Multiply Abroad: Navigating Church CLosures in Rwanda

In 2024, the Rwandan government made headlines with a renewed wave of church closures, a policy aimed at regulating religious institutions to meet stringent building and safety standards. While the government’s intent is to protect the public, these closures have left many congregations and church planters in limbo, including our partner, Bonnie Lakoney, and the team at Grace on a Thousand Hills, who are on the ground planting churches and training pastors.

Boniface Lakoney (Bonnie), a Multiply Catalyst and founder and leader of Grace on a Thousand Hills, a  discipleship and church planting organization in Rwanda.

For Bonnie and the leaders at Grace on a Thousand Hills, this has presented significant challenges. Churches are often the heart of a community—places where people not only worship but find discipleship, fellowship, and spiritual guidance. The government’s increased regulations on infrastructure, such as requirements for proper ventilation, soundproofing, and sanitation, mean that many small, rural churches, which may not have the resources to upgrade their buildings, are forced to shut their doors.

Church Planting in the Face of Government Opposition

For a church planter like Bonnie, the government regulations have created some difficulties in ministry. Not only is he focused on spreading the gospel and training new leaders, he and his wife Solange are now navigating a regulatory environment that makes it increasingly hard to gather believers. The closures disrupt the discipleship process and make it harder for new believers to grow in their faith through consistent teaching and fellowship. In many cases, churches are left without a physical place to meet, pushing congregations underground or into informal, outdoor gatherings, which can be dangerous and subject to further restrictions. For an organization like Grace on a Thousand Hills, which focuses on planting sustainable, multiplying churches, this situation is deeply frustrating. Church plants often begin in modest spaces with limited resources, and meeting the government’s new criteria feels like an impossible hurdle. Many pastors trained by Bonnie are now working tirelessly to find alternative ways to gather and minister to their communities—whether through home churches, small group discipleship, or even leveraging technology where possible.

However, the closures have also given rise to opportunities for creativity and perseverance. Bonnie and his team are working on innovative ways to train pastors and leaders who can adapt to these difficult circumstances, ensuring that the work of the gospel continues despite the challenges. They are shifting focus toward decentralized, smaller gatherings that can operate within the government’s guidelines, ensuring that the church remains a light in the community.

How You Can Help: Pray with Us

Please join us in praying for Rwanda during this time of uncertainty. Pray for wisdom for church leaders like Bonnie, that they would have discernment on how to lead their congregations. Pray for favor with local authorities and for provision to meet these new regulations. Most importantly, pray that the gospel would continue to spread, and that this season of difficulty would lead to a stronger, more resilient church in Rwanda. Join our team at Multiply in praying for these specific areas:

• Pray for the Church in Rwanda: Lift up leaders like Bonnie Lakoney as they navigate these closures.

• Support Grace on a Thousand Hills: Consider partnering with us to resource pastors and church planters in Rwanda as they adapt to these new challenges.

• Spread Awareness: Share this story with your community to encourage prayer and support for the work in Rwanda.

Despite the difficulties, we believe that God’s church cannot be silenced. The mission to plant churches and train pastors will continue, even in the face of opposition, because we trust in a God who is bigger than any obstacle.

— The [multiply] team