Archbishop Laurent Mbanda has said that he will continue to put emphasis on education, evangelism and capacity building after the Anglican Church of Rwanda announced that it has extended his term at its helm for three years and 4 months. The 67-year old was elected as the Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda in 2018, and his 5-year term was meant to expire on August 25, 2023. However, according to the resolutions of an extraordinary meeting of the House of Bishops held on August 24 this year, he will continue to serve until October 2026. “I am a servant, and my service will be focused on the pillars of church such as education, capacity building, evangelism, and so on,” Mbanda said, commenting on his term’s extension. Jered Kalimba, the Dean of Bishops in the Anglican Church commended Mbanda’s leadership, saying that his service has been a blessing to the Church and the country. He noted that the decision to extend Mbanda’s term was based on his outstanding work in addition to the fact that there are some projects he was still working on, for example, establishing new faculties at the East African Christian College. “So, we decided to give him more time to complete the process,” he said. “We thank Archbishop Mbanda for accepting our offer to extend his term. He could have refused, because he has other personal and family affairs to deal with,” he added. Among his achievements so far, Mbanda has presided over the construction of commercial buildings and offices for the church across the country. Mbanda is a former Vice President of Compassion International Rwanda, a child sponsorship and Christian humanitarian aid organization that aims to positively impact long-term development of children living in poverty. He holds Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Educational studies from Trinity International University in the U.S which he obtained in 1990 and Master of Arts (M.A.) in Christian Education from Denver Seminary also in the U.S, which he acquired in 1986.
