Apostle Desmond Thomas was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone on the 10^th of November 1967, received the Lord as his Lord and Savior and entered into ministry as a teenager.  He studied at Evangel Bible College (AOG) in Sierra Leone and started engaging in city and rural evangelism, crusades and Church planting in Sierra Leone.

He worked as Vice President of Flaming Evangelical Ministries for over twenty years and pioneered the headquarter Church of the Flaming Bible Church in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Grafton Branch and the regional headquarter Church in the United Kingdom.  He also became the first principal of the Flaming Bible Centre, (an interdenominational Bible School) where hundreds of pastors were trained in Sierra Leone from various denominations to take the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the nation of Sierra Leone.

Apostle Desmond is the apostolic leader and General Overseer of The Word international Church and Ministry of the Word.  He is also the Director of The Word College.  The Word International Church has branches in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Sierra Leone and the Gambia.  Through Ministry of the Word Apostle Thomas has travelled the world holding Crusades and pastors and leaders conferences and training.  The Word Bible College has trained hundreds of Christian minister in Sierra Leone who are now pastors and pioneers of Churches and ministries in Sierra Leone and abroad.

Apostle Desmond is also author of several books in English and in Portuguese and has engaged himself in television, radio and Internet presentations and talk shows.  He is married for over 20 years to Mary Thomas also a minister and ministry partner of The Word Ministries.  They have three sons.

Apostle Desmond joined Multiply International Christian Leaders Network over twenty years ago.  He later became apostolic leader for Multiply in London and in West Africa.  He has worked with Multiply extensively throughout Europe, West Africa, India and in Brazil in South America.  He is now the Chairman of the Apostolic Board of Multiply since 2016.

Paulo Sergio began serving in church as a youth leader, yet in his teens, in Rio de Janeiro, where he was born. In his early twenties, moves to Europe where he serves people in extreme social vulnerability, initially as a volunteer at the French Salvation Army in Paris. Latter, at the Abundant Life Christian Center, In Lisbon, Portugal – Centro Cristão Vida Abundante (CCVA) –, he led an evangelization team among gypsies and war refugees from the former Portuguese colonies, and helped in the recovering of drug addicts and their families in an urban Teen Challenge’s unit. The years spent working full time at CCVA, was a shaping for the pastoral ministry, a literally school for him, a time in which he also graduated at the CCVA’s Bible School.

Back in Brazil, in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, six months after marrying the beautiful psychologist Vania Cristina, he was ordained pastor. When their son João Paulo was about to turn two years old, they were sent to Rondônia. In Vilhena, he became part of the 1st. National Baptist Church, where besides pastoring, he taught at the local Baptist National Seminary. It was from then on that began his trips through the American and African Continents, allowed by his fluency in English, French and Spanish. Currently he is the senior pastor of the Brazilian Christian Mission, in Vila Bela, Mato Grosso, a church founded six decades ago by Dutch missionaries. In addition, he serves as a volunteer chaplain at the Detention House of his city.

During a preaching in a Christian retreat in India he heard a man of God speak these words. “You know you here, the Lord has chosen you and He wants you to receive Him today as your Lord and Saviour. And your father is one of the founders of a religious church but that does not qualify you nor save you”. He was convicted and prompted by the spirit of God and he gave his life to Christ our Lord and Saviour. It was January, 1991.

The valley of decision: A valley burning with red-hot fire shown to him in a vision, in between there was a cross lifted up and on the cross a Bible opened up, and he could see an angel of the Lord flying in between. And he saw a small hole/the light from heaven shinning on his face. He could feel the body shaking, “Preach the gospel to the people who are in the valley of decision.” He heard the voice commanding him.

Prophesies…..One prophetic man, from the Morris Cerrullo Ministry, was visiting the church in India. As he was preaching, he was prompted by the Spirit of God to call Gregory forward and he prophesised into his life!-“The Lord says He has called you to serve Him in the Western countries.” Gregory was trembling under very heavy anointing of God. The man of God continued speaking. “In few years’ time.”

He taught for four years at the then Kenya National Polytechnic. Gregory resigned after four years, to join a private management consultancy as a training manager. In the fourth year, he heard a voice of the Lord telling him to leave his job and resigned on 30^th September 2001. Bishop Gregory now lectures at Daystar University on part-time basis.

“If you wish to enrich days, plant some flowers ; if you wish to enrich years plant trees; if you wish to enrich Eternity plant ideals in the lives of others.” S Truett Cathy

August 3 1997 they began this church Christ Evangelistic Church. This was as a result of the voice of the Lord which he heard one evening when he entered into trace while traveling back from Kenya Polytechnic. Church started by himself and two families from Uganda, and one gentleman from Tanzania, who since went back to their countries.

One vision he got when very desperate and under a lot of pressure to quit the ministry, he prayed to God to close the church and allow him join another church, if he was not called of Him. That night, God showed him a direct vision with the then President of Kenya. The two of them were walking in the countryside. All of a sudden there was a small dais-a wooden platform. They climbed on the platform. The president just holding a microphone and Gregory saw hundreds of people running towards them, crowds from all directions, and he didn’t say anything, the President handed him the mic and said: “Preach to these people.” From that time, God has shown him many other dreams, but that particular one really gave him a confirmation of the Lords apostolic calling on his life.

Since then 1997, the church has been growing in maturity and numbers of believers. The ministry houses thirteen branch churches and has a vision of opening others. Our branches are all over Kenya; Christ Evangelistic Church Ndumbuini  Head Quarter under the shepherding of Pastor Benard Okonda.  

A burden and call to break dividing walls of different magnitudes has been on his heart lately, to unite the body of Christ in these end times. Destroying walls of negative ethnicity, denominational, religious, rank, class and status etc . This vision is for you to pick and run with for a united body of Christ in East Africa and the world. He is currently the Apostolic Man of East Africa Region Multiply Christian Leaders Network.