Bruce and Jan Rossington attended Redland church from 1997 to 2000 and were involved in several church activities.  During this time, they felt the call to Bible teaching in Africa, and Bruce left his law firm and studied for a Masters in Theology at Trinity College.

Bruce writes: 

We arrived in Rwanda in March 2006 and spent two years on AIM’s ‘TIMO’ programme. This involved living a simple lifestyle in a local neighbourhood, learning the ‘Kinyarwanda’ language and making a real effort to understand and adapt to Rwandan culture. The purpose of this was to lay a firm foundation for long-term ministry in Africa, and to prepare effectively for my teaching assignment at the Rwanda Institute of Evangelical Theology (RIET).

The vision of RIET, which was founded by the Evangelical Alliance of Rwanda (a member of the World Evangelical Alliance) in 2001, is to help men and women from Rwanda and the surrounding region to become Christlike servant leaders in their local churches. It is aiming to be an accredited institution that awards degrees, but whose priority will always be to bring about spiritual renewal and transformation in its students. Our prayer is that the college will also be a catalyst for sending Rwandan cross-cultural missionaries to the 960 ‘unreached people groups’ of Africa.

RIET attracts students from a wide range of denominations and from both ethnic groups in Rwanda.

I started teaching at RIET last September, but within two weeks, found myself as the Acting Principal when my colleague had to leave the country at 48 hours’ notice due to a serious heart condition.

Challenges facing the college*

 The need to partner with another college for reasons of unity, quality and sustainability

 Legal registration and academic accreditation

 Transitioning from French to English as the main medium of instruction

 Adding residential, block release and distance learning programmes to its evening classes

 Building its own premises – first phase will cost £300,000

Jan’s ministries

In addition to being the primary carer for Zoe (9), Martha (7) and Joseph (3), Jan has used her Kinyarwanda skills to help train children’s workers at a local church. Last year she home-schooled Martha and this year she is one of five board members at the Kigali International Community School, which provides an education for children of cross-cultural workers and a Gospel witness to sections of the Rwandan community.

To find out more about our ministry at the Rwanda Institute of Evangelical Theology, people can watch the film ‘So we do not lose heart’ online, at: http://www.aimint.org/usa/videos/so_we_do_not_lose_heart.html