Furtherance of the gospel, peace and love in families and national security were some of the things that made up the New Year’s prayers as thousands of Rwandans flocked places of worship to seek the face of their maker in order to enter 2020 with his blessing. As usual, the New Year’s Eve found many people seated on church pews, humbling themselves in thanksgiving, as well as making humble petitions to God to pave way for them in the coming year. Some of the big faith events were held at mega churches like the Christian Life Assembly in Nyarutarama, Dove Hotel, as well as other churches in the city that had gatherings. At Christian Life Assembly in Nyarutarama, led by Andrew Mukinisha, the Senior Pastor of the church the faithful observed a time of thanking God, as well as laying before Him their petitions for the new year. “Our Heavenly Father, we lift your name on high, we give you all the praise, all the honour, and all the glory for having been with us in this past year 2019. You have been faithful, you have been dependable, you have led us, you have provided for us, you have lifted us up in your hands O God, you have covered us under your wings, you have been so close to us, O God you are so faithful,” Mukinisha prayed. “As we are moving to 2020, we look to you as our guide, we look to you as our provider, we look to you as our teacher, we look to you as our source of every supply, as our champion, as the one who goes before us, as the king of kings and lord of lords, the one who goes ahead of us, the one who has conquered, the one who calls us to follow you. May every knee bow before you, may every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord,” Inviting people to stand on their feet, the church made declarations concerning what they wish God to do in 2020. They declared 2020 as a year for spreading of the gospel, prosperity, peace and security for the nation healing for families and mending for struggling marriages. “We declare that 2020 will be a year in which the gospel of the kingdom is going to spread forth and wide in Rwanda, a year in which the church is going to find its true identity and live according to the will of God, a new season for the body of Christ in Rwanda,” they prayed in agreement. For Bishop Laurent Mbanda, the Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda 2020’s message is from the Book of Isaiah 54:2 which says; “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” Explaining the scripture, Mbanda said that 2020 is a time for the church to “build capacity, make commitment for spiritual and numerical growth, and expand its influence. “We have to make others zealous for good work, and loving each other.” “My message is: faith and preparation (which the Bible refers to as enlarging our tents). We are going for Vision 2050, but from a spiritual perspective, we should work to spread God’s Word, growth in discipleship, and evangelism so as to see many people coming to salvation,” he said. Bishop Rusengo Amooti of the Kigali Anglican Diocese also echoed the need for faith as an important factor going into 2020. “There are two things: One is looking back on 2019 with thanks and looking forward (by) trusting God to see us through 2020,” he said. Amooti called upon Rwandans to give their lives to God believing in Him to take care of them, “Life is like a seed that has been given to us by God. Nobody owns it, except God. Nobody else gives life, except Him. So we have to trust him to take care of our life in 2020. We must trust him with our country as well in 2020.” Pastor Sylvain Nsabimana of the Christian Fellowship Church in Gisozi told the people that the blessing of The Lord will come, even though it might take long “In The Bible, God said to Israel: “I will bless you, but I will not give it to you in a single year,” so brethren believe that what you have been given.” In an earlier interview with The New Times, Sheikh Salim Hitimana, the Mufti of Rwanda said the year 2020 should be one of “milk and honey,” “a year of many opportunities,” and one of looking back and assess the targets that people wanted to achieve.
