After Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) recently revoked the legal status of Grace Room Ministries, a popular inter-denominational ministry based in Kigali, a debate followed, with some people wondering what could be the difference between a church and a ministry. According to the 2018 law determining the organization and functioning of faith-based organizations, a ministry is defined as “a group of people affiliated to an organization that carries out development-oriented activities” while an organization or a church, is defined as “a faith-based organization.” Article 17 outlines the requirements for application for legal personality of an organization, or church, while Article 30 highlights the requirements for application for a legal personality of a ministry. Reverend Canon Antoine Rutayisire, a prominent figure in the Anglican Church of Rwanda, told The New Times that: “A ministry is an organization that is built around faith principles but they are not a religion. “A good number of ministries are not attached to any religious denomination but they are built on a specific faith activity like worship, evangelism, teaching, acts of love and service, counselling and others, whereas a church is a place where a congregation attends a church service.” Syldio Dusabumuremyi, a bible teacher in one of the ministries in Kigali, shed more light on the distinction between a church and a a ministry, in the legal context. He said: “Both a church and a ministry are faith-based organizations but a church is primarily recognized to be helping people and offering services of worship, to pray or to relate with their faith. A ministry is a subset that now, in the whole goal of worship, takes care of the activities that are also in the mission of the churches for development goals. “These activities could even include services that the church doesn’t have expertise for and there gets to be a specialized ministry focused on those activities which aren’t about worship themselves but which can help a church do better, correct mistakes or improve worship services offered to communities.” Georgina Muhoza, a member of the Masaka-based Rabagirana Ministries, highlighted some of the activities they do that are inspired by the gospel, and the impact on society. She said: “Our activities are grouped into three including spiritual restoration, where we support university students who suffer from transgenerational trauma due to the consequences of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “Apart from that, we have community development activities such people also go through healing workshops, form unity groups to develop themselves. For servant leadership, relevant trainings are given to leaders facing hardships in their daily lives.” Rabagirana Ministries’ mission is to equip Christian workers to become catalysts of healing, reconciliation, and community transformation. They aim at achieving their objectives in conflicts resolution, healing, reconciliation, and Christian personal development.
