The headline gives the gist of a united message the leaders of the churches in South Sudan sent out this Christmas to their congregations and to the nation’s politicians in response to the conflict that has recently arisen in this the world’s youngest and pre-dominately Christian country.
On the July 9, 2011 The Republic of South Sudan came into existence. Until then the citizens of that country had either lived abroad or as a part of the Islamic State of Sudan.
Since independence was granted in the mid-1950s a civil war has been going on for 39 of those years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 2.5 million people. The civil war occurred as the south tried to break away from the north and the north sought to reassert its control over that part of the country.
Religion and race
But the clash was more than geographical; it was also deeply based on religion and race. The north is mainly Arab and Islamic, and the south is black and Christian.
For most of this period of time conditions in the south deteriorated, with the government putting little investment into health, schools or infra-structure. The result of this under-investment and the civil war that many of the Christian in the south had to relocate to Khartoum where they were sub-shari’a ject to law. Christian schools and Bible colleges were not permitted. Instead, all education was done in a strict Muslim context. Few Christians had the opportunity to go on to further education. In the city the Christians were severely restricted in what they could do and their pastors were often imprisoned, persecuted or killed.
Independence
But since 2011 the south has become an independent country and the many Christians there no longer have to live in an Islamic State. Although poor – most of the citizens live on less than a dollar a day – they can now enjoy freedom.
Prosperity gospel
But this freedom brings with it new challenges, and new temptations.
Satellite dishes are appearing in most of the cities and with that often comes the ‘Prosperity Gospel’. Without proper training, many of these pastors believe this to be authentic Christianity. Western aid is flooding into the country and with it the opportunity for some to make money. That, in and of itself, is not a problem, but the love of money for people who have been so poor is a potential problem.
The recent conflict exposes another issue that must be addressed, and that is how some try to turn political differences into tribal and ethnic ones. Teaching is needed that will enable Christians to be wise about such matters and, with greater access to the West, there is a vital need for Christians to be built up so that they are able to discern what is good and what is bad. The danger is that often the West is regarded as being Christian and Western values are deemed to be Christian values.
Need for training
The great need in South Sudan is for the training of the churches’ pastors, so that they in turn can feed their congregations and help them to become better equipped and prepared to stand for Christ in this new context. The church in South Sudan is seeking to address this need. In September 2013 I visited Juba in South Sudan and met briefly with leaders of the church there to ascertain their needs. As a result of that meeting, Pastor Training International (PTI) has been asked to partner with the churches to help to provide some of the training these pastors need.
Golden opportunity for the gospel
South Sudan presents us with a potentially golden opportunity evangelistically. Here, because of the oppression and persecution of the past, there are significant number of Christians who are able to speak in Arabic. Surely God, in his desire to save all people, has used the suffering of the past to create this. However, English is the language used in the schools of South Sudan so within a generation this skill will be lost. There is therefore an urgent need to encourage some of these brothers to consider becoming missionaries to the Arabic-speaking world of North Africa. There is a need to prepare and equip some of these brothers and sisters to be able to share their faith with Muslims.
At the end of the second world war General MacArthur saw a window of opportunity in the Japan that had just surrendered and he asked that missionaries be sent urgently. His plea fell on deaf ears, the opportunity was missed, and Japan turned back to her old religions and embraced the god mammon. May we not miss this opportunity.
How about you?
In 2014, PTI will begin to do training in South Sudan. Thanks to some generous gifts they will be able to begin this work but, for it to continue and to become a lasting work, substantial further funding will be needed. If you would like to partner with us in helping the pastors in South Sudan, or elsewhere in the world, please go to www.pastor-train-ing.org.
Recent fighting
The recent conflict and fighting does however threaten to prevent this vital training from happening. Please pray for the peace talks about to begin in Addis Ababa in the neighbouring country of Ethiopia, between President Salva Kiir and his former vice president, Mr. Riek Machar. Pray that a peaceful solution may be found. Pray that the church may demonstrate a unity in Christ that will not allow this to become a fully tribal conflict, as occurred in Rwanda some 20 years ago.
Pray for the practical needs of those who have become refugees due to the conflict, and for the church leaders to be given courage and great wisdom.
