Rwanda Conference and District Transportation Initiative

The project will provide support, motorcycles, bicycles and an automobile for missional travel.

Because of its many steep hills, the best means of transportation in Rwanda is by automobile or high capacity motorcycle. For short distances bicycles can be of use for pastors. Because of the high level of poverty existing in the country and among congregants, pastors, district superintendents, and conference staff are unable to own an automobile or motorcycle for use in the work and ministries of the conference, district and local churches. Public transportation is available in the form of motorcycles and automobiles for hire or buses, but public transportation not feasible for travel over long distances due to the time involved in making connections to travel between villages and towns. The conference also has no vehicle for use in providing transportation for missional use, transporting visitors and attending to conference needs. District superintendents, who must travel long distances to churches, mission sites and conference meetings normally use public transportation because the hire of an automobile can become probibitive over time. The use of public transportation severely restricts the amount of work superintendents and conference staff can perform since a large amount of time is spent in travel. Pastors, also must walk to visit congregation members, often at a distance, and also lack transportation for travel to district and conference events.

The project will provide a pool of funds that can assist the Rwanda Provisional Conference, on a short-term basis, in hiring vehicles to meet the transportation needs of the annual conference and districts (primarily automobiles, but motorcycles when appropriate), and in the long term, for the purchase of an automobile for official annual conference use, bicycles for pastors (45), and motorcycles (5) for the use of district superintendents in performing their oficial tasks. The project will also provide funding to assist in the maintanence and insuring of the conference and district vehicles.

The primary goal of this project is to provide accessible and reliable transportation that will enable the conference staff, pastors and district superintendents of the Rwanda Provisional Conference to more efficiently and effectively perform their supervisory and ministerial duties, provide a means for pastors to travel over long distances to required or official conference events and important training activities and provide reliable and accessible transportation for visitors and volunteers coming to the Conference. This will result in better trained pastors, increased church vitality, an increase in the creation of ministries to help local communities, and an increased level of growth in new faith communities.

Project success will be measured by 1. An increase in number of churches and pastors visited by district superintendents each month (goal – 50%). 2. Growth in new congregations established in Rwanda (goal -20%). 3. Growth in church ministries (goal – 25%) 4. Growth in congregation membershipn(goal – 25%) 5. An increase in the number of visitors and volunteers coming to the Rwanda Provisional Conference (goal -50%)