ADVANCE #3022502 - RWANDA UMC COMPREHENSIVE EVANGELISM INITIATIVE
The use of electronic technology for worship in Rwanda is rapidly spreading and is popular, particularly for younger persons. Because the majority of congregants in most Rwandan United Methodist churches are impoverished, churches have been experiencing difficulty in keeping up with technological advances for worship and the United Methodist Church in Rwanda has lagged significantly in the use of electronic resources for worship. This has had a detrimental effect on the growth of existing United Methodist churches in Rwanda, and has dampened evangelism efforts. Presently, the drum is the primary musical instrument used in worship, but most younger persons prefer that songs that are accompanied by musical instruments such as keyboards. Pastors and congregations also are in need of evangelism resources and training in evangelism to accompany worship enhanced by electronic music in order to better recruit and retain members.