Rwanda of 1884 assigned the territory to Germany as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to significantly explore the country in 1894; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule.
Presbyterian Church in Rwanda claim to be the one and only evangelical Church of the country. From this moment, the Church focused on expending its presence throughout Rwanda rubengera The Presbyterian Church in Rwanda was strongly centralized during most of its existence. In 2008, with the decline of foreign contributions, it started an decentralisation process in order to give more responsibility to the parishes and encourage them to be more autonomous and self sufficient. This process is not yet finished as the coaching and support of the parishes is a long and complex task. The EPR (for the French name "Église Presbyteriénne au Rwanda")