Background

Pastor Joshua Ngao is the founder of Fishers of Men Ministries. Joshua was born in Eastern Kenya in the early 1960's. His father died when he was less than one year old, leaving his mother to take care of him, his brother, and his four sisters.

Poverty

His family was very poor, and they were forced to survive with very little. During his early education, he went to school almost everyday without food; walking more than 10 miles to school and back. The family was so poor that Pastor Ngao recieved his first pair of shoes when he was 16 years old.
After primary school, he wanted to go to secondary (High) shoool, but there was no money for school fees. To overcome this situation, he went to Nairobi to look for a job, and worked nights for 4 years while he went to school during the day.
Joshua then attended college to pursue a career in hotel management, working in hotels for over ten years. During this time he met Bishop Arthur Kitonga, the founder of the Redeemed Gospel Church, who led him to the Lord. He became very much involved in God's work, leading a big youth ministry and also becoming one of the National Evangelists for R.G.C.

Calling

In 1990, the Lord reminded Pastor Ngao how he grew up in poverty and all the problems that he faced at an early age, and called him to minister to the poor.Pastor Joshua obeyed, left his good job and went to start the ministry as the Lord told him. He started the Fishers of Men Ministries, and on November 15, 1994, the ministry was registered in Kenya. After registration, the challenge began. He started ministering to the poor people in the Nairobi slums of Kwanjenga, starting churches both in the slums and in the villages. Many people in this area make less than ten dollars per month, so he was ministering to people without food, who could not afford medical care, and thousands of orphaned children who slept in the streets. It really broke Pastor Ngao's heart, but he did not give up. He knew where his "Hope" was, and he brought that "Hope" to the children, and the poor villages; the "Hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Church Planting

In a few years, Pastor Ngao had started more than twenty churches and worked with thousands of poor and needy people. They would receive the gospel message, but children continued to die. Pastor Joshua then realized that these people needed more than just words. This is when Jesus talked to Pastor Ngao and told him that THIS WAS THE TIME TO SHOW THE GOSPEL.
The Lord said to Joshua that He had brought him to these children for a special mission; that they may not die, but that they may live and by their testimony, Jesus himself would be glorified.
Pastor Joshua went to fast and pray in the mountains for forty days. The Lord spoke and said that He was sending special messengers from outside the country of Kenya. In a few months, the Lord sent a lady from Clinton, Iowa, Sue Williams, to come with other servants of God to minister the gospel in Kenya.
This Christian lady was used by the Lord to pay for Pastor Ngao's first airline ticket to the United States. It was in the U.S. that the Lord started opening doors for sponsorship of these needy children as Pastor Joshua traveled from state to state visiting churches telling people about the great burden the Lord had laid on him.

Marriage

As Pastor Joshua visited children, churches, and hopitals to pray for the sick, he prayed for the Lord to provide him with a Christian spouse. As one minister said to Pastor Ngao, unless the Lord leads you to remain single, you are never complete until you get your helper.

He felt that if he waited upon the Lord concerning marriage, He would give him a wife according to his call and they would strengthen each other in the ministry.
During a missionary visit to the U.S.A., the Lord brought a beautiful gift to Pastor Ngao. He was speaking at a church in Davenport, Iowa, when he met Kathleen Budelier, who shared his vision of ministering to needy children.

They were married in 1999, and have two wonderful sons, Alex and Josiah. Although they live in Davenport, Iowa, Pastor Joshua makes several trips each year to his native Kenya to supervise the building of churches and schools, and to minister to his countrymen. The Lord continues to open many doors for the ministry, for which they are truly grateful.