The road outside Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, reveals the beauty of “the land of a thousand hills.” The aroma of wood smoke collides with sunflowers and snapdragons. Avocado trees line the road and feed into the forest range and down into the valley where the rice fields are laid out like neatly stitched quilts. Along the road young children hustle goats, and women carry jerricans filled with water. On the surface, the visual splendor of Rwanda hides the tragedy brought on by the 100-day genocide that wiped out nearly 1 million people in 1994. However, it doesn’t take long to realize those 100 days still affect every Rwandan.
I’m traveling with the president of World Vision, Rich Stearns, and 15 pastors from New York City and Chicago to visit the humanitarian efforts of World Vision throughout Rwanda. Even though the genocide happened nearly 20 years ago, the needs are still great—from education, economics and food security to orphan care and clean water. World Vision is involved in many large-scale social and economic development programs to address these critical life issues, and I was ready for an up-close look.
On the road from Kigali to Butare with our driver, George, from Kenya, I initiate a conversation with Stearns and Adam Durso, a lively Italian executive pastor from Christ Tabernacle in Brooklyn—an offshoot of Jim Cymbala’s Brooklyn Tabernacle. I want to discuss the impact of globalization on the American church. In a world where we have more information about world issues than ever in history, along with advanced ways to connect with those in extreme need from many nations, does God raise the bar on international outreach and compassion? When it comes to issues like extreme poverty, HIV, economic development and education, does the American church have a new responsibility? One we didn’t have just a few years ago? If so, what should today’s global activism look like for the church?
“I think we have a profound obligation—to whom much is given, much is required,” Stearns says. “We have the tangible assets of the kingdom, and we have an obligation not only to take care of the church globally but to care for those outside the church and to take our rightful place of leadership in this revolution.” Keep reading
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