Fall 2022:
Overcoming Impossibilities in Africa
A landlocked and densely populated country in East Africa, Burundi is officially one of the world’s poorest countries. Burundi went through a war and a dictatorial president that caused a lot of oppression, poverty, and rebellion. It is not uncommon to see civil unrest, riots, and midnight searches of homes for weapons.
Biblical knowledge and resources are scarce—none are in Kirundi and almost none in French. Burundians speak Kirundi, French, and Swahili, so English is a fourth language and takes a great deal of effort to learn. Many pastors can hardly read since few finish public school. So English resources are of little help, thus the great need for well-trained Burundians to teach them the Bible in their own language.
The grace gospel is almost non-existent. Anicet Ndikuryo, Grace School of Theology’s first Burundian student, shares that it is as if they are living under the Old Testament, with everyone trying to work his or her way to heaven.
After years of serving as a pastor, Anicet came across Ephesians 2:8–9. He was amazed how the Bible clearly states that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ 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. While searching for resources online, he came across Dr. Charlie Bing and GraceLife Ministries. Anicet eventually met Dr. Bing at a conference in Ghana where they were able to start a partnership to hold an annual conference to train pastors.
GraceLife Institute (GLI) conducted seven years of training and graduated several groups of pastors from their four-year program. GLI would pay for all the pastors’ accommodations and meals for a week. Churches do not pay their pastors, so pastors have to work, many in farming. Churches are small and usually meet in public schools or rented facilities. Dr. Bing and his team have helped a few churches build simple buildings of their own.
Alongside the Grace English Language Program (GELP) at Grace School of Theology, Anicet and Diomede are both taking up their Master of Divinity degrees. Through class discussion boards and student discipleship groups, they are grateful to have the opportunity to refine their English proficiency and meet people coming from different backgrounds yet are united in Christ.
Grace School of Theology’s cloud-based learning system makes it easy for its students to join online classes live or watch and rewatch the recordings anytime. With Burundi’s inaccessible and unstable internet connection and lack of computer resources, Anicet, Diomede, and other aspiring students find it challenging to access their courses despite them being online.
Diomede Nkunzimana
Nevertheless, they persevere because of their thirst for learning and equipping. Textbooks, whether print or digital, are also difficult to procure. Dr. Bing personally helps source digital copies of their textbooks so that these Grace students can successfully fulfill their academic requirements and maximize their learning experience.
Diomede shares how he is already applying his learnings from Grace to the Home Cell ministry of his church. The Hermeneutics course allowed him to ground his teaching in the Bible as he was exposed to once unfamiliar study tools that now allow him to understand and preach from the Bible at a deeper, contextual level.
Anicet also adds that, “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 my or I classmates preach. I notice how deep we grow and improve as we search the Word before we preach.” He is hopeful that he will continue to be properly equipped through Grace’s education to train pastors across Africa and produce next-generation leaders.
Over the past 20 years, we have seen how Grace School of Theology students are making generations of impact right where they live, work, and serve. With Grace, spiritual leaders worldwide can fulfill their ministry dreams and responsibilities while simultaneously being equipped through biblically-sound and accessible degree programs. This is the Grace difference we pursue to be the experience of each of our current and potential students.
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.
I love the way Grace teaches because the professors instruct us how to do the activities [and use the tools] well. We are given assignments so that we apply them independently. Because of this, I have learned to study the Word of God deeply and biblically
Listen and read more student stories here.
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