Browsing by Author "Mutuyimana Nkundakozera"

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A strategy for effective membership retention in the Gisenyi District of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North-West Rwanda Field
(Adventist University of Africa, 2025-04) Mutuyimana Nkundakozera
The Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) churches globally face the challenge of members dropping out. The Northwest Rwanda Field (NWRF) is no exception. For instance, a church membership audit conducted in 2017 among churches in the Gisenyi district of the Seventh-day Adventist , Rwanda, revealed that the church had lost 35% of its members. Furthermore, the second quarter of the 2017 NWRF report indicated that 45% of members were not attending church services regularly. This study investigated the strategies for retaining church members in the NWRF. The guiding study questions were: What are the participants’ demographic information on gender, age, and church experience in the churches of the Gisenyi district SDA, Rwanda? Why do church members stop attending church services in churches in the Gisenyi district SDA, Rwanda? What strategies can be used to help retain church members from leaving the churches in the Gisenyi district SDA, Rwanda? The study employed a mixed-methods approach using the descriptive research design. The study involved church members from five churches of the Gisenyi district SDA, alongside 27 pastors, 27 first-church elders, and 13 NWRF office workers, and 60 heads of departments of five churches participated in the study. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, and results were presented in percentages, tables, and themes. Results indicated that church member dropouts were primarily due to church programs, the behavior and actions of church members who included leaders, and various social and individual factors. Results on the members’ retention strategies included promoting inclusive participation in church programs, providing support for the needy, and forming small group practices. The study recommended implementing a designed intervention strategy to address retention issues among church members.
A Strategy to Involve the Seventh-day Adventist Youth of North Rwanda Conference in Evangelism
(Adventist University of Africa, 2016-06) Mutuyimana Nkundakozera
The great commission of Jesus Christ calls upon all believers to get involved in evangelism (Matt 28:19-20). This is the responsibility of all church members. However, the youth in North Rwanda Conference (NRC) have not satisfactorily participated in fulfilling what Jesus Christ required. This situation has been influenced by different factors, but mostly, by the fact that the church has done little to involve them. This problem has been observed in many churches throughout the conference. Due to this, young people were not aware of their responsibilities in the church. Considering the challenge at hand, the major objective of this study was to come up with a strategy of involving the youth in evangelism. The strategies of getting the youth involved in evangelism were best seen in the program design of this research. Its implementation rotated around revival and reformation of members and the training of the youth in evangelism. To achieve the target of the research different methods were used including; documentary method, interviewing, use of questionnaires, and personal observation. This project implemented the program in the four selected churches as a sample of the study. In this program, it had been discovered that the churches at hand had 27, 30, 35, and 36 youth involved from Nyarubande, Kigombe, Yaounde, and Bwuzuri respectively. This makes a total of 128. During the implementation, there was a 21.75% increment in participants from to 317, because of personal evangelism. Regarding public evangelism, the number increased from 1 to 10 in these four churches. Thus, the number of the youth involved in evangelism rose to 90%. Several factors hamper NRC youth from participating in evangelism: secular activities such as games and watching movies to mention but a few. On the side of the parents and church leaders, challenges include lack of time and sufficient skills to handle the youth. However, if a good program is designed to get them involved and active in the church, the results are promising. The parents and church leaders, therefore, should, from time to time, implement the strategy which has been proposed in this research.