Muhia Karianjahi, Ph.D.

I was born and raised in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Despite the blessing of a Christian home and church, it was not until my mid-20s that I surrendered my life to Christ after encountering him in wilderness settings while teaching at an outdoor school. He imprinted Luke 8:15 in my soul, calling me to become good soil that would actively learn from his Word and world, and through faithful stewardship, produce kingdom fruit. Growing in him led to several decades of exploring, designing, and rolling out experiential programs for the spiritual and life-skills formation of young people and youth workers in Eastern Africa. My life journey has since been an adventure of divinely transformative seeds sowed by the kinship of believers. Chief among them is my wife and soulmate Marcy, and my two adult sons, Kiama and Wangai –constant reminders of Christ’s love and grace. Over the years, I have loved laboring alongside fellow pilgrims at the Nairobi Chapel family of churches, Tanari Trust (a Christian, youth centered East African non-profit I midwifed three decades ago), Christian Camping International, Wheaton College, Biola University, and church families in Northern Wisconsin and Wheaton, IL; who fertilized and nurtured my passion for spiritual formation through experiential learning. For the last decade and a half, I have taught graduate and undergraduate students at the Litfin Divinity School of Wheaton College. My research explores contemporary church-based rites of passage, contextualization of ministry – including camp ministry expressions around the world, and cultural diversity in North American Christian camps. I subscribe to the Ubuntu adage: “it takes a village to raise up a child;” and believe that village to be the polycentric Body of Christ, the church.

Biola University - Talbot School of Theology
Ph.D., Education Studies, 2013

Wheaton College
M.A., Interdisciplinary Studies (Education and Intercultural Studies), 2003

University of Nairobi
B.Sc. (Hons), Civil Engineering, 1988

• Contextualization of rites of passage in ministry
• Experiential pedagogy and camp programming
  
• Spiritual formation and leadership development
  
• Cross-cultural ministry in local and global settings

Undergraduate

• First Year Seminar.
• The Good Life as Pilgrimage.
• Spiritual Formation in Community

Graduate

• Cultural Engagement
• Leadership and Personal Formation
• Camp Ministry in Global Contexts
• Program Philosophy and Planning
• Temporary Communities and the Church
• Foundations of Experiential Education
  

• Christian Camping International – Worldwide, board member
• African Christian Camping/CCI Eastern Africa, founding Chair
• Christian Camps and Conference Association
• Association of Youth Ministry Educators

Christian Camping international (CCI) Global Leadership Program (GLP) -Executive Leaders Program Feb 2025-Apr 2026

“To the Cross of Christ!” 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. Wheaton College Chapel, April 6, 2026

Lament as Transformative Learning: Fostering Diversity in Christian Camping. The Margaret Diddams ’83 Annual Lecture on Faith and Learning. Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, February 2025

"Equip" National Conference. Christian Camping Association of Ghana (CCAG). October 2024

“3D Gospel: Why We Need Each Other.” Christian Camping International (CCI) Global Gathering, Doorn, Netherlands. April 2023

Temporary Communities in Christian Camping. Christian Camping International (CCI) Sierra Leone. Rokassa, Sierra Leone. July 2022

Diversity and inclusion for Christian camping.  Paper presented at Association of Youth Ministry Educators (AYME) conference, Dallas, TX 2021.

“The Role of Camp in a Pandemic – Moving Forward with Hope” – Keynote Address, CCI African Virtual Regional Gathering. July 2021

Programming for Cultural Inclusion. Christian Camps and Conferences Association (CCCA), MN-E-Dakotas. Alexandria, MN, 2020

Christian Camping Around the World. Christian Camps and Conferences Association (CCCA), MN-E-Dakotas Alexandria, MN, 2020

Kijiji: Exploring Rites of Passage in Communities to Facilitate Life Transitions. John Gration Lecture, 2019 Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, 2019

A Biblical Strategy to Developing the Potential of African Youth. Sierra Leone Fellowship of Evangelical Students (SLEFES). Port Loko, Sierra Leone, 2019

Equipping Churches and Organizations for Effectiveness Through Christian Camping. ECWA WUSE II, Abuja, Nigeria, 2019

Christian Camp Leadership and the Family. Conference, Christian Camping International, Mexico. Tlajomulco, Jalisco, Mexico. 2018

The Power of Camp and Experiential Methodology. Symposium: Emerging network of Christian camp practitioners. Freetown, Sierra Leone, 2018

Character Virtues & Kenya-Addressing the Youth Gap: The Emergence of Modern Rites of Passage 1997-2016. Keynote Address: National Initiation Rites Conference Moi University. Nairobi, Kenya, 2017

Program Planning and Development. Indian Christian Camping Association. Bangalore, India, 2017

Positive Youth Development in Christian Camping. Christian Camping Southern Africa Annual Conference. Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, 2014

Experiential Learning and Adventure Challenge. Generation Christian Camping Conference. CCI-Russia. St. Petersburg, Russia, 2014

Initiation-Male and Female: African Cultural Realities in the Light of God’s Word. Forum of Bible Agencies (FOBA) Africa Conference. Karen, Nairobi, Kenya, 2011

Crisis of Youth in East Africa. Whitworth College. Public Lecture: Spokane, WA. 2011

Karianjahi, M. (November 2026). "Contextualizing rites of passage to negotiate an African Christian identity: A Kenyan community in liminality." African Theological Journal for Church and Society.

Karianjahi, M. ‘Humanizing Incarcerated Co-Learners with Dialogue Education.’ Global Learning Partners blogpost, 13 November 2025.

Levchuk, T., Olga D., and M. Karianjahi. (2025). “Camping in Wartime: Stories of Formation and Hope in Ukrainian Christian Camps.” Christian Education Journal 22, no. 1: 85–105.

Karianjahi Muhia. 2025. “Worldviews and Rethinking Africa’s Development,” in African Values and Development: Rethinking Agenda 2063, ed. Eunice Kamaara and Ezra Chitando. United Kingdom: Routledge, 36–48.

Karianjahi, Muhia. (2024). “Extending kinship through Christian Camping in an East African Nation.” Christian Education Journal. 21(1). 96-113

Karianjahi, Muhia. (2023). “The discipline of lament for fostering diversity in Christian camping.” Christian Scholar’s Review, 53(1), 45-65.

McRay, Barrett, Laura Barwegen, Daniel Haase, Muhia Karianjahi, Mimi Larson, Rob Ribbe, Tom Schwanda, David Setran, James Wilhoit. (2018). “Spiritual Formation and Soul Care in the Department of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, 11(2), 271-295

Karianjahi, Muhia. 2016. Taruma: Empowering Youth Through Rites of Passage. Nairobi, Kenya: SIM Youth Workers Toolkit.

Karianjahi, Muhia. (2015). “Church as Village: Rites of Passage and Positive Youth Development.” Journal of Youth Ministry, 14(1), 5-31.

“Worldviews and Rethinking Africa’s Development” in Religion, Identity & Values: Rethinking Africa’s Development, 2020.

Spiritual Formation and Soul Care in the Department of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College, (with CFM faculty). Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, 2018, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 271-295.

Taruma: Empowering Youth Through Rites of Passage. Nairobi, Kenya: SIM Youth Workers Toolkit, 2016.

Church as Village: Rites of Passage and Positive Youth Development. Journal of Youth Ministry, Fall 2015, Vol. 14 No. 1

Contemporary, Community Based Rites of Passage as an Educational Tool for Transformative Learning: A Positive Youth Development Perspective. (2013). Transformative Education for Development Riara University, Nairobi, Kenya.

“Are rites of passage out of step? A Kenyan Christian perspective.” (2008). Lausanne World Pulse, online Magazine.

Constructing Adolescent Rites of Passage Experiences, ROPES: A Training of Coordinators’ Handbook for ROPES Pioneers in their Christian Communities. (2006). Tanari Trust, Nairobi, Kenya.