I attend a Bible study for missionaries on Tuesday morning in Kigali. Many struggle here in Rwanda to get traction and make a difference. People often ask us how our clean water ministry has flourished. Certainly, the foundation of our success is built on Pastor Rick Warren’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan.
Pastor Rick inspired us to go on a P.E.A.C.E. trip, a short term mission trip to get to know church members in Rwanda. Pastor Rick teaches that every member of a church is a minister and shaped for service. After Larry and I launched the clean water programs, Pastor Rick recognized our lay leadership and empowered our efforts to attract talent and funding from Saddleback Church members.
The P.E.A.C.E. Plan urges churches to work together to solve community problems. In Rwanda, the P.E.A.C.E. Plan developed an infrastructure of pastoral leadership teams at the national, provincial (state), and district (county) levels. We work closely with these pastoral leadership teams, called Inter Church Councils (ICCs). Before the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, Rwandan pastors competed for members and money and focused on differences. Now, Rwandan pastors from different Christian denominations are friends and collaborate on efforts to improve their local communities.
PEACEwater: No Thirsty Child began working in the Western Province where ICCs had identified clean water as a critical need. We met frequently with ICCs and involved the pastors in assessing solutions – chlorination systems, wells, rainwater harvesting, biosand filters, clay pot filtering devices, and Sawyer filters. The Rwandan pastors selected rain water harvesting and Sawyer filters as the preferred technology.
Pastor Leonida Ntibimenya (next to Larry) is President of the ICC in the Western Province. He worked diligently to coordinate over 200 water projects: chlorination systems at hospitals and clinics. community wells, rainwater harvesting systems, water filters, and WASH training at churches of every denomination.
Each ICC decides which local churches receive the rainwater harvesting systems and coordinate our programs. The ICC ensures that the churches they select build a foundation for the tank and host our W.A.S.H. training program. In this way, each church shares some of the time, effort, and expense so that they are motivated to use and maintain the clean water technology and education.
Without the P.E.A.C.E. Plan we would be like so many other missionaries, passionate about making a difference but struggling to find a way to work effectively in a foreign culture. Pastor Rick’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan has been the cornerstone of our success.
The ICC in the Northern Province is led by Pastor Manuel Mugira (far right). Pastor Manuel is a Master Purpose Driven Trainer. He attended every WASH class and inspired students with his vision for the P.E.A.C.E. Plan.
Pastor Joseph Mugasa (pink shirt) is President of the ICC in the Eastern Province. He is a charming, charismatic leader.