About us

Mizpah House of Prayer is an interdenominational ministry headquartered in Bahati, Nakuru. It serves the apostolic commission under the Levitical calling of keeping the fire of the altar burning 24/7 through unceasing prayer, the Word, and worship. The ministry is dedicated to serving the universal Body of Christ as a prophetic watchtower, raising up altars that speak to families, churches, and nations.

The ministry began with a group of passionate young people under the leadership of Jesse Karanja. Deeply influenced by the East African Tukutenderesa spiritual awakening of the late 20th century, Jesse and his friends formed an evangelism team called “The Crusaders”. As they traveled across Kenya holding crusades and planting churches, they realized their missions could not succeed without deep prayer and fasting. This urgent need led to the formation of a dedicated prayer team.

Initially, the team met in local churches, but when church leadership felt threatened by their growth and locked them out, they moved to Jesse’s home. As the group grew, they relocated to a large cave in the Menengai Crater that could hold 200 people, praying through the night and working by day. However, due to political unrest and safety concerns, the government closed the cave, leaving them without a meeting place.

Driven by a vision to build a permanent sanctuary for prayer, Jesse and his team raised funds to purchase land in Bahati. In 1996, despite facing heavy opposition from traditional denominations, they built three simple mud, grass-thatched huts—one for men, one for women, and one for prayer meetings. That same year, they hosted their first annual congress, which eventually transformed into the ministry’s hallmark “Prayer Congress”.

Mizpah operates under a clear four-fold mandate:

• Apostolic Mandate to serve the universal Church of Jesus Christ
• Levitical Mandate to maintain unceasing worship and intercession
• Nation Mandate reaching Kenya, Israel, and Europe;
• Prophetic Mandate to raise altars that break spiritual bondages across generations.

Its core purpose is to train and equip “Prophetic Intercessory Priests” to stand in the gap as watchmen. Today, its apostolic influence continues to expand globally, having successfully birthed many other prayer ministries and shifted the prayer culture of the global Church.