My name is Henok Alemayehu. I am a husband and a father of three children. I was born and raised in Addis Ababa. I started following the Lord in 1998 (Gregorian calendar). It was a time when the Orthodox Church revival movement was strongly emerging on its land. This revival was the path that led me to salvation and brought me to the Lord. The story goes as follows: before me, my sister, who is now living in Minnesota, came to the Lord through this revival movement and brought me to the church, preaching the gospel to me. The first place I attended was the Sunday school at St. Michael's Church. I will never forget the place and day when God’s divine calling came into my life, and the sermon that was ingrained in me. The feeling created within me by that sermon remains strong inside me even today. That was the day I decided to follow the Lord. I had begun to see life differently before that, not as something to be grasped at. Accepting the Lord was not something that was suggested to me by others, but a decision I made personally. The spiritual journey that began in that place continued in a very joyful manner.
As it happened, my acceptance of the Lord wasn't a suggestion from others but a decision I made within myself. On that day, the sermon title was "Lazarus Will Rise." When I went to that place, it was a time in my life when all hope had been cut off. The life I was living in the world had overwhelmed me, and I was confused about what to do next and how to continue living. Everything seemed dark at that time. A young man named Abush, who was around my age, began the sermon by saying, "The title of my sermon is 'Lazarus Will Rise.'" He continued by recounting the story of Lazarus, the brother loved by Martha and Mary, who was buried and had been dead for four days when Jesus arrived at Martha and Mary's house. He explained how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and gave him life again. As he was speaking, it felt as though he was narrating my life story. For the first time, my soul heard the voice of its Creator, and as the Holy Spirit was speaking through that brother, I felt a great light shine within me. I was filled with hope, thinking, "I will not die; there is another kind of life on this earth." I made a decision to continue my life with this Lord. I was filled with incredible joy. Though nothing around me had changed, I was transformed forever. I left that Sunday school class, feeling touched in both place and time. My spiritual journey, which began in that place, continued in a very joyful way.
Not long after, the revival movement spread to various Orthodox churches. As a result, the revival continued by meeting in neighborhoods, and by making mats out of plastic sacks inside people’s homes. I joined the fellowship that continued in the yards of friends and neighbors. It was a time in my life when I experienced the love of the Lord, the love of the saints, the love of His word, and the love of prayer, and it was a time when I was trained. The foundation for the life and ministry I have today is this revival and fellowship. It was the Orthodox revival fellowship that led me to love the Lord, to love His word, and it is the foundation on which I was built. With the good fellowship we had with the Lord, many of us soon entered into ministry. The pure love of the Lord that was in us gave us the strength to run for Him, and many came to the Lord through our testimony. Starting with my family, the Lord has brought many to Himself. God has established and grown this fellowship.
My friend and I used to discuss our future life for a long time, wondering how long we could live with our families as burdens, without any work. We talked about how if we continued like this, we would not be able to establish our families, and our lives would pass by. No young person thinks about the future as we did. We heard about people who went to South Africa for work opportunities and established good lives, and about the conditions of two young men who had left our neighborhood before us. After hearing this news, we decided to go. We were convinced that what we had on that land was finished, and with this belief, we embarked on a journey to South Africa. We traveled from Ethiopia to Kenya, from Kenya to Tanzania, from Tanzania to Mozambique, from Mozambique to Swaziland, and from Swaziland to South Africa, arriving there after eleven days.
A new life began. It was the first time we had been separated from our families and started managing our lives on our own. Truly, God was with us, and it was a very joyful time. We went to church and worked. Not long after, a door of ministry opened for me, and I began to serve. The time I had in Ethiopia was a time of preparation. God told Elijah, "The journey is long for you, so get up and eat." It was the same for me. I had a long time of preparation, eating and drinking of the word of God in Ethiopia. After I stayed in ministry and business for a while, I met my current wife, Jeri, in South Africa in 2002.
On November 23, 2003, God opened a door for us, and we came to Australia together. In 2004, We joined the Zion Church fellowship in Melbourne. I continued serving the Lord at that church by teaching the word of God and later serving as an elder. On November 15, 2006, our first child, Neftalem, was born. In 2008, our second child, Mercy, was born. In 2014, our third daughter, Grace, was born. God blessed me with a hardworking wife who raises our children diligently and has a heart for the Lord. The strength of my life and ministry comes entirely from the Lord, and my wife Jeri, whom the Lord gave me, is a gift from Him.
In 2008, sensing God's leading in my life, I felt called to embark on a new chapter of ministry. Guided by His direction, I began gathering with a small group of dedicated individuals in various locations, where we faithfully shared the word of God. Our meetings started in humble settings—cafes, shopping centers, and homes—but as our fellowship grew, so did our commitment to the mission God had placed in our hearts. This growth eventually led us to a larger gathering space.
In 2009, guided by a shared vision, we officially established the House of God ministry. And during a Sunday morning meeting in Maribyrnong, I was chosen to serve as the ministry's shepherd. A few months later, on the church's first anniversary, I was officially appointed as pastor.
From that moment, the vision God placed in my heart—to lead people fully to Christ—became the driving force behind my ministry. Like Joseph, who pursued his calling away from his brothers, I too found freedom and peace to fulfill the mission God entrusted to me. Guided by the words from Habakkuk, "Write the vision and make it plain," I remained committed to clearly defining and pursuing the church's vision throughout my ministry.
By the grace of God, it has now been 15 years since I began leading this ministry. As the scripture says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Amen.