Pastor Training in Rwanda

Rwanda is a nation of 9 million people in Central Africa. African Leadership has been training Pastors and church leaders there since 2001. As of March 2008, we have 241 students attending 12 classes with over 800 graduates who are active in church ministry.

Our National Director for Rwanda is Mezack Nkundabantu. Mezack organizes and administrate the AL learning centers, in this country that is the most densely populated nation in Africa. Pastor training is essential for the health and growth of the church in Rwanda, for her leadership to be supportive in propagating the gospel of Christ, where 56% of Rwandans are Catholic, 4% are Muslim, and the remaining 40% are mostly Protestant and Adventist. Rwandans are rebuilding and healing after 50 years of war and tribal conflicts that have claimed countless friends and family members. There remains widespread unrest and poverty following the bloody civil war and genocide in 1994, when 1 million people died over 3 months. In the aftermath of war in Rwanda, the Church faces orphans and widows, child prostitution, and hunger in their communities. Nowhere has there been greater need for church unity, to reach out to the hurting and needy, but division and immaturity is reported to be common in the Rwandan church, with little trained leadership.

Facing difficulties beyond the imagination of most people living in developed nations, many Rwandans still have little clean water and food, with little adequate shelter, lacking education and health services. The BTCP students attending pastor training classes need support in every way possible, so they may complete their courses, and minister to their congregations with biblical maturity. All 18 classes, and developing new classes, need financial support for feeding the students, support for teachers, and for travel costs. It is simply a wondrous work of grace that so many pastors find the strength for attending training, as the truth of the Gospel is the only hope for most of these people, living in one of the poorest nations in the world.

African Leadership is thankful to have a presence in Rwanda. As African Leadership equips National Directors like Mezack and his colleagues to spread the Gospel in churches and communities throughout Rwanda, we are grateful for the support of our donors who make this national transformation possible. As we visit with our African Directors and attend graduation ceremonies, we are amazed at the dedication of these pastors. They usually work full time jobs in addition to their pastoral workload, while attending classes 2-4 days a week. Their desire to be better teachers and preachers is reflected in their joyful completion of the 2-year program, which provides comprehensive training in all phases of church leadership, equivalent to a foundational-level seminary or Bible College degree, utilizing a 10-course, 2,500-page Bible centered curriculum, developed by Dr. Dennis Mock and translated into a nine African language by African Leadership.

Please pray for Mezack and his family and staff, as they labor to bring hope to the communities of Rwanda, by increasing the impact of the Gospel through training of pastors and church leaders. African Leadership-Rwanda hopes to graduate some 120 students each year, who, when their training is finished, will periodically attend alumni training for HIV/AIDS issues, Islam apologetics, and financial management. Hopefully, from the networking of these alumni and teachers, new training centers may be established, spreading the word about our Training Program, resulting in more pastor registrations, and expanded educational outreach for the maturity of the Church.

With such immeasurable need for training of pastors and church leaders, African Leadership is working to bring accessible, affordable training to Rwanda for the vitality and health of the Church. Mezack is in need of housing for his family. The African Leadership team members and teachers face extreme travel difficulties, with dependable vehicles always in short supply, as they travel crude roads to organize and teach their classes. And hopefully, the Kinyarwandan translation will soon be completed, expanding the opportunities for more leaders to be trained. Please consider how you might lend your support, as you pray for Mezack and his familiy and staff, as they labor to bring hope to the communities of Rwanda, by increasing the impact of the Gospel through training of Pastors and church leaders.

African Leadership's Director of Middle Tennessee's Refugee Ministry William Mwizerwa is a refugee of the Rwandan genocide, and was relocated to USA in 1998. See Refugee page.