Watching God at work in Rwanda
GAT Team members from Christ Church in Overland Park, KS
Q: How did you end up being invited to do the GAT?
A: In September of 2009, Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, the Anglican Archbishop of Rwanda came to speak at our church. He and his wife stayed at the home of our Sr. Pastor Patrick Wildman. During his stay, he was informed that Nicky Gumbel was trying to reach him. He and Nicky were in dialog because Archbishop Kolini was looking to host an Alpha training in Rwanda and had requested a GAT team to help them. When Pastor Wildman heard this, he commented that a team of people from Christ Church would love to come and share about Alpha and what it takes to run a course.
Q: Did you invest in any GAT Training?
A: Yes. In the next few months, a small team was assembled. Jim Charlton came down and provided a day of practical training for us. It was beneficial to mentally prepare for the vast cultural differences that lay ahead of us. The training also helped us to become familiar with the varied approaches to use in cultures that are more oral and less technical in orientation. I would not attempt to do a GAT without talking to another church leader who has experienced it.
Q: Tell us about your team and what happened once you got there.
A: In August 2010, Our Sr. pastor Patrick, our Alpha pastor Kirk, our Missions pastor Sarah, and three amazing young lay leaders - Beth, Emily and Will all landed in Kigali. This really was a dream team because we were able to combine mature leadership with youthful energy and it sent a strong message to the Alpha delegates.
The fact that our Sr. Pastor was on the team demonstrated how invested he was in the course at our church. Since he was speaking to mostly fellow Anglican priests, this was powerful message. Kirk brought years of experience and knowledge about of the course. Sarah brought her heart for missions and had done a lot of the ground work to make this trip run smoothly. This was the first overseas missions trip for Beth, Emily and Will. Each of them found a role on the team ran with it beautifully. It is always refreshing to poke a hole in our American worldview and experience life in a place so different, yet strangely the same.
Francis (National Alpha Director) was a wonderful host. He did a great job in planning and arranging the transportation and interpreting needs for our group.
Our first training was at a remote location known as Kibungo. We had 35-40 present for this training. Many of the Pastors walked miles to be there. They were so appreciative to have us show interest in them and to share Alpha with them.
Our second training was in Kigali, where there were about 50 pastors on the first day of the training. The Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini was present for the second day of the Kigali training. He made it unmistakably clear that he would like the Anglican churches in Rwanda offering the Alpha course. There were several church leaders from other denominations at the Kigali GAT as well.
 We were very encouraged that Rév Désiré Mukanirwa Kadorho from the Anglican Church at Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo was able to make it to our training at Kigali. He had been visiting friends in Rwanda when he found out about the training. He immediately changed his plans and stayed for the two day training and has since been to HTB in London. We continue to be in touch with him to help, encourage and support him as he sets the course up in Congo.
Q: What parts of the trip do you carry with you since you have returned?
• The overwhelming feeling of humility has stayed with me. Their dedication caused them to walk or ride bike for hours just to be trained.
• The harsh realities of their tragic history. In one of the small group trainings the question was asked, “What if someone confesses that they have killed another person?” This takes small group leading dynamics to a new level and made us rely on the Holy Spirit for direction, wisdom and peace.
• I am thankful that we were able to worship with them. We had considered bringing an American worship leader, but in the end it was right for us to experience worship in their context.
• A new vision and passion to make our course here in the states be the strongest that it can be. Will is co-leading the Christ Church course now and is bringing all of what he saw and experienced to our course.
Q: What would you say to a church considering doing a GAT?
Kirk - if a church wants to be committed to a kingdom mindset, this is one way to flesh that out. The thought that we trained 90 pastors (and they will in turn train others) is so encouraging.
We have a lot of people at Christ Church who want to make a difference. Not everyone can go overseas, but they are so encouraged and enjoy feeling connected to Rwanda through this trip that the six of us were able to take.
Sarah – It was fun. It was more of a Missional trip – because it is what we love to do and it helped us connect with our friends in Rwanda in a way that was real.
If you church loves Alpha, think about how to incorporate missions with Alpha. Since Alpha is so integral to who we are, it was very easy to go to another church and authentically represent the ways we have seen God use the course to lead people to Jesus. If you are committed to Alpha then there is no reason to not take Alpha to another part of the world.
Interview with Christ Church in Overland Park staff members:
Kirk Wulff- Alpha Pastor
Sarah Schultz – Missions Pastor
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