WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

BY MICHELE STOTZ

eath and destruction raged in the land of a thousand hills when more than 800,000 people died within 100 days in the spring of 1994. One in eight inhabitants of Rwanda perished in a genocide that took place when the majority Hutu tribe began killing members of the minority Tutsi tribe.

Following this terrible slaughter, Hutus and Tutsis have since come together with forgiveness and reconciliation, and Rwandans are now embracing messages of hope. For this reason, It Is Written Television (IIW) chose to beam the gospel message of hope live to every country in Africa from Rwanda's capital city, Kigali, from August 13-28, 2004.

Mark Finley, speaker/director for the IIW telecast, presented the series New Life-Hope for Today, Tomorrow, and Forever. This was part of IIW's Adventist Commission Through Satellite (ACTS) evangelism initiative that has a running attendance of more than five million people.

Investing in Africa
In addition to its evangelistic campaign, IIW decided to do something out of the ordinary for the people of Rwanda. "We wanted to demonstrate Proverbs 3:27 in concrete terms," says Finley. "So we took the verse to heart: 'Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so' " (NKJV).

As part of this plan, IIW outfitted Rwandan pastors with 135 bicycles and 13 motorcycles. Several of these pastors serve as many as 10 churches, and have been traveling everywhere on foot.

The next step involved providing local pastors and laity with the resources necessary to prepare for the evangelistic meetings. To do this, IIW and Light Bearers, an Adventist lay Bible-study ministry based in Malo, Washington, sent Rwanda two million pieces of literature, including 50,000 full sets of Bible studies in the Kinyarwandan language. IIW also sponsored a new low-power television station that will provide Kigali homes with the Hope Channel.

In an effort to help the disabled community of Kigali, many of whom lost limbs in the genocide, IIW donors raised enough money to send the city's hospitals 100 wheelchairs, customized by Wheels for the World, and several large boxes of canes and crutches. Wheels for the World works with specially trained prison inmates to repair used donated wheelchairs and then distributes them to disabled people in many countries throughout the world.

Rather than renting a local auditorium in which to present the New Life series, IIW used its venue budget to benefit both the satellite series and the local church. In conjunction with the East-Central Africa Division and local pastors, IIW used the funds to refurbish and expand the Remera Adventist Church in Kigali. As a result, the city now has one of the largest Adventist church buildings in the world. It can accommodate 10,000 people inside and 5,000 outside. After the construction was completed, this new venue served as the site for the satellite uplink.

The final stage of this plan of support for Africa took place during the series, as Finley; his wife, Ernestine; and It Is Written's associate speaker Shawn Boonstra led evangelism training classes for seminary students, lay leaders, and pastors. Ernestine also taught courses on faith for 500 women.

A Message of Hope
On the morning of August 13, the first day of the New Life presentations, 3,000 Pathfinders, women's ministry members, lay people, and pastors marched five miles through downtown Kigali, singing enthusiastically and inviting people to that evening's meeting. The unique method of advertising worked. The venue was completely packed for the first night of the series, and the following day 35,000 people attended the Sabbath church service in a nearby stadium.

Before Finley began his sermon, the prime minister of Rwanda, His Excellency Bernard Makuza, rose and said, "I want to thank It Is Written and the Seventh-day Adventist Church for sponsoring this satellite series. It will bring peace and reconciliation to our nation. I am calling on all Rwandans to attend the meetings and respond to the messages you hear."

It is estimated that two million people from across the continent of Africa watched Finley preach every night-from a marketplace in Bonchari, Kenya, to the Mwami Adventist Hospital in Zambia, to the Rwanda National Prison where tens of thousands of inmates crowded into a courtyard to watch the meetings on a large screen.

Local pastors translated the series into 15 different languages, which were beamed live via satellite to every country in Africa by the Hope Channel.

"We appreciate the participation, hard work, and commitment of the Hope Channel team to help make this event successful," says Finley. "Their support enabled It Is Written to reach all of Africa with the good news!"

Each New Life presentation was a Christ-centered biblical message contextualized in an African setting. Finley says, "We believe this was the method Jesus used-meeting people in the milieu of their own experience."

At the end of the series, Amon Rugelinyange, president of the church in Rwanda, announced that 10,022 Rwandans had been baptized into the Adventist Church. It is estimated that between 45,000 and 50,000 people throughout Africa have become new Adventists as a result of the New Life program.

To view more photos and video clips from the meetings in Rwanda, visit www.itiswritten.com.

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Michele Stotz is the director of Public Relations for It Is Written.

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