REFLECTIONS

Back in 1996, you could find grenades in students’ bags. There was no

laughter. Students were traumatized.

n REFLECTIONS n REFLECTIONS REFLECTIONS n REFLECTIONS n REFLECTIONS n REFLE

I started a program for school

evangelization.

Left: The Tugende peace camp in the Butare region of Rwanda in December 2010

In August 1994, the RPA advanced, taking control of the

country. Many Rwandans fled and became refugees in neighboring countries. More than 1.8 million were reported to have fled as refugees. When the RPF took power and stopped the genocide, the situation was dire. Many orphans and widows were left without help. Other Rwandans were suspected as perpetrators of genocide and were put in prison.The Rwanda society was broken. There was deep suspicion and mistrust among Rwandans. In schools, suspicion and hate among students was very high.

Teachers did not trust each other. Back in 1996, you could find grenades in students’ bags. There was no laughter. Students were traumatized. I started a program for school evangelization. It took us two

years to get the program in all the schools of the Association of Baptist Churches in Rwanda (AEBR). I was elected education department director in charge of primary and secondary schools for AEBR, after moving to Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where I was born, at the end of 1995. We

Working with Pastors I worked with pastors in a reconciliation program. During the

war, some pastors were attracted by the politics of genocide and persecuted their colleagues. After genocide, trust was difficult. Some pastors confessed their bad actions committed during the genocide and survivors forgave their colleagues. These were important acts of reconciliation. We are driven by the idea of making the church a home

of peace, to help build a culture of peace in the church where Christians deal with problems that arise within and outside the church. As Ken Sande said, “When a local church teaches its people to live out the gospel in the conflicts of daily life, people are more willing to admit their shortcomings and ask for help before a crisis occurs.”

Many students are now involved in peacebuilding and preaching the gospel.

Left: A banner displaying peace camp activities in music, drama, art and poetry that help to bring healing and reconciliation to youth in Rwanda

covered topics such as reconciliation with God, reconciliation with ourselves and reconciliation with others. We talked about sin, salvation and other topics. Many students started coming together, praying together,

singing together and schools improved. Surviving students and those who had parents in prison had opportunities to talk and understand each other. After two years, 313 students and teachers were baptized. Many are now involved in peacebuilding and preaching the gospel.

18 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE

What is the role of the church in contributing to the reconciliation and peace among people and the society? Reconciliation is God’s initiative. God is peace. God’s mission is to reconcile people with himself, reconcile people with each other and reconcile all creation to himself. The church is established to fulfil God’s mission. As Sander wrote, “We believe that peacemaking is an essential ministry of the local church, not a task reserved for professional mediators or lawyers.” Therefore, we encourage Christians to address unresolved conflicts.The church is called by God to restore peace by promoting biblical justice and reconciliation. Beyond conflict resolution, the church is to prevent

conflict, assessing and knowing what is happening in society and what could be the future causes of conflicts. The church has to address poverty issues, as well as ethnic problems and tensions, justice issues, and find ways, along with other stakeholders and churches, to respond to the challenges. The church should prepare people of goodwill to be involved in conflict resolution and peacemaking, and mobilize

Christians to know the real mission of the church, which is to be a messenger of peace and reconciliation. It should prepare Christians and others to engage in in-depth reconciliation with God and with others, and to be in peace with the environment, taking care of the creation and working for the improvement of life.

Corneille Gato Munyamasoko is general secretary of the Association of Baptist Churches in Rwanda and the recipient of the 2015 Baptist World Alliance Congress Human Rights Award.