Geoff Holder

Over the summer, nine groups took to the fairways to enjoy a round of golf to support pastors in Africa. Players paid a small entrance fee and then donated the value of their score.

There were informal groups of friends and several church teams, all playing at various courses at different times during July and August. Players were aged from 11 to 84, and the individual winner was our youngest participant: Caleb Twyman, who scored 41 points playing at Princes Golf Club, Sandwich.

The overall team competition was won by Mr Zen and the Foxy Bunch, comprising James Keyte, James Putnam, Josh Stedman and Andrew Swindley (pictured) playing at Tudor Park Golf Club, Maidstone. They collectively scored 133 points. As they played, they were stalked by a fox who soon became their team mascot.

Thank you so much to everyone who took part! So far, this year’s golf competition has raised over £900 for APF.

The Rwandan Church is under pressure from the strict enforcement of new government building regulations.

Since government regulations on faith communities were first introduced in 2018, APF have been reporting on the impact of the rules and standards intended to ensure congregations worship in safe buildings and are led by properly qualified and well-trained faith leaders. Across Rwanda, churches worked hard to comply with the regulations and stay open for worship.

Further regulations brought in this August, however, have meant nearly 10,000 mostly smaller churches and mosques across the country have been forced to close, leaving many congregations without a place of worship.

This is particularly devastating for rural communities who have already made significant investments to comply with previous regulations. Furthermore, restrictions on religious meetings in private homes further limits the ability of believers to gather and practice their faith.

The August crackdown has meant that APF partner Église Évangélique de la Bonne Volonté au Rwanda (EEBVR) has now shut all its church buildings. Building regulations requiring churches to install lightning conductors, soundproofing, air conditioning, water storage and disabled toilets and be sited on at least half an acre of land are beyond the means of a small independent network like EEBVR.

APF recently sponsored the EEBVR’s legal representative Victor Imanaturikumwe’s theology degree. This helped the network comply with the 2018 regulations. However, the latest enforcements mean EEBVR churches are closed again.

Rev Emmanuel Gatera from Word of Life Church in Rusizi District on the Rwanda-DRC border has also been affected. APF sent funding so Emmanuel could help church leaders from across the region download, install and register on eVitabu, APF’s pastor training and resource hub app. The closure of the church building the training was scheduled to happen in, however, means the training is postponed.

Although the regulations have disproportionately impacted smaller, less well-resourced indigenous networks like EEBVR and Word of Life Church, large international denominations are also struggling to comply.

In Kigeme Diocese, for example, just twenty-three out of 239 Anglican churches remain open. Bishop Assiel Musabyimana held a retreat day for diocesan clergy to encourage them to continue in prayer and with regular pastoral visits while their church buildings remain shut. He worries for congregations unable to gather and is concerned that the end of the traditional Sunday offering makes raising funds to comply with the regulations even harder.

Anglican Archbishop Laurent Mbanda nevertheless takes some positives from the situation. He told Religion News Service, “I think what was introduced — not today but five years ago — is good for the Church. The government gave us five years to comply and kept giving us reminders. That ended last year in September. I think this was enough time to comply. We need to look at this from a positive side.”

One positive story from Rwanda is that the Rwandan Governance Board (RGB), the government department responsible for introducing the faith community rules and standards, recently announced a collaboration with Re-Forma. Re-Forma is a South African based organisation specialising in training African church leaders.

The agreement means that Re-Forma training certification now counts as evidence that a pastor had suitable theology training. APF are in discussions with Re-Forma about using eVitabu as a platform for sharing their training material with African pastors.

Speaking after winning his fourth term, Rwandan President Paul Kagame insists that the law must prevent “mushrooming churches” that “squeeze even the last penny from poor Rwandans.” He also hinted about taxing churches on their income to combat fraud and corruption.

Rwanda’s constitution protects religious freedom, including the right to choose or change one’s religion. Discrimination based on religion is punishable by law.