Grace in Action
Reaching Out to Every Nation and Language
At a young age, Pastor Diomede Nkunzimana was already familiar with the teachings of God’s Word and had the desire to have a closer relationship with God. He accepted the Lord, got baptized, and joined the choir, believing that these would guarantee him going to heaven when the day of the Lord’s judgment arrives.
Grace in Action
Reaching Out to Every Nation and Language
At a young age, Pastor Diomede Nkunzimana was already familiar with the teachings of God’s Word and had the desire to have a closer relationship with God. He accepted the Lord, got baptized, and joined the choir, believing that these would guarantee him going to heaven when the day of the Lord’s judgment arrives.
Grace Burundi Students
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.
However, a sermon at his local church made him doubt his assurance of salvation because he still stumbles and sins. He ended up confused and came to a point where he no longer desired to continue his walk with the Lord.
He pursued his degree in Business Administration at Wichita State University in Africa as he shrugged off thoughts of being a full-time pastor and pursued to be a businessman instead. Yet, during his last year in university, God called him to refocus toward full-time ministry. Diomede initially hesitated at the thought of all the possible financial consequences of becoming a pastor, but he trusted the Lord and wholeheartedly accepted his calling.
God told me, “Follow me,” and I said, “Lord, I will follow you.”
Although Diomede wanted to study theology to have the proper training, he couldn’t find the right fit in Africa. Thankfully, he met Dr. Charlie Bing and GraceLife Ministries. In 2009, Dr. Bing visited Burundi and lectured on the Book of Romans. Diomede was deeply impacted by Dr. Bing’s teaching and his own discussion with Pastor Anicet afterwards. He enjoyed the fact that he finally has the assurance of salvation for himself and those he 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 Diomede, to enroll in Grace School of Theology for more in-depth training.
As Burundi primarily uses Kirundi and French, Diomede is grateful that Grace offers an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Program so he can seamlessly progress through his Master of Divinity degree with better understanding and confidence.
Even as a current student, Diomede is already applying his learnings from Grace to the Home Cell ministry of his church. The Hermeneutics course allowed him to ground his teaching to 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.
Grace School of Theology’s accessible, affordable, and perceptive online learning system has helped pastors like Diomede to experience quality education so he too can develop spiritual leaders in Africa who can teach others about the love of Christ, a love that cannot be earned and cannot be lost.
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