Grace in Action
Embracing the Truth of Grace
Back in February 1986, Anicet Ndikuryo was contemplating joining the military after finding out that he had not been admitted to the Catholic seminary he desired. As he was walking by a church, he felt brokenhearted by the memory yet drawn because of the music playing. He stood listening by the gate but had no intention of staying for the sermon. Thankfully, he sat through the entire preaching. Anicet embraced God’s grace and provision through this encounter of the gospel and decided to no longer be a priest but pursue his calling instead by being a pastor.
Grace in Action
Embracing the Truth of Grace
Back in February 1986, Anicet Ndikuryo was contemplating joining the military after finding out that he had not been admitted to the Catholic seminary he desired. As he was walking by a church, he felt brokenhearted by the memory yet drawn because of the music playing. He stood listening by the gate but had no intention of staying for the sermon. Thankfully, he sat through the entire preaching. Anicet embraced God’s grace and provision through this encounter of the gospel and decided to no longer be a priest but pursue his calling instead by being a pastor.
Grace Burundi Students
The more you study, the more light is shed on the Scriptures, the more you have the confirmation of what you believe in, and the more comfortable you become in sharing your beliefs and the truths from the Bible. I can see the difference when I or my classmates preach. I notice how deep we are growing and improving as we search the Word before we preach.
When he began studying at the University of Burundi, he engaged in different ministries and led Bible studies, later becoming the president of their organization. Even without a formal education in seminary, he shepherded his classmates and peers in their fellowship. After graduating from the university, he immediately joined the church where he heard the gospel. Although it was the same time when the civil war broke out in Africa, forcing several pastors to flee for their lives, Anicet stayed and was later ordained as a young pastor in 1995.
After years of serving as a pastor, Anicet came across Ephesians 2:8–9. He was amazed how the Bible clearly states that salvation was through God’s grace alone by faith alone. Although he preached this message of free grace in his Christian church, leaders and congregants considered him a heretic as they believed in the necessity of works.
This prompted Anicet to leave the church and establish Grace Bible Church in Burundi. He was determined to create a space where he can teach what the Bible says as truth. He started by having intimate Bible Studies every Friday until they grew in number, requiring him to rent a place in order to fit all the members. The church eventually grew to have sixty local branches around Africa, with established churches in fifteen out of eighteen provinces in Burundi.
With his increased responsibility and scope, Anicet knew that he needed more formal training. As he was searching for resources online, he came across Dr. Charlie Bing and GraceLife Ministries. Anicet eventually met Dr. Bing in a conference in Ghana where they were able to start a partnership to hold an annual conference to train pastors.
GraceLife Institute (GLI) conducted 7 years of training and graduated several groups of pastors from its 4-year program. As GLI did not offer a graduate program, Dr. Bing encouraged the best graduates, including Anicet, to enroll in Grace School of Theology for more in-depth training.
Alongside the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program at Grace School of Theology, Pastor Anicet is currently taking up his Master of Divinity degree. Through class discussion boards and student discipleship groups, he is grateful to have the opportunity to refine his English and meet people coming from different backgrounds yet are united in Christ.
Anicet Ndikuryo
Equipped with Grace’s education, Pastor Anicet is hopeful that he will be properly equipped to train pastors across Africa and produce next-generation leaders.
“All is possible with Him. We are just following where God leads us and we’ll continue to do that. Our dream is to have our Bible School locally where we can train local leaders and partner with other churches. We need to stand and defend the gospel of grace in Burundi.”
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