Healing A Broken Nation : CCI Solutions

Healing A Broken Nation
How Jean Baptiste, Youth For Christ and Anchor Audio are Winning Rwanda For Christ

In 1994, over the course of three months, the genocide of 1 million people in Rwanda caused that nation to lose all hope. In the midst of war and massacre, God was leading Jean Baptiste Mugarura to launch Youth for Christ (YFC) in his nation. Most of the people that formed the initial launch team fell to the genocide but Jean Baptiste and his family persevered.

Anchor Liberty system being used in a gathering

Anchor Liberty system being used in a gathering

The beginnings were very humble. Jean Baptiste was serving in a full-time capacity but there was no money and a lot of need. Much of the early work was in re-establishing local churches, which had been destroyed previously during the war. Severe hunger, disease and a poor economy made things very hard for a while. Since that time, Jean Baptiste has been very active, ministering the hope of Jesus Christ to a hurt and hopeless nation. Through his efforts and the other YFC team members, they have been able to reach over 100,000 young people every year for almost a decade with the Gospel. They have gone from a small group of laborers to 30 full-time staff and over 400 volunteers.

CCI Solutions is proud to partner with Jean Baptiste and Youth for Christ. Since 2003, we have been able to donate several Anchor Liberty systems to the work in Rwanda. According to Jean Baptiste, he and his co-workers are able to take these portable, battery-powered sound systems wherever they go, set them up, and in just a few minutes, start speaking or singing about Jesus. There is always a crowd because many of the people in Rwanda have never seen (or heard) a sound system, so naturally they want to know what this new fangled thing is. In America, we might use an Anchor Liberty system to reach a few hundred people. In Rwanda, the Liberty is amplifying the message of the Gospel to thousands.

One thing that the YFC team really likes to do is to go into one of the local markets and set up the Anchor system. Someone will press play on the CD player and another person will begin singing with the song. People will stop what they are doing in order to check out this strange sound. Of course, multitudes get saved and become a part of one of the many local churches.

Jean Baptiste and Bob Schmidt in front of CCI Solutions

Jean Baptiste and Bob Schmidt in front of CCI Solutions

Discipleship is a big part of what goes on in Rwanda. Reaching 100,000 young people for Jesus is awesome but it is also a lot of work. YFC has ongoing leadership development for young leaders and pastors. They opened the Kigali Christian School, a K-12 educational facility. There are plenty of Heart Transformation Groups, cell groups and other avenues for people to grow in the Lord, many of which could benefit from some kind of portable sound system such as the Anchor Liberty.

CCI Solutions plans on continuing our support of the Youth For Christ Mission in Rwanda. If you would like to be a part of what God is doing in that nation you can contact Jean Baptiste directly by email. That address is yfc@rwanda1.com. You can also call YFC in Englewood, Co by dialing 303.843.9000.