KING OF PRUSSIA, PA – January 14, 2026

International Ministries mourns the passing of Rev. Dr. Eleazar Ziherambere, retired IM area director for Africa, on January 13, 2026.

Eleazar served many roles during his life, including as pastor, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Rwanda, General Secretary of the Protestant Council of Rwanda, General Secretary of the All Africa Baptist Fellowship, Special Assistant for International Affairs for the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, and from 2004 to 2009 and again from 2014 to 2019 as Area Director for Africa with International Ministries.

Born in 1951 in Cyahinda, Rwanda, Eleazar attended boarding school in neighboring Burundi. During high school, he experienced a clear sense of calling to Christian ministry. He attended United Theological School upon graduating from high school and served as an intern with the Rwandan Baptist Union in a congregation at Nyantanga where he met and married his wife, Speciosa.

Eleazar was a gifted communicator, conversant in five languages. He studied for brief periods in the US at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree.

When the genocide began in Rwanda in 1994, Eleazar and his family fled first to Kenya and then to Zambia, eventually seeking refuge in the US with the aid of the Baptist World Alliance and American Baptist Churches USA.

“Eleazar was a peacemaker of active compassion and wisdom. He valued all people recognizing their worth as bearers of God’s image. As General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Rwanda he built a staff of multiple ethnicities and cultures. Before, during, and after the horrific Rwandan genocide he sought to reconcile people to one another,” writes Reid Trulson, IM Executive Director and CEO Emeritus. “When he experienced being defamed and demeaned, he stood with dignity allowing truth to be his defense. He was a faithful follower of Jesus Christ worthy of great respect.”

Sharon Koh, IM Executive Director and CEO, shares: “Eleazar was a great man. His strength of conviction and the gentleness of his grace define his legacy. Our mission history is richer because of who he was.”

International Ministries extends our prayers, Christian love, and support to Eleazar’s family during this time.