Ministry and Economic Prosperity, the 21st Century Challenges and Motivations into Ministry

This article investigated the nature of current practices in Christian ministry in Rwanda, which has recently been alleged for the commodification of the gospel due to a range of commoditization symptoms. An exploratory study has been carried out, just after the government of Rwanda initiated a new and solid legal environment allowing faith-based organizations to exercise their constitutional freedom, to examine factors that influence ministry, and understand Christian views about running a ministry for economic prosperity. The study has drawn a sample of 250 Christians from 10 local churches and 60 Christian leaders, approached through survey with an administered questionnaire. The findings revealed that the current social, political and economic environment isn’t encouraging in terms of planting a new church. Most Christian leaders haven’t attended any formal theological education or training, while Majority of theology students are in school due to the lack of secular education opportunities and the desire to become paid pastors in their churches. In addition, the majority of Christians did not know who makes the financial decisions in their churches, others understood that only senior pastors were entitled to this information, but most of them understood that giving to pastors is the key to unlock one’s blessings. The study confirmed symptoms of the prosperity gospel, along with other ministerial challenges, but recommended a return to ministry primarily as a sacrificial act rather than a recourse to the Gospelpreneurship.