After several months of volunteer work, district support, and Alabaster funds, 17 Nazarene churches in Rwanda reopened.

The churches had closed in 2018 after the government announced a new set of guidelines for buildings. Each congregation needed to remodel its building, including a new roof, new toilets, and other criteria.

Local pastors and church members worked together to raise money and offer volunteer labor to rebuild the churches. People sold their livestock, property, and possessions, including chickens, goats, clothes, and land. Even people outside of the Church of the Nazarene offered support to help these churches reopen in their local communities.

“We have experienced God's presence during this big challenge in the history of the church in Rwanda,” said Simon Pierre, Rwanda Northwest district superintendent. 

Nine buildings remain closed, and the Church of the Nazarene in Rwanda will continue to remodel as many of them as possible.

“We believe that of the remaining churches closed, it is only the building that’s closed while the churches are still open,” Pierre said. “We stand on God’s Word — ‘Upon the Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’”

Prayer is requested for the Church of the Nazarene in Rwanda as leaders continue working toward reopening the remaining buildings.