The church is the one that should feed the community first but not the other way round.

For ten years down the road, I worked with an international organisation here in Rwanda as a community facilitator.

This organisation was Christian-based whose mission is to walk with Churches, leaders, and families in overcoming all forms of human poverty by living in a healthy relationship with God and His Creation. 

It considered the church as one of the community development catalyst. Indeed churches can have a big role to play in community transformation if they are involved. St Paul says in his letter to Galatians 6:2 that: "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. "

Church leaders, like any other development partners, should learn how to use their capacities to be among the first (key) facilitators of community development in the country. 

As a local church is part of the community, it should embark on community mobilisation programmes aimed at enabling people identify, analyse, plan and take action to solve their problems so that people can live fulfilled lives as intended by God.

The local church should act as a facilitator in mobilising the whole community to address own needs. Well, we have witnessed many churches and para-church organisations offer different materials like; cloths, food stuffs, agriculture and livestock among others to the community. Yes, this is good but not sustainable. Instead the church should teach followers how to learn how to become self-sufficient.

Churches compared to other community development players are so behind yet churches are closer to the people than any other development partner. Many churches today seem  to be selfish (but this is due to lack of guidance) as they just focus on how to acquire many, many members, which necessitates large buildings and  other church own businesses like hotels, schools, moving in expensive cars and living in a mansion and alike which might be viewed as a symbol of their success.

They do this at the expense of training or mobilising the community in order to reach their goals of eradicating poverty by working with but not for the people.

As it is known by every one that churches are closest entity and primary development agent at community level,  government agencies like  RGB, faith-based NGOs, embassies and other donors must not leave out churches while are selecting local partners in community development projects . 

With this regard therefore Rwandan church leaders need to beef up their capacities to help create change in their communities in order to compete with other NGOs, CBOs among other community facilitators.

The most critical areas include, but not limited to, trainings on planning and budgeting, resource mobilisation, leadership, good governance, project management, entrepreneurship, cooperatives establishment and development, gender-based violence and other cross-cutting issues that communities need to transform livelihoods. In Romans 8:19, the Bible says:  "For the whole creation is hoping and waiting for the development of the sons of God.

GOD  LOVES YOU.

Rev. Gatera is a preacher