Equipping Leaders
The Most Rev. Dr. Laurent Mbanda
Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda
Archbishop Mbanda was elected the fourth Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda on January 17th, 2018, and was enthroned on June 10th, 2018.
++Mbanda was born in Rwanda and spent a large part of his childhood in Burundi. Later, he graduated from the Kenya Highlands Bible College, in Kericho, Kenya, before returning to Burundi, where he was ordained an Anglican priest. He moved to the United States in 1984, where he completed course work for an M.A. in Missiology at the Fuller Seminary's School of World Missions, a Master of Arts in Christian Education at Denver Seminary, and a Ph.D at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Archbishop Mbanda’s early ministry service includes work with Campus Crusade, International Students Incorporated, and Christian Aid Mission. Mbanda worked for Compassion International for 17 years in a variety of leadership roles before leaving his post as Vice President of the Africa Region in 2010 to be consecrated as a bishop in the Anglican Church of Rwanda.
He was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Shyiria in March 2010 and remained in that position until his election as Archbishop.
Archbishop Mbanda has been a longtime supporter of GAFCON, since he attended their first meeting in Jerusalem, in June 2008. He has authored two books, Committed to Conflict: The Destruction of the Church in Rwanda (1997), co-written with Steve Wamberg, and his autobiography, From Barefoot to Bishop (2017).
He and his wife Chantal were married in 1984, have three children, and have ministered together in the countries of Burundi, Kenya, Congo, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, the United States, and Rwanda.
Archbishop Mbanda worked for Compassion International for 17 years in a variety of leadership roles before leaving his post as Vice President of the Africa Region in 2010 to be consecrated as a bishop in the Anglican Church of Rwanda.
At the early age of four years old, Bishop Mbanda and his parents fled his native country of Rwanda to escape extreme injustice and ethnic war. For the remainder of his youth, he was raised in a refugee settlement in Burundi where he witnessed the hardships of the children of East Africa first hand and quickly began working on their behalf.
Archbishop Mbanda's early ministry service includes work with Campus Crusade, International Students Incorporated, and Christian Aid Mission. He is also the founder of Christian African Leadership Ministries (CALM), an organization that provides leadership and vocational training for Christian leaders on the African continent. Archbishop Mbanda also sits on the board of International Justice Mission and Rwanda Ministry Partners.
Bishop Mbanda holds a master's degree in Christian Education from Denver Seminary and a Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Chantal were married in 1984 and have ministered together in the countries of Burundi, Kenya, Congo, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.