Mutua grew up in a home where Christ was central — the Gospel preached and, more importantly, lived out. His father, Bishop Mahiaini, had been involved with translating the Navigators Correspondence School material when the first missionaries arrived in Kenya in 1956. Mutua gave his life to the Lord at age ten while in primary school.
When he joined high school, however, Mutua struggled with his faith. He loved Lenana School (then Duke of York), but the expression of Christianity felt more like a burden than a joy. Deep inside, he still had a real desire to know the God who had changed his life as a child.
The Meeting That Changed Everything
When Mutua was in Form Two, Jim White came to speak at his school about the Christian life in a way that made it feel real and possible. Immediately after the service, Mutua approached him: “Mr. White, what you have said — this is what I need. Please help me. I want to learn how to walk with God like this.” Jim placed his arm around Mutua’s shoulder and prayed for him.
Jim sent him the Beginning with Christ study during the school holidays. Mutua worked through it alone.
When Mutua was in Form Six, Ove Tinggaard arrived in Kenya to pioneer the high school ministry — a direct result of the letter Jim White had written years earlier. By God’s sovereign design, a student from Nairobi School introduced Ove to Titus Kienje, who was eager to introduce Ove to Mutua — the Lenana Christian Union Chairman. Mutua later described himself as a struggling chairman, but a chairman nonetheless.
Ove began to disciple Mutua. Intentional discipleship strengthened disciplines he had learned from his parents. Mutua was among the students who lived at the Tinggaards’ home for further equipping, serving as a Ministry Assistant.
From Campus to the Nations
After completing his degree in Kenya, Mutua went to France for his Masters. He was encouraged by the way the Lord used his investment in the life of a Frenchman, Jean Claude. He returned to Kenya with a desire to learn how to disciple more effectively. In 1981, the Navigators leadership invited him to join full-time ministry as a National Trainee.
As a young girl, Stephanie had been consistently taken to Sunday school by her mother. Her true encounter with the Gospel came on her first day of high school. In Form Four, a Geography teacher named Margaret — trained by the Navigators at university — began teaching her to read and memorise Scripture. When Stephanie joined Kenyatta University College to study Music and English, she was discipled by Esther Waruiru, who drove to campus once a week just for her. “It was amazing that someone would take the time and trouble for just one person,” Stephanie later reflected.
Mutua and Stephanie married in 1982. The Edströms played a significant role in preparing them for marriage and family life.
The First Kenyan Country Leaders
In 1986, in a selection process led by Bruce Van Wyk and Mike Treneer, Mutua and Stephanie were chosen to lead The Navigators Kenya — Mutua aged just 32, the first Kenyan Country Leader. The commissioning at the Kindaruma Road office was a visible sign of spiritual generations multiplying.
In the years that followed, the ministry expanded to Eldoret, Kisumu, Machakos, and Mombasa. In 1995, sensing the Lord lifting the burden of leading the Kenya work, Mutua and Stephanie moved to Côte d’Ivoire as missionaries. In 1998, Mutua was appointed Africa Regional Director, overseeing ministry across multiple African countries for 13 years.
In 2011, Mutua joined the International Executive Team and moved to Colorado Springs. In 2015, he was selected as International President of The Navigators Worldwide Movement — a position he held until May 2025, when he handed over to the next generation.
On Serving Christ
Looking back, Mutua says that serving Christ is a lifelong privilege. “The call to serve God — whether full-time or through conventional professions — requires the same posture: total yielding to Christ, joyful obedience, and willingness to follow wherever He leads. It is not a sacrifice but a privilege.”