Skip to main content

206 Leaders Attend Bujumbura Conference


We thank God for what He is doing here in Bujumbura. Over the last two days we have ministered to Christian leaders from across the region. On Tuesday, we had 150 leaders attend the conference at the Kings Conference center. On Wednesday, 206 attended.


Some of the leaders have travelled by road for 24 hours from Goma and Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo and from Rwanda into Burundi for the conference. I am totally blown away by their faith, dedication, commitment, and desire to be part of what God is doing in this region of Africa.

Initially, Burundi's President Piere Nkurunziza was invited to come and open the conference. He, however, send his minister for Good Governance Hon. Martin Nivyabandi to do so on his behalf.

We are informed that the country's political parties are having tension and disagreements that could potentially turn violent and derail the recent peace accord. Consequently, the president has called for a weeklong retreat for all the political parties so that they may iron out their differences. He is preoccupied with that. The country has recently emerged out of a civil war. The last rebel group signed a peace accord with the government two months ago. Pray for continued stability of this nation and for the healing and restoration of its' people.

When Martin opened the conference yesterday morning, he told us that it is a real point of praise to God for the five rebel groups that had been fighting with the government to have finally signed peace agreements to work with the government. Many of the formerly rebel forces have been integrated into the regular army. "In Burundi, we have no choice but to look to Christ for our solutions as a nation," he added.

Due to the on-going retreat called by the President, we will also not be holding the Executive leadership conference as initially planned. It was to be attended by the President and Burundi's members of parliament. It is, however, a possibility that on Sunday night we may meet with President Nkurunziza at the presidential palace.


Dan Dye and Steve Wareham as well as Pastor Ken Kimiywe, who travelled as part of our team from Nairobi, have done a fabulous job ministering to these leaders in the area of Leadership. The energy in the room is palpable. There is clearly a connection between the speakers and the audience during both days. We are all healthy and none of us has experienced any sickness.

Personally, I have exhorted the leaders in the opening sessions each day to shine the light of Jesus Christ in their communities. I have pointed out a number of the issues that they are dealing with in their leadership contexts. Our desire as a ministry is to help them address some of those issues throughout the conference.

One specific issue that seems to get the attention of everyone, including the government minister, is that of the big-man syndrome. It appears that many leaders and several church pastors in the city (and the region) set themselves up as big men. They do not interact with the common folk who are mere mortals. This is of course counter to the Transformational leadership model that this conference is addressing.

Then there is the issue of accountability. Some of the leaders seem to excuse themselves from the necessity of being accountable to their congregations or others under them on cultural grounds saying it makes them too vulnerable. We addressed the issue and hopefully it caught on well.

We have ended the conference with a wonderful time of prayer and altar call response (see pic). We prayed for deliverance, strength, and fresh anointing for many of the pastors and leaders present.

Earlier in the day we also prayed with a gentleman who we were told has come to Christ last week. He was one of the two Muslim Sheikhs at the local Mosque. He says that a week ago the Lord appeared to him. He then gave his life to Christ. But as a result he is suffering tremendous persecution. His Arabic wife and children have been taken away from him. His properties have been burned down and his life is on the line. He has nothing left and he looks very scared. Pray for him.

Well, the Festival of Hope for the city starts today, Thursday night. A moment ago I got awakened from sleep totally exhausted in my spirit and had a strong urge to pray (it is 2:00 AM as I am writing this). There are strange powers of darkness over the city that we are going against. It seems like we are specifically going against the occult. It is, however, also clear that God intents to set His people free from the oppression. Please pray with us.
More later.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

OPEN FOR SPIRITUAL BUSINESS- Could COVID-19 open a window for Spiritual Awakening?

None of us wished for it. But COVID-19 delivers to our doorstep what is, perhaps, the greatest evangelistic opportunity of our lifetime. It is an unusual opportunity in the Twin Cities, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and around the world. A scared world is open for spiritual business. The masks are off. People are open to hear that there is hope through Jesus Christ. For the church, the times we are in may have changed, due to COVID-19. But the mission we are on has not changed . The need to share the hope Jesus provides is now more urgent than ever.  Our nation is now the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe cases and deaths are mounting from coast to coast. Doctors, general medical workers and other essential service providers continue to do all they can to stave off the pandemic. 3 million Americans have lost their jobs. Children across the nation and worldwide are out of schools. Our economy and other global economies remain on shaky ground. All profession...

No Room in the Inn...21st Century Version

It is the Christmas season 2009.  Like Joseph and Mary 2000 years ago, a young couple are on the virge of the birth of their first baby boy.  Although they are doing everything to prepare for the big day, it still catches them by surprise.  Instead of the regular 40 weeks, the baby is arriving six weeks early. Because they are not expecting it this early, their bags are not packed nor is the nursery fully furnished.  Safe for an early morning warning in a dream to the father to prepare to be in a delivery room and with assurance (from the Lord) that it would be o.k, the day started off as any other day. At 6:00 AM, the couple prays together for about 40 minutes in their home in Victoria.  They take showers.  At about 7:30 AM, the husband goes to work briefly from his home office while the wife prepares something for their breakfast together. Within a couple hours they will have a routine prenat...

The Other Frontline in the Battle for Souls- By Suzanne Wanyonyi

I've learned quite a bit while Sammy's been away in India. Other wives have told me over the years, that when their husbands are gone for ministry for extended periods of time, the enemy tries to attack during the husband's absence by causing the garage door to break, or the toilets to break or the hot water heater to go out. So, from the very beginning of our marriage I anticipated those things and shared my concern about them with Sammy. He understood. We've always had a plan in case something breaks around the house while he's away. Well, none of those things have ever happened. Other things have happened.  During this latest mission, while nearly 80,000 people were being won to Christ, the attack came in a way I wasn't expecting: The kids. There were more than a few nights where I had about 2 hours of sleep because the kids kept waking up. With Malaika it's not so uncommon, but Junior has slept from 8-8 for as long as I can remember. He'...