Rwanda

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The EPR emerged from German and Belgian roots. At the time of the Berlin Conference (1884–1885), it was decided that a missionary society should be established for the new African colonies that Germany would acquire. The following year the Missionary Society for German East Africa (later the Bethel Mission) began to work in East Africa, and in 1907 it became the first Protestant group to enter Rwanda. In 1919 the Belgian Missionary Society took over the German mission stations in the country, and between 1920 and the 1950s, it operated three major stations. In those years Protestant missionaries in Rwanda emphasized personal evangelism, Bible study, and singing. Consequently, Protestants became known as “the people who sing.” In 1959 the church became independent, and in 1967 it decided to associate itself with the Reformed churches in the world, taking on the name Presbyterian. In a land that has a population of about eight million and is overwhelmingly Catholic, the EPR has 96 parishes, 16 synods, and about 400,000 members.

Since the genocide, the EPR has initiated programs at the parish, synod, and national levels to aid the victims of the war: the widows, orphans, AIDS-infected, refugees, and the displaced. The church is particularly active among orphans, supplying funds for counseling, education, and job placement. One of the church’s more popular events takes place every other year when youth from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa, Germany, and Congo-Brazzaville spend one month together to work on a project (such as the construction of a classroom or house) and participate in evangelistic programs. The PC(USA) currently supports a dozen students at Rwanda’s only Protestant seminary, la Faculté de Théologie Protestante de Butare, where Michael Parker, a PC(USA) mission worker, teaches church history.