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Church of the Apostles has a sister church in the Shyogwe Diocese of Rwanda called Gikomero Parish. Is it a mission project? A church plant? No. It is a unique opportunity we have as an AMiA church to be matched with a sister church in Rwanda so that we can build relationships with one another for the Gospel. Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini desires the connection between Rwanda and the United States to be based on more than leadership. He desires that churches in both countries can be interconnected through prayer, communication, visits and ministry. Relationship is the primary goal of this partnership. This relationship-based concept is different from sending short term mission teams to Rwanda to "do something", though this is often quite meaningful in helping revitalize the nation after the genocide. Rather, this is an effort to steer away from the tendency for relationships between African and American Christians to be lopsided in terms of power and money. If one group is seen as a project and the other is seen as the purse, no real friendship of interdependence can develop. Through the Sister-to-Sister Partnerships, local Rwandan and AMiA parishes can take part mission together to sustain and build up the body of Christ. A major goal of this partnership is to foster and build meaningful relationships and ongoing interaction to further the Gospel. Hebrews 10:24 declares, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together but let us encourage one another.” In May 2008, Patrick called together a small group of folks at Apostles to brainstorm and pray about this sister church partnership. We took our cues from All Saints Church in Chapel Hill, who sent a team to meet their sister church in Rwanda this past June. Their primary encouragement to Apostles in starting this journey with Gikomero Parish was to start praying for them rather than just focusing on planning a trip. So we have started to meet as a small group to pray for Reverend Emmanuel Gasana and pray for the prayer requests he provides via email. We email him prayer requests from our church so Gikomero can lift up our needs as well. We met to watch "Sometimes in April", a movie about the Rwandan genocide, to further educate ourselves about their recent history and culture. We plan to meet monthly to pray for Gikomero Parish and learn about Rwanda through movies, book discussions and special speakers. We hope to send a very small group with Patrick to visit Reverend Gasana, Bishop Jered Kalimba and the brothers and sisters of Shyogwe Diocese in order to meet with them face to face. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit in both congregations, this relationship will grow and develop over time. There are so many amazing ways through technology and travel that we can partner together for the Gospel. The most significant thing we can do for one another is to pray. God will create the tapestry of our relationship. The following books are some helpful resources to learn more about the AMiA and Rwanda: Never Silent by Thad Barnum, Christ Walks Where Evil Reigned by Peter Holmes & Archbishop Kolini, and The Bishop of Rwanda by Bishop Rucyahana. If you would like to be a part of the monthly Sister-to-Sister Partnership meetings, please email Sue Koehler at koehlers617@earthlink.net
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