Pray For
- Bishop Samuel Kayinamura as he leads the church
- the training of pastors; a new law states that pastors must have a bachelor’s degree in theology; this must happen within four years, and currently, only 26% of the pastors have this degree
- the work of Kibogora Hospital
- partners for ICCM-sponsored schools
- Christians to live out the message of love, forgiveness and reconciliation needed in this nation
PRESENT MINISTRIES
Education is a priority of the church in Rwanda. Currently, they have 40 nursery schools, 45 primary schools and 29 secondary schools, along with a small university, Kibogora Polytechnic. The medical ministry also remains strong with Kibogora Hospital as a primary referral center in southwestern Rwanda. Health care is also provided in neighboring centers. There is a growing number of annual conferences in the church, and they see steady growth. ICCM sponsors more than 800 children in Rwanda, including those in two centers for special-needs children.
ORIGINS
Pioneer missionaries Frank and Hazel Adamson, coming from Burundi, established the first Free Methodist mission at Kibogora in 1942. A great revival broke out in the area within a few years, resulting in thousands of conversions. This revival was part of a larger movement known as the East Africa Revival. Medical work and an elementary school opened soon after the first missionaries arrived. Later a Bible school was started. The Rwanda conference developed an aggressive church-planting program and now has churches in every province of the country. In August 1985, Rwanda became a general conference.
In 1994 Rwanda’s ethnic conflict erupted in a period of genocide. Missionaries were evacuated. Hundreds of thousands lost their lives. Millions more fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries.
Country Leader
Bishop Samuel Kayinamura
Rwanda General Conference
Missionaries
Emmanuel & Rachel Nzungize
Rachel and Emmanuel are serving as associate missionaries at Kibogora Hospital in Rwanda. Both are nurses working at the hospital, teaching at the local nursing school, and assisting with responsibilities at the mission guest house. Children: Noella, MatayoPray For...
Prayercast | Rwanda
Filling the Gap
Heartbeat | Rwanda
Hope in Rwanda
Allain is a pastor at Kibogora Free Methodist Church, located in a rural village on Lake Kivu in western Rwanda. He is busy serving the church in youth ministry, working as the coordinator for Rwanda’s Youth for Christ (YFC), and serving with Compassion International. When I asked Allain why he feels called to youth, he told me it was because he remembers what it was like to be young and encounter the challenges youth face.
COUNTRY STATISTICS
General Conference
- Population: 12,830,000
- Evangelical Christians: 26.23%
- FM Work Opened: 1942
- FM Churches: 645
- FM Membership: 170,728
- Ordained Ministers: 301
- Ministerial Candidates: 60
- Bishop: Samuel Kayinamura
- Ecclesiastical Accountability:Â Free Methodist World Conference
Photo Credit: TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Church Planting & Development
Funding Rwanda Church Planting and Development (CPD) will help resource the following people and strategic initiatives:
- Spiritual ministry to patients at Kibogora Hospital through Christian literature, home visits and special evangelism weeks, including special speakers and teams. The head chaplain of the hospital, with two other chaplains, oversees this ministry.
- Scholarships for pastors attending the Free Methodist Church’s university.
Extra Mile Projects
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Rwanda Kibogora Maternity
Kibogora Hospital maternity building is currently operating at 114% capacity. Because of these past four years of quality improvement in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the number of babies being cared for has almost doubled. Please help us build a new maternity building with an adequate number of beds for moms and babies. The new building means the mothers and babies won’t have to share a bed during their stay and the mothers in the NICU will have a place to sleep rather than on the floor while their babies are being treated. It will also improve safety issues with adequate space between beds, large enough doorways, and quick access to the operating room during emergencies. Please help us make this dream a reality as we seek to improve the care of women and babies in the Kibogora community.
Kibogora Hospital Building Project
Funds will be used to construct new buildings at Kibogora Hospital. Currently the hospital has 257 beds, and many times patients sleep two per bed due to overcrowding. This situation also creates problems with cross infection and privacy for patients. The total goal is $6 million in mulitple phases to add on to the hospital. The first phase is a new surgery and maternity ward with an estimated cost of $2.5 million.
Kibogora Malnutrition Project Fund
Kibogora Hospital administers a program caring for malnourished persons. FMWM partners with the Rwanda Free Methodist Church to help malnourished people back to health. This account provides some support for this program.