Rwandan Missions

The turn of the 20^th century brought the arrival of the Catholic missionaries, called the White Fathers, from Uganda into Rwanda, “building their first mission at Save in 1899” (Koff 1994, 84).  While a large majority of Africa was receiving missionaries from Islam, the Church of Scotland, Seventh Day Adventist, Protestantism and more, Rwanda only had the White Fathers. At this time, Rwanda was known as German East Africa and was under German rule. In 1908, German Lutheran missionaries came to Rwanda, but were soon expelled during the First World War (Ward 2008, 1).

A Belgian Protestant Missionary Society soon entered Rwanda, followed by Seventh Day Adventists and Anglicans, who were all targeting the Tutsi elite class as their desired mission field. “In the 1930's there was a revival that became one of the most important movements of spiritual renewal throughout East African Protestantism” (Ward 2008, 1).

Colonialism in Rwanda created a harsh environment that fostered racism. A great divide continued between the Hutu and Tutsi people groups. Sadly, there were not many Christians taking a stand against this at the time.

However, in the 1950’s, the Catholic Church stepped in to help end the ongoing unequal treatment between the Hutu and Tutsi. “This contributed significantly to the 1959 revolution, the abolition of the monarchy and of the Tutsi monopoly of power, at the same time as the end of Belgian colonial rule” (Ward 2008, 1) Of course, all Rwandan problems wouldn’t be solved overnight because the unequal treatment had gone on for hundreds of years.

Many revivalists living in Rwanda are said to have refused to participate in the life-ending battles that went on during this time. There are also accounts of “well-dressed neighbors walking to church on Sunday Morning” and these same neighbors “woke up one morning and slaughtered one another” (africanglobalmission.org 2005).

Statistics show that somewhere between 80-90% of Rwandans today identify as Christian. Most of those are Catholics, and Protestantism makes up almost the rest of the country’s religious affiliation. This truly is remarkable! According to African Global Mission, “Rwanda is generally regarded as one of the most "Christian" countries in Africa and the World”{..}“It is said that Rwanda is one of the real "successes" of Christian missions in Africa” (africanglobalmission.org 2005).

References:

Koff, Clea, "Monogamy vs. Polygyny in Rwanda: Round 1 - The White Fathers Round 2 - The 1994 Genocide" (1997). Nebraska Anthropologist. Paper 106. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebanthro/106

Ward, Kevin, “A Brief History of the Church in Rwanda.” Dictionary of African Christian Biography, 2008.  Accessed August 7, 2015. http://www.dacb.org/history/rwanda-briefhistory.htm

“Why Rwanda?” African Global Mission, (2005) Accessed August 7, 2015. http://www.africanglobalmission.org/whyrwanda.htm