Churches were packed on December 31, 2023, as people eagerly anticipated welcoming the New Year in the presence of God. Many churches began their services with praise and worship songs, listened to testimonies, and then immersed themselves once more in worship and prayer. ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Rwandans usher in New Year As midnight approached, preachers and guest preachers led the congregation in a sermon focused on proclamation, breaking free from bondage, and creating positive change. At New Life Bible Church, Kagarama, Rev. Charles Buregeya Mugisha, the head pastor, encouraged the congregation to focus on God and thrive, emphasizing that He is the cornerstone in 2024. He said God is a weapon that can shun the enemy’s attacks, calling upon the congregators to trust in the name of God. Pastor Mugisha noted that the greatest capacity is to know God, and it is developed by reading the word of God. His sermon centred around Deuteronomy 11:10-12 which says, “ The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for, the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.” ALSO READ: Rwanda's highs and lows in 2023 In conclusion, he highlighted that believers should see Jesus on the cross, explaining that nothing will happen in 2024 that Jesus didn’t see on the cross. At Christian Life Assembly (CLA) in Nyarutarama, the congregation was immersed in worship and testimonies. When a call was made for those with testimonies to come forward, a long line formed towards the pulpit, each person excited and in awe to testify of God’s goodness. The service resulted in testimonies, with some people joyfully testifying to life, celebrating marriage anniversaries, healing from sickness, provision, protection, and achievements, while others shed tears in appreciation of God for delivering them from addictions such as drunkenness, attempted suicide, and much more. During his sermon at the crossover service at CLA on 31 December, 2023, Pastor Amos Kajuga emphasised the importance of testimonies in the ministry, stating: “They give us hope that God is working and will continue to do so.” He further explained that seeking God isn’t in vain since He shows His might and hope to those who seek Him in truth and spirit. He backed this with Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” “My prayer and hope is that as we start this year, we will have a relentless pursuit of God, He is God our Maker and Creator. He is the source, beginning, and end. I am praying that we will love God with all our heart, strength and soul with everything that we do,” Kajuga urged. He later called upon the congregation to worship God in their own words. Pastor Patrick Joshua and Pastor Sanyu Gertrude Twagirayesu, the lead pastors of Calvary Temple Worship Centre, welcomed Apostle Steven Musyoka to deliver a message on advancement, success, and reaching the next level. He urged the church to declare victories in breakthroughs, marriages, businesses, and more, emphasising that no one should be oppressed this year by ancestral powers, as the chains of bondage have already been broken off from everyone's life. Apostle Musyoka urged the church to break out of its usual routine, emphasising that a wrong turn in life does not equate to failure. “I refused to stay in poverty and I have seen my life transform. I was a street boy in Nairobi, feeding on garbage but in the same city last year, I organised the biggest crusade,” he stated. At Shekinah Church, Nyakarambi, Goshen Revival Ministries led by preacher Gasana Mutesi addressed the congregation, and the theme of the night was ‘Loose Thyself’. “We are liberated from the bonds of the enemy. We need to go and work and loose ourselves.” Mutesi urged the church to be liberated while emphasising the scripture in Isaiah 52:2, which says, “Shake thyself from the dust, arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem, loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, o captive daughter of Zion.” “The Bible reminds us to be transformed in the mind. Just as Romans 12:2 clearly explains about not conforming to the pattern of this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our mind, that way, we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
