Several churches in Kigali City on Sunday converged in a fundraising drive to bring an end to temporary church structures following a Kigali City Council directive on meeting required building standards.

"We shall not wait for anyone else. We have to do it ourselves. How can we sleep in good houses and worship in poor churches,” John Poda Bihashya, the Senior Pastor of Christian Worship Ministry said in a fundraising event at Prayer Palace Church, Remera.

Pastor Bihashya, who doubles as the treasurer of The New United Pentecostal Church Forum told The New Times that they will deal with the most agent need for a particular church, one at a time.

"Churches will identify their needs in our meetings. Then we will mobilise our congregation to go and support them,” he said.

Adding that the forum is open to every church that buys the idea of joining efforts to develop fellow churches, Pastor Bihashya said that more churches were registering and that over 20 have attained membership.

Sometime this year, KCC closed some Pentecostal churches for reportedly breaking construction rules. City leaders said that some of the affected churches were dangerously built and not safe to house worshippers hence luring them (Worshippers) into shack-like churches.

"The rules must be obeyed. We must protect worshippers,” Reuben Ahimbisibwe, KCC head of inspection, said at the time.

"Many are flouting city building rules. Some don’t even have approved building plans or permanent toilets,” he expained.

Pastor Jane Kanyange the Vice President of the forum and Senior Pastor of Prayer Palace Church, at the Sunday fundraising ceremony, said that the initiative was a long-term commitment to building churches as long as resources were available.

Ends