Gospel outfit Alarm Ministries, last Sunday, celebrated its 20th anniversary in a concert at Kigali Cultural and Exhibition Village (KCEV).

The concert was well attended by gospel enthusiasts that included musicians, politicians and host of other revelers from all walks of life.

Popular faces present included National Itorero commission boss, Edouard Bamporiki, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Rwanda, Phillip Cotton, and Rehoboth ministries. 

Bamporiki awards Beatrice Nyirashikira, one of the first founding members of Alarm Ministries. 

The ceremony aimed at expressing gratitude to God for the milestones Alarm Ministries has achieved in these last 20 years. Charles Mazeze, the current president of Alarm ministries, shared a background story of how the choir started in 1999.

Alarm Ministries was also the first evangelical ministry to exist in Rwanda. Initially six members the ministry has since grown to 100 members, with 37 songs to their name.  

"We encountered several challenges. We were chased out of the church because we had different opinions and we were once seen off the pulpit when we were about to sing and did not receive any invitation to sing anywhere. Now, we have several invitation options to choose from,” Mazeze testified.

Pastor Yvan Mbanza, the first songwriter was also awarded.

Speaking to the audience, Professor Philip Cotton said that University of Rwanda works towards achieving the same goal: nurturing talent.

"The University of Rwanda trains its students to identify their talents, abilities and future goals, which is what Alarm Ministries does, which is training believers and helping them identify their talents, abilities and future goals in the spiritual world”, he said.

Twenty years down the road, Alarm Ministries has since received several music awards such as Salax Awards (2013)and Groove Awards in 2013 and 2015.

They have also been working in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and ICT through the National Youth Council by contributing towards providing humanitarian assistance such as bedroom materials for refugees in Rwanda, paying health insurance to the needy in Gisagara District, among others.

Their five-year goal is to build a musical school in Karongi District, which is currently under construction. Its mission is to foster quality education in different disciplines, mostly in music.

At the ceremony, several church leaders, who have contributed towards the ministry’s success, were awarded with trophies and medals.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com