‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’. We are all familiar with that verse from the Sermon on the Mount. Our partners, World Outreach Initiatives, have explored making it a reality in the training sessions they arranged for the pastors of Kirundo.
Peace-making is a central message in the Bible. As a country, Burundi has undergone times of violence and conflict throughout its recent history. So the training explored how the pastors could promote peace in their local communities. They were equipped in how to prevent and manage conflict, find unity in diversity, and as well as being taught that human life is sacred.
The training bore the title ‘The Peace of my Country is my Responsibility’. World Outreach Initiatives (WOI) were guided by the teaching of 1 Timothy Chapter 2, which says; ‘Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well.’ The pastors shared how they had worked in their local communities to maintain peace during the elections of 2020.
During the training, it emerged that the pastors had previously had many conflicts between themselves. The disagreements had resulted from different interpretations of the Bible. Gently, WOI helped the participants understand that they were all Christians before they were pastors of their various denominations. World Outreach Initiatives will continue to work with and support the Kirundo Churches as they grow as peacemakers in their local communities.