My name is Virginia Maina. I am a Christian with a profound desire to see Christians living Christ-centric lives, enjoying the freedom and love that Christ provides. I am also a peace-building and conflict-resolution professional, a Judiciary of Kenya accredited mediator, and an author, and I speak (even though I am not sure when one considers herself a speaker) …
I grew up in a Christian home; my parents were born again and instilled the fear of God early in our lives through consistent devotionals and prayer. As I was growing up, I observed them serving in various roles in the church as deacons, elders, and various other capacities in the local church and at presbytery levels. Service and leadership in the church were thus modeled for us.
I accepted Jesus as my Lord at 14 years, and it was the most amazing gracious, loving, and freeing experience that I ever had. Since I had observed my parents serve in church, as a young adult I naturally set to serve God in my local church. And this is where my writing story begins.
In 2006, I joined a new local church and served there for seven years, by the time I and my young family left, we were burnt out and wounded by the system. In our God-ordained journey, we met many other people who had been in abusive or toxic church environments. We fellowshipped together and encouraged one another to keep the faith. I started sensing a need to document my journey; however, I never got to do it until 2016 when I was put on a twenty-nine (29) week of bed rest.
During this time, I reflected on all that had happened and sensed God saying it was time to write that book. I wrote the Bride Breaks Free during this season. I got a volunteer editor who helped me with the editing; however, I did not have a clue on how and when to release the book.
In 2019, I tried self-publishing on Amazon, but I had no impetus to market. After the Shakahola, massacre was publicized, I sensed God saying it was time to avail the book locally. As if that unction was not enough, I got numerous calls asking me about my opinion on what had just been unearthed. This was partly because we had been doing Christian discipleship-making in Kilifi County and partly because the people knew I had written a book on this. This is how I contacted CLC to assist with birthing this book and availing it in Kenya and beyond.
The Bride Breaks Free celebrates God’s unwavering love for His people even amidst a broken church system, toxicity, and abuse. In this book I share my personal experiences of breaking from a toxic church, offering Biblical wisdom and practical guidance to those who have been affected by spiritual abuse.
Spiritual abuse has become pervasive in our society, we all probably know someone who has fanatical beliefs or is attached to an abusive spiritual environment, this book is a great gift, it is a conversation opener.
My publishing journey with CLC was amazing. The team has not only delivered professionally but has been encouraging through and through. It was amazing to see the book come to life in November after just a few months of engagement.
Additionally, I am so glad to be here, and I sincerely thank CLC for this amazing platform and initiative to help us navigate the complexities of the writing/ publishing ministry. I have already derived a lot of encouragement and motivation from Muthoni, Judy Owiti, Judy Mzungu, and Alphonse.
I look forward to the impetus we will continue gaining from our interactions this year and beyond.
Thank you.
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