What about Rwanda?

A couple of years ago I got into a discussion with some missions about the limitations of church planting movements as a mission strategy. Their concern was the quality and maturity of the believers in regions such as Africa and especially in a place like Rwanda.

In 1994, Rwanda Hutu extremists massacred hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and Hutu political moderates.

Rwanda was the most heavily Christianized country in Africa. Some 90% of the people identified themselves as Christians. The Roman Catholic Church, to which 65% of the population belonged, played a huge role in Rwandan society. Christian churches, seminaries, schools and other institutions were sprinkled throughout the land. And yet all of this Christianity did not prevent genocide, a genocide which some leading church officials did little to resist.

Ever since that initial discussion the issue has stayed with me. So I began looking for someone who knows Rwanda. Eventually I found him.

In the next post I'll tell you what he told me.