The Spark and the Plan

On April 6, 1994, the plane carrying Rwanda’s President Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundi’s President Cyprien Ntaryamira was shot down as it approached Kigali. Within hours, roadblocks appeared, lists were produced, and killings began with chilling coordination. Militias such as the Interahamwe, aided by elements of the state, turned neighborhoods into hunting grounds. Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) poured out propaganda, calling fellow citizens “enemies” and urging betrayal, even against longtime friends.

In roughly three months, about 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were murdered—often with machetes, often by neighbors. The genocide revealed how quickly fear can be discipled by lies when hearts are untethered from truth.

Churches: Refuge and Ruin

Many Rwandans professed Christianity, and the genocide exposed both scandal and courage. Some church leaders and institutions compromised—choosing ethnic loyalty, political safety, or silence. In places such as Nyamata and Ntarama, church buildings that had once sheltered the vulnerable became sites of mass slaughter, a grievous reminder that sacred walls do not guarantee sanctified hearts.

Yet there were also costly acts of neighbor-love. Some pastors, nuns, and ordinary believers hid the threatened in homes, ceilings, and latrines; others smuggled people past checkpoints or refused to surrender those under their care. In Kigali, humanitarian worker Carl Wilkens stayed when many foreigners left, negotiating with militia leaders and helping protect lives. Such courage did not erase the darkness, but it testified that faith can bear fruit even under terror.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

Aftermath: Justice and Healing

After the genocide, Rwanda wrestled with truth-telling, accountability, and reconciliation—through efforts including community gacaca courts and national memorials such as the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Forgiveness was sometimes offered, but never as denial; it had to walk with truth and justice.

For the church, Rwanda remains a sobering call: confession must be more than words, worship must shape courage, and love must cross every boundary. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)