Sudan (MNN) ― Although the peace accord is holding in Southern Sudan, two decades of civil war has taken its toll.
E3 Partners' Mike Congrove says there's now a dearth of leadership in the region. What they're finding is that the church-planting process takes longer because they have to mold and train a potential leader into a pastor. So what happened to the pastors? "Either the whole generation has been killed through the fighting, or they remain in the refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia, or Uganda. They just haven't repatriated yet, or they have no plans to do so. There's this complete lack of leaders that just physically aren't there."
MNN reported in 2006 that E3 Partners had big plans for Sudan. At that time, their country director was working to equip 25,000 lay people to evangelize their neighbors. His goal was to help them plant 500 churches. The growth that's coming is exciting, but with it comes the sobering realization that the church MUST be ready.
Congrove believes their team is building the foundation of a new church body in Sudan. "The foundation you lay is so critical so that when it reproduces itself, it's healthy and strong. And the things that we're imbedding now will be all Scripture-positive and of God, not of man and flesh."
Outside of evangelism, resourcing these new churches is another challenge. E3Partners has an array of tools available to respond to this need. Evangecubes, tracts, personal evangelism training materials, Pray Power prayer guides, and a variety of tools for winning souls, making disciples, training leaders, and praying effectively.
Pray for more laborers. Click here to find out how you can encourage this team or be a part of this outreach.
