As Information and Communication Technology (ICT) continues to advance in Rwanda, some religious leaders have begun to include gospel predication alongside church management, worship and pastoral cares. ADEPR Nyarugenge Parish is one of the churches that have adopted ICTs as a tool to spread the Word. Caleb Nkurunziza in charge of ICT at ADEPR Nyarugenge Parish, said that even though they still has a long way to go, ICT was helping the church to expand its evangelical activities. “Before, our church used ICT simply for writing reports, but in the last five last months, we have begun to positively exploit ICT for strengthening and complementing the existing evangelical efforts,” he said. ADEPR Nyarugenge uses social media and print material. For the church service, it uses uses projectors, High Definition Cameras, speakers and modern musical instruments to enhance pastoral teachings and worship environment. “People can follow our daily morning and Sunday masses online through Skype and followers say the program is helpful,” Nkurunziza said. He added that their online predication activities are helping many people around the world especially those with no or little number of protestant churches. Pastor Claude Bimenyimana, an evangelist at the church, said ICT helps them preach to many people cheaply and instantly. He urged people to be selective when using online sermons since some preachers may upload messages that mislead church believers and destroy society. One way to achieve this was to increase the computer literacy skills of evangelists and related infrastructure, especially in remote areas, he advised.
