Himbaza
A Gate of Hope Initiative
Every child belongs in worship.
Across East African refugee churches in Louisville, children grow up between two worlds. Himbaza gives them a place to praise in both, leading the song, not just watching from the back.
What is Himbaza?
A movement that moves one church at a time.
Himbaza is a five-year initiative of Gate of Hope Ministries International. The aim is simple to say and harder to do: help East African refugee churches in Louisville bring their children all the way into worship and prayer.
We don't parachute in. Churches join in small groups, and we walk with each one across two years of training and practice. We're after worship that stays changed long after we've packed up.
Why this work
What Himbaza makes possible.
Refugee churches in Louisville are full of faith and music and culture. What's often missing is a way for the youngest people in the room to take real part. That's the whole gap Himbaza sets out to close.
How change spreads
It starts with one child. It doesn't stop there.
What begins with a single child carries outward, the way a song fills a room. Tap a stage to follow how far it reaches.
The child
It begins with one child. In the Saturday workshops, a boy or girl who used to sit quietly at the edge of the service starts to take part. They learn the Bible stories well enough to tell them, and the songs well enough to lead them. Little by little they stop being a spectator and become a worshiper, a storyteller, and a leader. They are no longer a passenger in the service. They are part of why it happens.
The home
What a child carries home changes the whole household. Through the parent workshops, mothers and fathers pick up practical, faith filled ways to guide their kids spiritually and to back their learning at school. Conversations about God move from the church building to the kitchen table. The distance between a parent praying in Kinyarwanda and a child praying in English grows shorter, and the bond across generations grows stronger.
The leaders
Many pastors and volunteers have wanted to include the youngest members for years without knowing how. Each quarter, Himbaza trains them to lead worship that holds every age in the same room. They leave with real tools, fresh confidence, and a renewed sense of who their services are really for. The change does not depend on us being there. It stays in the leaders long after a season ends.
The church
When children, parents, and leaders all move at once, the whole congregation changes. Sunday stops feeling like two services happening in one room and starts feeling like one family worshiping together. The youngest child and the oldest elder praise side by side, each in the language and tradition they carry. Nobody sits on the outside of it. That is the goal: worship that belongs to everyone.
What we do together
The work, week to week.
Five rhythms keep Himbaza moving. Flip a card to see what each one looks like.
Join the movement
There's a place for you here.
You don't need a title or a theology degree. You need a Saturday and a heart for kids.
Volunteer
Come spend a Saturday with us
Volunteers are the heart of those Saturday workshops. If you've taught, led youth, or done ministry before, you might lead a session in storytelling, music, reading, or the arts. If that's not you, no problem. Some of the most important work is setting up, sitting beside a child, and being a steady, friendly face. Bring your hands and your heart, and we'll find your spot.
Sign up to volunteer
Internship
Grow while you serve
If you're a student or young adult weighing a future in ministry, teaching, missions, or community work, this is real experience, not coffee runs. You'll help lead storytelling, music, arts, and reading with kids ages five to twelve, in a lively setting where cultures meet. It's unpaid, but you walk away with mentorship, training, and a front row seat to work that matters.
Apply to intern
Be part of it
Bring a child into the song
A gift to 100 Hearts of Hope keeps the Saturday workshops running, storytelling, music, and the arts, and puts real tools in the hands of pastors and parents. This is where a child's voice begins.
Give to 100 Hearts of Hope Or make a one-time giftGate of Hope Ministries International is ECFA accredited.
