Mike and Pat Heiser

Mike grew up plowing the wheat fields in Kansas and attending a two- room rural school. His family met with a few friends on Sundays and it was in this home fellowship that Mike learned the joy of praising Jesus. Mike enjoyed the stories from Tahiti where his cousin was a missionary. Meanwhile Pat was growing up in the city-center of Kansas City with millions of people from many nations. Missionaries from around the world stayed in the boarding house next door to Pat’s family and through their adventure-filled stories a seed was planted for Pat to tell the world about her best friend Jesus.

When Mike’s father was injured at the factory where he worked, Mike’s family moved to the Kansas City area. In 1967 Mike met Pat while they were both in secondary school. Five years later, in 1972 they were married. From the very first day they endeavored to make Jesus the head of their family and live their lives for Him.

Mike was serving in the United States Air Force when they married so Pat joined him in Okinawa, Japan. After a year there, the Air Force ordered Mike to move to the western part of the United States. In 1975 Mike left the Air Force and worked in security positions as he attended various colleges. Pat trained in nursing and cared for the sick. In 1982 Tiona Sue, their only natural child was born. Settling into the routine of life frightened Mike so they were always moving and changing their homes, churches and jobs. Mike started working for the newspaper industry and soon was advanced into management positions. Although corporate management constantly brought new challenges, Mike still rebelled against settling down into a life of daily routine. He knew that God had more adventure for them than having different cars, houses and jobs.

In 1994 Mike and Pat moved back into the Kansas City metro area to help care for Pat’s sick father. Mike secured a job with the Kansas City newspaper and life seemed to shift into a normal routine. God guided Mike and Pat to serve Him at Faith and Joy Family Church. At the same time, they were closely associated with Heart of God Fellowship. At Faith and Joy they grew in Christian leadership. At Heart of God they saw the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ reaching out and transforming criminals and alcoholics and people from all walks of life and backgrounds  into mighty men and women of God. Through these two churches God was molding Mike and Pat and preparing them for the adventure that Mike was searching for.

Opportunity opened for the Heisers to contract a business in connection with Mike’s newspaper work. God abundantly prospered the business so that Mike and Pat could liberally give to missions around the world. Even though this business demanded that they work seven days every week, the Heisers enrolled in Charis Bible College and begun saturating their minds with the Word of God. Life was busy working, studying, and taking care of Mike’s mother who was now 80 years old. . Giving became their joy as God continued to prosper them. Now at age 50 years Pat had forgotten her dreams of sharing her best friend Jesus with the world. However Mike was still searching and when they were asked to teach Bible College in Meru, Kenya, Mike accepted this invitation that would finally take them on the adventure that he knew God had destined them for all of their lives,  And on November 28, 2002 Mike and Pat moved to Meru, Kenya

As Mike and Pat taught at Grace Bible School in Meru, their hearts were filled with love for the Kenyan people. The children running wild on the streets especially caught their hearts. The Bible School director cautioned Mike and Pat to stay away from these filthy, glue-sniffing kids but the compassion of Jesus overcame them.  Mike and Pat remembered a recurring dream Mike dreamed about 30 years before. In that dream he saw he and Pat in a foreign land with many children living in a big house on a hill.   The first house they moved into in Meru was that house on that hill.   And with this confirmation of that dream, they proceeded to set up their household for these children and within weeks the Heisers opened their hearts and home to the lost children of Meru.

In just a few days their house was filled with 6 children.. Muriuki, Jonah, Doreen and the others became their sons and daughters while Mike and Pat were becoming Papa and Mama. Matthew 9:29 According to your faith be it done unto you became the family’s foundational verse. As their faith grew, so did their family. One by one children came in search of love. Children with histories of crime, abuse, and neglect were won a place in their hearts. No matter where the children came from, with God’s love and the power of His Word they are being transformed into healthy, loving children of God who someday will lead others to Jesus.

However Mike and Pat’s hearts were still filled with the compassion of Jesus for children on the streets and so they begun PATHWAYS. PATHWAYS ministers to children who are not yet willing to submit to the discipline of family life, but still need to know Jesus loves them. Over the last 7+ years many, many street children have been loved, fed and taught that God loves them no matter what they do, or where they live. God has a good purpose for their lives but it is up to them to accept His love and follow Him.

Mike and Pat’s hearts were also filled with God’s love for the single mamas of Meru that they saw struggling to feed their children. So one Sunday in February 2005, Pat served tea to six single mamas as she shared God’s unconditional love and grace with them. Mike and Pat discovered that these mamas felt rejected in most of the local churches because of their poor clothes so in turn they had rejected God’s love. Uniting together they discovered God’s true nature and now then there came over 50 people who met in the Heiser’s home each Sunday mornings to celebrate God’s love and faithfulness. This began what God had already told Mike to do; plant a church! And now we have both Heart of God Fellowship Church in Meru, and one in Githongo. In Ephesians 4:11 it states that God gave apostles, evangelists, prophets, pastors and teachers to equip the saints (God’s family) for the work of the ministry. Surely He has done that as He has raised up many to work with us and help lead this fellowship. Each month we go as a church into the surrounding neighborhoods and minister the Good News to people that need to know God loves them unconditionally

In order to train our people further for the work of the ministry, and to reach others outside of Meru, in January 2007 we founded and opened NEEMA Bible College. with locations now in several cities of Kenya Neema is Teaching the whole council of God. NEEMA ,which means (grace in swahili), uses much of the curriculum of Charis Bible College which was founded by Andrew Wommack, and  emphasises the unconditional love of Jesus.

Andrew has had a great influence in Mike and Pat’s lives since 1985, when he taught classes on Sunday at the Church they were attending at that time.   Today Mike and Pat's home church ,Heart of God Fellowship in Missouri, whose pastor is Pastor Bob Kaps.  Pastor Bob  is an incredible teacher of the word and  the grace message and has been and continues to be such a great mentor and encourager in their lives.  There are so many more who down through the years God has brought into Mike and Pat's lives which have greatly influenced them.   It is with this gospel of God’s grace that  Heart of God Kenya, is reaching throughout Africa with the unconditional love of Jesus Christ.