A biography of the first Seventh-day Adventist ever to be awarded a university degree in Rwanda: Pastor Ezra Mpyisi

Abstract

This study describes capturing the life story of an exemplary Seventhday Adventist church member in Rwanda. It aims to present the essential details that led to understanding the participant’s life experiences that may inspire current and future Christians, educators, and church leaders. The leadership emergence theory by Robert Clinton formed the theoretical framework, which extended to several related themes. The study used a narrative inquiry design with one purposefully selected participant. The data was collected through interviews, observations, documents, and a literature review. Reported here is the biography that is the initial product of a narrative inquiry. This biography results from restoring, a procedure used in narrative inquiry where the story is chronologically organized to the purpose of the study. The participant of this study applied the spiritual gifts and skills he obtained throughout his training in different fields of his work-life experiences. As a result, he made a vast contribution to developing the Seventh-day Adventist church and schools he served. This study recommends that aspiring Adventist Church leaders and church members accept God’s calling and serve Him, regardless of position, time, place, monetary benefits, or other things.