There are 13 Anglican Dioceses in DR Congo. The Diocese of Bukavu is located in the east of the country, close to the borders of Rwanda and Burundi and running alongside Lake Kivu and Lake Tanganyika. It covers a huge area, nearly 65,000 square kilometres, and is divided into 11 archdeaconries where over 56,000 church members are served by 118 clergy, supported by 539 catechists and evangelists.

Two years ago, still in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic, we were delighted to be invited by Bishop Elisha Tendwa, who ministers alongside Diocesan Bishop Sylvestre Bahati, to send a Rooted in Jesus team to provide training for clergy and lay leaders in the southern missionary area centred on the town of Uvira. The aim is that this part of the diocese, with its 4 archdeaconries, will in due course become an independent diocese known as the Diocese of Lake Tanganyika.

The Diocese of Bukavu serves the Province of South Kivu, above.
The conference locations Bukavu and Uvira are circled in red.

In 2021 Covid travel restrictions prevented us sending anyone from the UK, but a team from Tanzania and Burundi was able to travel to Uvira, and over a hundred pastors and lay leaders attended the conference. The team was led by Canon Jacob Robert, and we posted a report here.

Strengthening and extending Rooted in Jesus in the diocese

Earlier this year Bishop Bahati invited us to come again, this time not only to meet with those leading groups in the southern missionary area, but to introduce the programme for the first time to the clergy of the whole diocese. A Rooted in Jesus team travelled first to Bukavu, where 100 clergy attended the first conference, and then on by road to Uvira, where 100 clergy and lay leaders attended the second – some already leading groups, some training for the first time.

Bishop Bahati, the team and the participants at the close of the Bukavu conference

The Team

The team was led by Revd Amanda Johnson, and included members from within the diocese, from neighbouring Burundi, and from the UK. Bishop Tendwa and Ven Minduli Mulanda joined the team for the Bukavu conference, and Canon Elisha Nkeza travelled from his home in Burundi to help with the Uvira conference. From the UK, team member Bridget Lane had served for many years as a missionary in DR Congo, and Andrew Maclay had worked as an accountant in Burundi. The challenge was therefore not lack of experience, but lack of a common language, with some speaking French, some Swahili and some English, but no one speaking them all! The team were joined by translators Jean Paul and Justin in Bukavu and Ezekiel in Uvira, all of whom did a stunning job of keeping everyone on track; and by a network of intercessors praying daily from their own homes.

Bukavu

The Bukavu conference was held in a parish church, where the workshops filled the entire building as there was no outside space. Bishop Bahati explained that this was the first opportunity the clergy had had to meet together for five years, so it was a significant and joyful moment in the life of the diocese.

Rooted in Jesus is an interactive, oral and practical programme, very different from the kind of academic Bible study that most people are used to, and this perhaps presented the greatest challenge for those attending. Amanda wrote:

A vital part of what we do is to demonstrate and teach a different way of teaching: including discussion, drama illustrations. It is a method that is set in small groups, which many are unfamiliar with or have not yet learned to value. So a key part of the daily conference schedule is the small group session. We each have a group of 20 and run a demonstration small group meeting using the material from the Rooted in Jesus course. Thereafter four volunteers from the group take turns to lead in pairs over two days.

Bridget leads a workshop in Bukavu

The team found that it was not easy for the clergy to absorb what amounts to an entirely new way of learning, and therefore a new way for them to teach. And yet Amanda was also able to report:

The first day has been the best I’ve ever attended or led.  All went to time, a really warm response to the teaching this morning, and in the small groups an awakening to other styles of teaching and learning. The presence of the Holy Spirit was so tangible in the prayers and ministry time. We had stillness for people to bring their burdens to Jesus. 

The conference continued to go well, and it was not until the final sentence was uttered on the last day that the heavens opened and the rain thundered down on the aluminium roof.

Uvira

The team then faced a long journey, initially through Rwanda and then on a dusty road to Uvira, with Bishop Bahati accompanying them in a second vehicle in order to ensure their safety. The team were delighted by the beauty of the countryside, but found the ruined bridges and sink holes less enticing:

There is a picture of the bridge crossing – a temporary bridge in place of a broken one. Our driver tried the ford option first and got stuck in the middle of the river, but managed miraculously to reverse out. We six passengers got out and walked and the vehicle negotiated the temporary bridge successfully – thank you Lord!

The conference was held in St Andrew’s church, this time to the accompaniment of spectacular overnight thunder and lightning which brought flooding to many areas; one Mothers Union leader lost the entire contents of her home, but was immediately offered hospitality by Bishop Tendwa and Mama Fidea.

The conference participants, many of whom were lay people, were on average younger than those in Bukavu. 65 were there to train for the first time, and 35 had come for a refresher course having attended the 2021 conference. One pastor said he had already trained six additional group leaders in his parish, and they now had 45 people attending groups. Some had found it difficult to abandon their accustomed teach-from-the-front approach, but all were willing to learn, with the younger delegates leading the way.

By the end Amanda was able to say that ‘they had hearts of lions, and I can see that this mission to reach and to multiply was fully grasped by them.’ ‘It is clear,’ she added, ‘that Bishop Tendwa has focused mission in the diocese through Rooted in Jesus and is doing so effectively and determinedly.’

Bishop Tendwa, Mama Fidea, conference participants and team in Uvira

The team were immensely grateful to their hosts – for beautiful lakeside accommodation, for consistent care for their safety and well-being, and for the inspiring strength of their leadership in a country where life is far from easy.

All those who attended were given books in Congolese Swahili. We are grateful to the team for their willingness to travel to hard-to-reach locations, to those who prayed and continue to pray, and last but definitely not least to the Relay Trust whose generosity enabled the diocese to cover the costs of the two conferences.

Rooted in Jesus is published and supported by The Mathetes Trust. To find out more visit the Rooted in Jesus website.