BRIEF HISTORY OF ADEPR CHURCH
The Pentecostal Church of Rwanda – ADEPR Church is a faith-based organization that began in the 1940s in the Gihundwe Region, the western part of Rwanda, where missionaries from the Swedish Free Mission, Alvar Lindskog, and his wife Lindberg, arrived there from the Democratic Republic of Congo and began preaching the gospel. They used Swahili, with the help of a translator. On January 31, 1943, Ludoviko Sagatwa was baptized by Alvar Lindskog and became the first Christian of ADEPR Church. In the 1960s, the Swedish Free Mission became the Association of Pentecostal Churches, and leadership was transferred to locals. The church was then known as the Association of Pentecostal Churches in Rwanda (A.D.E.P.R in French Abbreviated Form) in 1983. The church focuses on spiritual growth as well as community transformation through social and economic activities, including education, health, and poverty reduction. The ADEPR Church has grown rapidly and currently counts 3,141 Local Churches and operates in all regions of Rwanda, with 2,820,813 members (according to the Population Census 2022). The ADEPR Church has played a substantial role in the holistic transformation of the Rwandan community. Its activities are aligned with six pillars: 1. Evangelism and the life of the Church, 2. Education, Capacity Building, Technology, and Innovation, 3. Economic and social development and partnership, 4. Finance and property, 5. Audit and law enforcement, and 6. Ethics, Discipline, and performance called ministries.