Mission support for Burundi
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Lutheran Mission - Australia takes mission very seriously. First and foremost, we want to fulfil Jesus’ Great Commission - to help in the great work of all Christians to make disciples, sharing God’s love and grace with all the world.
Even though we are just beginning our journey as a church, we are conscious that we have been richly blessed as a church and as individuals with support and material goods. Just as we have received wonderful support from our brothers and sisters around the world, we want to begin as we mean to go on - by passing on those blessings to others, both here in Australia and overseas.
The LM-A Committee of Management has voted to become mission partners of a remarkable group of Lutherans serving the Lord in Burundi. Burundi is a land locked country in East Africa which has suffered from its own internal conflicts, as well as the being severely impacted by the fallout from conflict in surrounding countries such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This has certainly contributed to the reality that Burundi has long been one of the poorest countries in the world.
Hope Evangelical Lutheran church in Burundi (HELCB) was established by the late Pastor Salvator Nduwayo who discovered the joy of Lutheran theology while living as a refugee in Tanzania. Upon his return to Burundi, he desperately wanted his fellow Burundians to know the joy of the gospel and so he began the first Lutheran church in the nation. A young man by the name of Emile Nkurunziza soon recognised that Lutheran theology was faithful to the Scriptures and was subsequently trained and ordained as a pastor.
HELCB was recognised as a registered church institution in March 2017 with only 300 members. Since then, it has grown to an estimated 2572 members. Despite the fact that the majority of HELCB members are refugees returned from neighbouring countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda) and others have been directly or indirectly affected by the historical social conflicts which marked Burundi for years, the young church has 10 parishes and an extensive program of Sunday worship services including Holy Communion, evangelism, baptism (children and adults), confirmation classes, marriage celebrations, seminars, training and workshops to educate their lay workers and volunteers, and diakonia and development projects. It is not uncommon for more than 50 people to be baptised on a Sunday as people come to faith from a variety of backgrounds.
In August 2023, HELCB rejoiced at the installation of their first bishop, Emile Nkurunziza, who was installed by the Lutheran Bishops from East African Region in Bujumbura. Bishop Emile is the only full-time employed member of the church.
HELCB is a strongly confessional church which is doing wonderful work in local communities and is continuing to grow. They have a desperate need for prayer and financial support. Their greatest challenges are an insufficient number of trained and ordained pastors and evangelists, as well as the inherent poverty among church members. As the Burundi government has restricted churches from operating in rented or borrowed buildings/premises such as schools or reception halls, HELCB’s rapidly growing churches are struggling to purchase land and construct basic shelters to use as churches.
We are launching a Mission Appeal for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Burundi.
Please keep the members of HELCB in your prayers. We encourage you to lend your financial support by depositing donations into the LM-A bank account, with the reference line “HELCB Mission Appeal”.
BSB: 083-543
Account Number: 251571051
Account Name: Lutheran Mission – Australia
Reference: HELCB Mission Appeal