The Call
Personal Reflections of Frank Reynolds
About a decade ago, I began to be restless about missions at Manchester Christian Church. Groups and individuals from MCC had gone to places like Haiti, Guatemala, Argentina, Ecuador, China, Hong Kong, and Papua, New Guinea. But in 2008 we were seeking something different. We were looking for more than a place to go and help; come back home and show our pictures. We were looking for a place where we could have a partnership in the Gospel; where we could truly share life together. To our surprise, every possibility we pursued, the door seemed to be closed. Lisa Mazur, our Outreach Team Leader, had met Pastor Theophile from Rwanda on his only trip to New Hampshire. We contacted him and the door was open. My first trip to Rwanda, in 2009, was MCC’s second exploratory trip. Our bond with God’s Church in Rwanda has grown every year since then.
During this same year, I was confident God was calling me to take a break. I made the announcement in January of 2010 that I would be stepping down at the end of June, concluding thirty years as Senior Pastor of Manchester Christian Church.
I knew then that I would be leading Team Rifite Intego (Team on Purpose) to Rwanda in June 2011 and maybe this would open the next chapter of my journey. God was already leading me, my family, and MCC to invest significantly in Rwanda. But my wife, Myra, and I were not certain that this was our next phase of ministry.
In the midst of many voices, I heard a few as God’s whisper in my life. A Christian woman sensed that I should mentor pastors. A seminary professor recommended the book, Let Your Life Speak. Another friend said, make a list of the options and listen for God’s voice in the list.
The phone rang in November of 2010. I was informed that three pastors in Massachusetts were going to lead 55 Rwandan pastors through Survey of the New Testament for four weeks in February/March 2011. If I wanted to join them, my expenses were covered. To my surprise, we were working with Pastor Theophile and Harvest Christian Church, an indigenous group of Rwandan churches started in 1995. MCC had been involved with Pastor Theophile since 2009. The prophetic voices, the phone call, HCC, and my experience of teaching eight NT books for these pastors was a strong confirmation that this was the right direction.
Myra had never been to Rwanda. I had been twice and four of our daughters and two son-in-laws had been on a variety of teams serving in Rwanda. The next piece needed for our discernment was for my wife to go to Rwanda.
The 55 pastors had asked me if we could go deeper. I arranged for fifteen of the HCC pastors from all five provinces in Rwanda to spend a week in Kimironko studying the Sermon on the Mount. We prepared 45 additional notebooks for these fifteen pastors to teach other pastors. The following week, Team Rifite Intego worked with Pastor Leonidas in leading church leaders in the Karongi District in understanding and applying the five purposes of God’s Church.
Both weeks of teaching, the response of the church leaders, three preaching opportunities, and Myra’s insight confirmed for us that this was our next season in ministry. God has given me a strong passion for the local church in Rwanda. Healthy communities need healthy churches. Healthy churches need healthy leaders. And healthy leaders need training and good Bible resources. I believe the goal is to increase the capacity of church leaders in Rwanda so they can equip and effectively serve the local church. Some people have suggested that I expand my vision beyond Rwanda. I am open to that, but at this point I have not sensed that call from God. However, I do believe God will use Rwanda Challenge to equip Rwandan leaders to be missionaries to neighboring countries.
Following the call,
Frank
About a decade ago, I began to be restless about missions at Manchester Christian Church. Groups and individuals from MCC had gone to places like Haiti, Guatemala, Argentina, Ecuador, China, Hong Kong, and Papua, New Guinea. But in 2008 we were seeking something different. We were looking for more than a place to go and help; come back home and show our pictures. We were looking for a place where we could have a partnership in the Gospel; where we could truly share life together. To our surprise, every possibility we pursued, the door seemed to be closed. Lisa Mazur, our Outreach Team Leader, had met Pastor Theophile from Rwanda on his only trip to New Hampshire. We contacted him and the door was open. My first trip to Rwanda, in 2009, was MCC’s second exploratory trip. Our bond with God’s Church in Rwanda has grown every year since then.
During this same year, I was confident God was calling me to take a break. I made the announcement in January of 2010 that I would be stepping down at the end of June, concluding thirty years as Senior Pastor of Manchester Christian Church.
I knew then that I would be leading Team Rifite Intego (Team on Purpose) to Rwanda in June 2011 and maybe this would open the next chapter of my journey. God was already leading me, my family, and MCC to invest significantly in Rwanda. But my wife, Myra, and I were not certain that this was our next phase of ministry.
In the midst of many voices, I heard a few as God’s whisper in my life. A Christian woman sensed that I should mentor pastors. A seminary professor recommended the book, Let Your Life Speak. Another friend said, make a list of the options and listen for God’s voice in the list.
The phone rang in November of 2010. I was informed that three pastors in Massachusetts were going to lead 55 Rwandan pastors through Survey of the New Testament for four weeks in February/March 2011. If I wanted to join them, my expenses were covered. To my surprise, we were working with Pastor Theophile and Harvest Christian Church, an indigenous group of Rwandan churches started in 1995. MCC had been involved with Pastor Theophile since 2009. The prophetic voices, the phone call, HCC, and my experience of teaching eight NT books for these pastors was a strong confirmation that this was the right direction.
Myra had never been to Rwanda. I had been twice and four of our daughters and two son-in-laws had been on a variety of teams serving in Rwanda. The next piece needed for our discernment was for my wife to go to Rwanda.
The 55 pastors had asked me if we could go deeper. I arranged for fifteen of the HCC pastors from all five provinces in Rwanda to spend a week in Kimironko studying the Sermon on the Mount. We prepared 45 additional notebooks for these fifteen pastors to teach other pastors. The following week, Team Rifite Intego worked with Pastor Leonidas in leading church leaders in the Karongi District in understanding and applying the five purposes of God’s Church.
Both weeks of teaching, the response of the church leaders, three preaching opportunities, and Myra’s insight confirmed for us that this was our next season in ministry. God has given me a strong passion for the local church in Rwanda. Healthy communities need healthy churches. Healthy churches need healthy leaders. And healthy leaders need training and good Bible resources. I believe the goal is to increase the capacity of church leaders in Rwanda so they can equip and effectively serve the local church. Some people have suggested that I expand my vision beyond Rwanda. I am open to that, but at this point I have not sensed that call from God. However, I do believe God will use Rwanda Challenge to equip Rwandan leaders to be missionaries to neighboring countries.
Following the call,
Frank