The pastor who leapt for his life

Now he’s helping to bring God’s Word to hundreds—thanks to you

In the dark of night, Pastor Gerere jumped through a window as attackers closed in. That night, he fled the DRC. After a grueling journey, he reached Dzaleka Refugee Camp in 2016.

Training leaders
Now 37, Pastor Gerere and his wife, Solange, struggle to survive with 10 children in their two-bedroom home. You wouldn’t know it by his bright smile, but he faces severe hardship. “It’s a very bad, miserable life. Many people are jobless. We are not getting food,” he explains. To feed his family, he rents fields to grow maize while pastoring his 350-member church without pay.

The spiritual need is just as overwhelming. In this camp with over 100 churches, many believers had no access to God’s Word. In 2023, Pastor Gerere became a Bible League Bible study leader. Now he and Pastor Shaban train other Christians in 42 of Dzaleka’s 100 churches to lead Bible League Bible studies.

Reaching the kingdom
“At the beginning, we had no Bibles,” Pastor Gerere recalls. Through your faithful support, half his congregation now does. He shares that Bible League’s booklets are helping them learn how to interpret and understand verses.

He says confidently, “The Bible says if you don’t have the Word of God in your mind, there’s no way to reach the kingdom of heaven. But if you have the Word of God in your mind and heart, you are now going to reach the kingdom of heaven.”