Forgiveness Conference For a church in Congo

The leaders of the Alliance of Evangelical Churches in, Goma, Congo requested ALARM to organize a conference on Forgiveness and Reconciliation due to wounds and divisions prevalent in the Baptist church that resulted in one church splitting into 3 different churches that do not acknowledge each other. Fifty pastors attended the three-day conference led by Rev. Celestin Musekura. The main issues tackled during the conference had to do with the spirit of not being able to forgive. Rev. Musekura acknowledged the fact that it is costly, and often very difficult for the offended person to forgive if they have not been offered a chance to do so. During the session, Rev. Musekura showed conference participants how offering others forgiveness frees both the offender and the offended.

Participants learned that forgiveness is a process that requires patience and cannot be forced.
To illustrate the importance of forgiveness and the patience required to achieve it, Rev. Musekura drew from the Bible story about Joseph and his brothers.

Conference participants, all of them pastors, recognized that a lack of forgiveness on their part had been hindering them from fulfilling the prophetic mission they were called to accomplish for the glory of God. The participants committed to search for solutions in order to reconcile the church and effectively develop future leaders. They prayed together and petitioned God to save them from themselves and the spirit of un-forgiveness.

Concerning Reconciliation, Rev Musekura took participant through Luke chapter 15 to illustrate that forgiveness is the door that leads to reconciliation.
He also made it clear that much effort is required from both parties in order to reach reconciliation. The journey has to be made by both the offender and the offended – hand in hand. Rev. Musekura also reminded conference participants that reconciliation requires humility and acceptance from both sides if true healing and renewal is to be accomplished.

Testimonies:

Rev. Asumani Kiswa said: “Brothers and sisters I am standing here to ask you to forgive me. We used to work together well. But for one reason or other, I left and started my own church. Please forgive me. Though we no longer belong to the same congregation, we are brothers in Christ. We are not enemies.”

Rev. Israel Ngirababo, President of the Alliance of Evangelical Churches in Congo, had this to say: “We did not know the significance of forgiveness. If we knew then what we know now, we would still be together. Unfortunately, our ignorance led us to drift away from each other thinking that we were escaping from the fire.”

Rev. Katakya said: “I have been touched by the example of Abraham and Lot whose separation led Lot to Sodom. Unfortunately we always use this bad example as a reason for our divisions. But now I have come to realize, after ten years of fighting, that no benefits come from division – only loss. Therefore, I am determined to go back to my former church. Pray for us so that every body will come back without looking behind”.

Mrs. Sabuni, who is in charge of the women’s ministry in 50 perishes of Baptist church, had this to say: “ I am blessed by the teaching on forgiveness because I have learned that forgiveness prepares spares our children and future generations from enemies. In addition, I now know that forgiveness frees us from a heavy burden. Today I have forgiven two people I was unable to forgive before attending this conference. I am relieved.”

Rev. Baraturwango, former Legal Representative of the Baptist church said: “I am grateful for the teachings on forgiveness. I take the commitment to practice what I’ve learned because I realize that the cause of division in my church is due to tribalism. For this reason I am requesting all the servants of God who have attended this conference to bow down and pray that God will deliver us from tribalism.”

Rev. Muhogera: “Although forgiveness is costly, I will do my best to forgive and ask for forgiveness for I have been given this privilege to serve the Living God.”

Rev. Kihimba, Legal Representative of Biblical Church International, said: “Before this conference I had so many wounds in my heart. But now I have forgiven those who offended and hurt me in the past. I now realized that forgiveness is the way to reconciliation. I thank the ALARM-Congo team for organizing this conference. From now on my ministry will be strengthened and my relationship with God’s people richly oiled.”

Pastor Jack Byanikiro said: “The way Rev. Musekura has taken us through different books in the Bible to illustrate how forgiveness works, has really touched my heart. I have come to realize that most of us here do not take the time to really study the scriptures. For this reason, our message is superficial. From now on, I am committed to making the time to deeply study God’s word.”

In conclusion, Rev. Musekura showed conference participants that each individual, each tribe, each leader has strengths and skills that only they can offer and that are needed by others in order to develop the community. He said this to illustrate the fact that all God’s people need to recognize their skills and use them for the well being of their community and, more importantly, for the Glory of God. To help the participants really understand this concept Rev Musekura asked everyone to make a list of the skills each tribe in North Kivu province posses. The list was so extensive that the participants suddenly realized how beneficial each tribe was to the community. This one exercise allowed conference participants to see how destructive tribalism can be and the importance of working together.