For more than 85 years, Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODBM) has helped millions of people connect with God every day. We have a variety of resources aimed at encouraging people to dig into their Bibles. However, most people recognize us from our popular Our Daily Bread devotionals.
One of these people is James Mwangi, assistant provost at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi, Kenya.
“I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in 1990 when I was in high school, and along my journey of faith, I encountered pieces of Our Daily Bread in somebody’s house,” he said. “What attracted me as a young believer wasn’t just the Scripture readings in the small booklets but the enticing stories of Christians sharing their experiences.”
As James continued to grow in his faith, he subscribed to Our Daily Bread, reading these daily devotions in college all the way to today with his family. However, his position as a chaplain with the Kenya Defense Force gives him a unique position to spread God’s message as well.
“In 2012, I led a team of soldiers to Somalia, and we didn’t have effective Christian materials for our use,” he said. “It’s at that time, because I had just one Our Daily Bread in my soldier bag, that I remembered that this could be a tool and resource that would help my soldiers.”

This idea led him to work with ODBM’s Africa team to order and distribute 1,000 copies of Our Daily Bread to his soldiers.
“As a soldier, especially during critical moments, you do not have a lot of time to read many materials,” James said. “Our Daily Bread comes in handy. Within seven minutes, you’ll have read a small portion of Scripture, an edifying story shared by a Christian, and a prayer at the end.”
James’ partnership with ODBM has continued since its formation more than 10 years ago.
“I have seen soldiers being transformed by reading Our Daily Bread,” he said.
“For example, in 2021, when I landed in Somalia again for the third year, the first person to ask me whether I had brought Our Daily Bread was a Muslim imam. He had been sharing Our Daily Bread with his family, and therefore, at that time, needed a copy for himself and for his daughter who was in high school.”
Still, James shared that the need for more materials continues to grow. “Right now we are able to share only a thousand copies against a huge number of people who need them. Soldiers have shared the materials with their families and even when they have come back from war, they keep on asking for Our Daily Bread.”
Overall, he urges people to support this resource that’s impacted himself and his peers so much. “I have personally witnessed the change that can come by reading Our Daily Bread,” he said. “It’s making transformation across the world not just for individuals but also for families.”
Thanks to readers like you, James and the Kenya Defense Forces can join us in reading Our Daily Bread devotionals. To support the distribution of these booklets worldwide, please click here to become a monthly donor or make a special one-time gift.