“To raise an Army of Disciples of Jesus Christ who are life givers, fully consecrated to Jesus Christ, coming from different backgrounds and with different history, interconnected by the spirit of family, restored , trained, equipped, and sent , who have resolved to make known Jesus Christ as Lord and King in their lives, families and in all Nations in this generation”…
In the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda was looking like the valley of dry bones that Ezekiel saw in the vision(Ezekiel 37:1-10) which became a vast Army by the power of the word and the Spirit of the Jesus Christ. It is in the same line, God clearly asked Apostle Yoshua N. Masasu to start a church which will be a Family Church where everyone will find a father, mother, sister, brother whom they lost at some point. The dry and broken hearts would be restored to restore, equipped, trained and prepared to be a vast Army of life giving disciples totally consecrated to Jesus Christ.
Right after the Genocide (1994), God commanded me to organize a mission trip to Rwanda and I was joined by a-6 people team from Jerusalem Ministry to fulfill the mission which included a special message destined to the new authorities in Kigali.
On our way to Kigali God reminded me the words he had told me ten years earlier and confirmed that time of a great work among his people and nations starting from Rwanda has come. At that time, Rwanda was looking like the valley of dry bones Ezechiel saw in the vision which became a vast Army by the Power of The Word and the Spirit of the Lord.
God clearly asked us to start a new work which would be a Family Church where everyone would find a father, a mother, a sister and brother and where dried broken hearts would be restored and equipped. The ultimate vision was to bring restoration in the World where there is spiritual, emotional and physical death and dryness.
The Vision would be implemented in 7 weeks (a period of seven years accomplishing a specific task of restoration and equipping people to be restorers of others) winning souls to Christ the perfect restorer, bringing some care then equipping them as disciples of Christ before they are sent.
- Week 1: Evangelism and gathering people from different backgrounds around Christ in the same family church
- Week 2: Care Ministry of healing, counseling, deliverance, restoration, …
- Week 3: Discipleship preparation (Training, equipping)
- Week 4:Implementing Christ’s character (fruit of the Holy Spirit) in the disciple’s lives
- Week 5: Equipping the disciples in the gifts of the Holy Spirit for effective Ministry
- Week 6:Missions/To take (Conquering) souls and Nations for Christ Jesus.
- Week 7:Establishment/Building of the Kingdom of God/Take or occupy the territory for God
what to keep in mind is that:
- Those 7 Ministries/Actions/Activities are executed daily time in our Churches, we do evangelism, we care for the needy and Christian babies, we train or raise disciples and affect or send them for the work of Ministry. But establishing weeks (Periods of seven years each) helps for every task/Action/Activity to become a priority/Focus/Priority of priorities for a period of 7 years. By doing this every Task will be properly executed in enough time and after such time we may seat and evaluate the achievement and check the undone before we concentrate on the next task.
- We hold an international conference every end of a week where every leader on a different level brings a report on the work achieved during the week and a proposed strategic plan for the coming week.
- Every year we have a specific topic related to the week. Doing this helps to focus on the same object during the year as we implement in steps the major priority of the week.
- Winning souls for Christ
- Care for the souls
- Training/Preparation/Equipping the souls for Christian life and Ministry
- Sending/Mission/Commission
- To establish /build The Kingdom of God on Earth
We are conscientious that life started with Jesus entering the life of somebody this is why we are an “Evangelical” church because for us Evangelism is the first priority of our priorities. Based on his new identity in Christ we will make sure that he is completely delivered from all bondage and attached to the Enemy due to his past life or spiritual heritage and care for his soul by counseling, prayer, and Basic Bible Teachings(Affermissements). Now on this level, he may be trained for living a victorious and useful Christian life in the Kingdom of God. After all this, he is ready to be sent on a Mission for the Work of the Ministry as a “Restorer” of peoples, families, and Nations By and for Jesus Christ.
Acts 2,40-47
Evangelism (Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ)
Teaching God’s principles for life and Ministry
fellowships (spiritual and brotherhood )/establish the family spirit in love
Prayers (personal,team,collective)/to connect to the divine (supernatural) resources
People who share the same function, and feel the same calling in the Church gather as commission. Such as Protocol(ushers), worship team, legal Business, Intercession, Evangelism, follow-up,….NB level 1 is led by a committee of 5 people:
- The President who is also the coordinator of the activities.
- The 1st vice President who is in charge of spiritual growth( Bible studies/follow-up of new Believers and other training needed).
- The 2 nd vice President in charge of fellowship and social affairs
- The Secretary in charge of Evangelism and enrollment and all the administrative affairs (Reports and minutes) .
- The Treasurer in charge of the Intercession and finances.
The President of the home cell, commission, or Ministry may affect people according to their gifts and the ability for more effectiveness and productivity in the Kingdom of God.
The smallest church gathering of around 12 people in order to strengthen our relationship with Christ and among us as a family. we do evangelism, and teachings(Bible study), we pray together and for each one in need but above all, we do a fellowship.
They normally stay in the same geographic area so that they may gather easily. But they may also be living in different geographic areas but gather weekly because of social common interests( Profession, calling, marital status,…).
Exodus 18,24-26/Acts 2,40-47/I Corinthians 12,12-20
On this level, some of the home cells, commissions, or Ministries are brought together in one structure called “section” or “Department” for better coordination of the Work of God. This level may be led by a more Mature lay Christian or an ordained Minister it depends on the size of the section or Department or how important or crucial it is. The Chief of the section or Department is assisted by the presidents of the home cells or commissions or ministries.
-The Sub-Parish is a new work starting which is not yet established and still under supervision of a Parish until recognition .
-The Parish is an autonomous established group of people(at least 50) or family led by a Pastor( full time Minister) or father of the House.It is the base of all Christian life and activities where everybody should belong before elsewhere.
-The Senior Pastor as the father in the house is responsible on a daily basis for the management of the Parish he may be assisted by other Assistant Pastors depending on the need and the size of the Parish.
-This Pastoral team if it exists will meet every week at least once to evaluate the global situation of the Parish. Once per month minimum the senior Pastor will hold a meeting with all the responsibilities of the sections/departments as the nucleus or office of the Parish Committee and once per term(3 months) the Parish committee will meet for an overview of the situation of the Parish. Once per year the local or Parish General Assembly will gather to evaluate the finishing year and plan for the coming year.
A church district is a group of at least five Parishes situated in the same geographic or administrative area led by a District Supervisor or Overseer or Bishop who must be a Mature Senior Pastor, a real son in the House/family able to run with the vision with a divine character assisted by a committee composed by The Pastors of the Parishes in the District. Technical committees may be established to help for better coordination of the gifts within the District.
A number of Church Districts situated in the same Country determine the National family of the Evangelical Restoration Church. It may be presented in this way for example ERC/Family/Rwanda or ERC/Rwanda/Family or ERC/Rwanda
ERC/Family/DRC or ERC/DRC/Family or ERC/DRC
The Evangelical Restoration Church on the National level is led on daily basis by The National Overseer or President assisted by 2 Vice-Presidents and technical offices. Every term (3 months) The Executive committee meets to evaluate the implementation of the action plan . Every 6 months the Advisory/elders committee meets to evaluate the global spiritual situation of the Church and the implementation of the Vision. Every year a General Assembly gathers to evaluate the finishing year and plan for the coming year. During the General Assembly, an independent internal audit office gave a report to the plenary.
On the Regional level, We may also have ERC/Region/family for example for the East Africa Community or Region: ERC/East Africa/family-the Entire ERC Worldwide or International level is known as the ERC/Global/Family or the ERC family.