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David Palmer, a
TCC elder, attends a pygmy outdoor church
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The Family of God is a network of churches that has been
blessed with amazing growth since 1997. Back then it consisted
of one church in Kigali (the capital of Rwanda) with a congregation
of 30 people led by Pastor Sadiki and his wife Violette. It
now consists of over 200 churches with a combined membership
of about 50,000 people that covers much of Rwanda and is now
extending into neighbouring Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya
and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
How it began
Tavistock Community Church (TCC) became involved with
Pastor Sadiki early in 1997. David Palmer, one of our elders,
was attending an international church leaders conference in
Leeds. At one session a speaker asked if anyone would be able
to translate for a French-speaking pastor. David volunteered;
the pastor in question was Sadiki - and that was how a small
church in Rwanda came to forge links with a small church in
Devon (1 Cor. 1.26-29 springs to mind)!
From little acorns...
David and Colin Bond (the TCC pastor) visited Rwanda later
that year, determined to serve the Africans by encouraging
their faith and vision to see that God accepts them as His
Family, and that He will use them as His pastors, prophets,
apostles and stewards to establish His Kingdom in Africa.
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Congolese church
leaders (and Chris Wright!)
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Since that initial visit, other people in TCC have been back
to Rwanda to give what support we can to this vision and to
develop the relationship between our churches. Colin and David
have been over accompanied by their wives; in 2000, Chris
Wright (a deacon from TCC) and two teenage girls from our
congregation went to visit, as well as David and Kathy's 9-year
old daughter Helena; and Ken Joynes, Derek Perry and others
from friendly churches have been to visit since. Sadiki and
his wife have been also back to see us in the UK several times
God's vision
From a relationship between two churches with a combined congregation
of less than one hundred, God is reaping a mighty harvest!
As well as the Family of God network of churches, we are linked
with Christ Alive Churches in Kenya, Outreach to Africa in
Uganda and Calvary Assemblies in Tanzania. God is forming
an international team of Bishops and ministers. We feel privileged
to be part of His plans, but we really need help to take it
to the next level. If you think God is prompting you to support
this work and would like details on how to help, click
here.
History
- Future
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