A Tedious Evangelization Journey: Pastor Bernard Ntawutunga's Story

I, first, got to know Pastor Bernard Ntawutunga back when I was in High School (about 20 years from now). Pastor Ntawutunga Became a true mentor and parent to me. He would mentor me and advise me on various matters of life. Till now, I am thankful and grateful for everything that I have learnt from this great figure. Overtime, I got to learn everything from Faith,God’s call, to general life lessons thanks to people like Pastor Ntawutunga who accompany their words with actions and embody inspiring testimonies.

A few days ago, We got to visit him at the Friends worship meeting where he has been pastoring & leading his church members since 2020 (his most recent pastoral assignment). A great moment to once again interact with my life mentor.

Traveling to his church place is a tedious journey. It’s about a 6 hours bus journey from Bujumbura. Once alighted from the bus final station, you have to walk, hike and at some point boat in order to cut across the river which links to his church.

Once we got there, a cloud of Friends was waiting for us and warmly welcomed us, throwing us flowers, singing, praising and dancing as we walked in the church premises. The church meeting led by Pastor Ntawutunga includes more than one hundred Friends.

Pastor Ntawutunga’s main prayer and target goal is to evangelize and spread the Word all across the province where his local church is located. He even started the process of looking for another church venue at the province’s city center to expand the community of Christians all around the province. However, the process of setting up this new meeting branch involves a meaningful financial cost.

In regards to Evangelization, there are various ways of contributing:

1. Interacting with/living close to the community of people whom you want to evangelize.

2. Contribution through money or other financial means accompanying the team of missionaries conducting the evangelization.

3. Sympathizing with the families of the missionaries

4. Praying for the missionaries leading the evangelization