During His time on earth, Jesus Christ had followers who were always by His side through every challenge in His ministry. Many times, He taught through parables, and when His disciples sought to understand His teachings better, He would sometimes take them aside, away from distractions, to explain further. One such instance is found in Matthew 6:31, where Jesus invites His followers to "come aside and rest a while."
In this tradition of gathering to renew strength, the leadership of the Northern Rwanda Field, of the Rwanda Union Mission, organized an annual retreat for the leaders of the Districts and local churches . This retreat brought together pastors, lay leaders, and members of various church groups for a time of spiritual growth and mutual encouragement.
2024 Retreat
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"We are called to live a righteous life"
The year-end retreat for 2024 took place from December 23 to 25, 2024, with a total of 620 participants, including three officiers of Field, five section leaders, thirty-one District leaders, and 581 leaders of local churches. The theme for this year’s retreat was “We Are Called to Righteousness.” During the retreat, various topics were discussed, such as:
At the conclusion of the retreat, several key resolutions were made, including:
- Strengthening small groups: Ensuring that successful groups are further supported while addressing those that are not functioning effectively.
- Promoting sound leadership: Ensuring that church leaders bring positive changes in the spiritual, physical, and emotional lives of church members.
- Family spiritual renewal: Encouraging families to strengthen their spiritual lives together, especially by guiding children in Christian values.
- Teaching self-reliance: Encouraging church members to reject laziness and adopt a culture of savings and self-reliance.
- Church growth: Ensuring churches thrive through evangelism, restoring sacred practices, and increasing the offerings.
- Health awareness: Encouraging church members to get checked for chronic diseases and follow medical advice.
- Literature evangelism: Increasing the number of literature evangelists, with at least one in each church.
- Follow-up of new converts: Strengthening efforts to nurture new believers.
- Maintaining purity in worship: Encouraging cleanliness and peace within the church and homes to maintain God’s presence.
The retreat ended with a strong desire among participants to continue discussions, as shown by their appreciation and requests for future gatherings. The leaders promised to continue organizing similar retreats, despite any challenges that may arise.
At the conclusion, Pastor Setako Sophonie, the Field President, wished everyone safe travels and a prosperous New Year in 2025, with blessings for flourishing churches and individuals.
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