baptist Church in La Mirada. They have also served as community pastors among the Kenyan Community in Southern California at the same time. They are both speakers at local churches, and have marriage enrichment ministries in the area. They have been married for twenty-one years and have two children.
Lydia Kimani is the brains of the outfit and ensures that everyone has their lunch money daily before they leave home. She is a graduate of Cerritos College with an Associate’s Degree as a Pharmacy Technician and works from home, managing a small healthcare services firm. She has worked extensively with indigent families and has a soft spot for the poor. She also volunteers at Corona Life Services as a counselor to young, unmarried mothers-to-be, encouraging them not to terminate the pregnancy, as well as pointing them to community resources available to them. She is a resource person for those exploring the faith, and can usually be found in a corner somewhere praying for someone in need. Lydia loves to cook and entertain visitors, evidenced by a constant stream of visitors – ask the poor neighbors! She has never met a crowd she cannot feed.
Kimani Gathere is the driver of the family van and can usually be found behind a good book. He is a graduate of Cairn University (formerly Philadelphia College of Bible) and Biola University Talbot School of Theology with advanced degrees in Theology and Education. An ordained minister in the independent Baptist tradition (Nairobi, Kenya), Kimani has worked with the intellectually disabled for over twenty years, and provides administrative and operations consultation to area group homes and skilled nursing homes. He is also a community pastor within the Kenyan community, disciplining the younger adults into maturity in their walk with Jesus. He speaks occasionally in area churches, focused on micro-missions, and intentional friendships AKA discipleship. He is also known to tell bad jokes.
