Three years later, Sudan’s leadership remains in flux as the civil war rages on, but one constant remains: Islam is the national religion. Persecution continues as Islamists have targeted and killed Christians and attacked churches.

In refugee camps in countries surrounding Sudan, believers can share the Gospel without fear of the government.

John of Greater Reach Alliance adds, “We have (Bible) translation in 13 unreached people group languages, and each one is led by a graduate from our school of mission.”

Romans 8:28

Problems arise from time to time. “The reality is that Muslims are refugees. They’re fleeing the same war that Christians flee,” John says.

Sudanese refugees who have fled the conflict in Sudan register for food aid in neighboring Chad.
(Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

“They’ve never been in a situation where Islam didn’t dominate and control everything, and so they try to recreate that dominance of Islam in the refugee camps.”

Yet the Lord works every hardship to the good of those who follow Him. John says, “In one camp, where [we planted a church], they shot one of our leaders. The community itself, mostly Muslims, said to the violent Muslims, ‘No more, no more!’”

When the time came to elect a new Community Leader, Muslims chose the church’s pastor.

“They said, ‘We want you because you’re fair and because you’ve brought people who have loved us,’” John says.

Attracted by the love of Christ, Muslims who show interest in the Bible begin studies with Gospel workers trained by GRA. Scriptures translated into minority languages by church-centric Bible translators make this possible.

Remaining work

Sudan has over 100 languages, with Sudanese Arabic dominating nationally but a wide mix of indigenous languages spoken locally. With the help of unfoldingWord, GRA translation teams have completed Open Bible Stories in 15 languages.

(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord)

The New Testament in Sudanese Arabic has been completed, and the Old Testament will be near completion this year. GRA translators will finish the Masalit New Testament early next year.

Pray for wisdom as believers live out the Gospel in refugee camps.

“We have 106 translators. They’re all from a Muslim background. They are living out that biblical worldview in the context of removing the chains of Islam,” John says.

Header image depicts Sudanese refugees. Photo courtesy DFID – UK Department for International Development, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

“Electricity, water, sewage, roads, everything is affected right now, with extra harm caused by this recent war and having 20 percent of our population forced to find a place of refuge overnight,” Melki says.

Life is “becoming very, very difficult.”

Refugee returns

Lebanon has the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, with roughly one-quarter to one-third of its population being made up of refugees. Most are Syrian; others include Palestinians, Iraqis, and Sudanese.

(Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

“Lebanon cannot afford to host such a large refugee population and care for its own people in great need,” Melki says.

“As Christians, we cannot prefer a people group over others, and that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is right now, Lebanon as a nation and the Lebanese as a community have so much pressure that they’re finding it very difficult to care for refugees.”

Over 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the war began. While 95 percent are Syrian refugees, the rest are Lebanese people looking for stability.

“Whether from Syria, Palestine, or Iraq, a large return of individuals to their countries will definitely lift some economic [and] socio-political strains on our society,” Melki says.

Following Christ’s example, Heart for Lebanon cares for those who remain, whether refugee or national. Believers’ unbiased attention often leads to Gospel opportunities.

“Desperate people take desperate measures,” Melki says.

“There is a vacuum in their life. It can either be filled by people who give them food to control and indoctrinate them, or it’s our opportunity to come alongside and lead them out of despair into hope in Christ alone.”

Relational care

Heart for Lebanon’s threefold approach is holistic, meeting the felt needs of every man, woman, and child. Here’s how you can help.

“First, we provide the basic essentials for survival: food and hygiene, blankets, mattresses, warm clothing, some medicine when available. It’s rainy season in Lebanon, and people on the run live with the clothes on their backs,” Melki says.

The ministry’s Hope On Wheels team helps kids forget the war raging around them.

Through our partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, we are delivering special gifts to children in the war-torn South. These “Gifts of Joy” are tangible expressions of God’s love and a reminder to these children that they are not forgotten.
(Photo, caption courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

“We go to schools that are being used as shelters for internally displaced people. We go to church parking lots, to villages, and do fun activities for children, giving them the opportunity to play in a safe environment, to laugh again,” Melki says.

Finally, a third team addresses families’ emotional and spiritual needs.

“Our relational engagement team spends long hours every day visiting, encouraging, listening to the stories of the people who are afraid, and even questioning the existence of God.”

Every touchpoint is another step toward the ministry’s goal: “To win the trust of the people we serve and to answer the Jesus question: where is Jesus? Who is Jesus? Who is the God of Christianity?” Melki says.

“I cannot tell you the joy we receive as we see people in tears, coming to faith, and the Bible studies, discipleship classes, and church attendance have increased significantly.”

Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.

At least 700 schools have been turned into shelters for people fleeing. Others take refuge in their cars on the streets at night when airstrikes happen.

Heart for Lebanon added 1,500 families to its care operations when the conflict began three weeks ago. “These are vulnerable Lebanese families that woke up one day and had nothing prepared for a crisis like this,” Heart for Lebanon’s May-Lee Melki says.

“This also encompasses some refugee families who are now twice and thrice displaced, whether Kurdish or Syrian.”

Heart for Lebanon expands support

Melki says Heart for Lebanon is increasing its focus on two critical areas. One is the ministry’s support for local churches throughout the country. Heart for Lebanon partners with congregations to reach as many people as possible.

“We are increasing our support to local churches, whether it is in the form of humanitarian aid or food packages – whatever they need,” Melki says.

(Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

A second focus is the ministry’s program for young women ages 13 to 21. “They’re always the most tender demographic that gets hit by crises like this,” Melki explains.

“Our team is checking in with the girls we support, making sure they are safe and have everything they need through this crisis.”

Crises overlap

Lebanon isn’t just facing one or two crises, but many at once. Airstrikes have caused widespread destruction, including civilian casualties and damage to homes and infrastructure. There are also rising fears that the conflict could drag on or turn into a longer-term occupation, keeping families in limbo.

Finally, because Lebanon is part of a wider regional struggle involving Iran and its allies, the country has little control over what happens next.

Heart for Lebanon exists for times like these. You can help believers make Christ’s love tangible here.

“Please pray for our ability to show the Gospel in action,” Melki requests.

“This is not something that we are wired, as humans, to respond to, but it is yet another opportunity for the Kingdom to expand and for the hope of Christ to be front and center.”

Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.

“Is this the sentiment of the Lebanese people? Absolutely not. I don’t speak for the Lebanese people, but I do understand the sentiment of the Church, the ministries, and what God is doing,” Heart for Lebanon’s May-Lee Melki says.

“This is definitely not something that we pray for, ask for, or have any ties to.”

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

The Lebanese government echoed this position as it condemned Hezbollah’s actions.

“The Lebanese government is trying its best to distance itself (from Hezbollah) for the first time, which is a historical decision,” Melki says. Hezbollah has been entrenched in Lebanese politics since the early 2000s.

Thousands on the move

Meanwhile, Israeli troops advanced into southern Lebanon on Tuesday after the Lebanese army cleared the way. Fighting has uprooted at least 30,000 people since Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to strikes on Iran.

As people flee by the tens of thousands and needs skyrocket, Heart for Lebanon is responding in three locations: southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut.

Watch this emergency update from Daoud Arnaout, managing director of Heart for Lebanon.

“We are blessed to be a ministry that is strategically positioned to immediately respond to families that are fleeing those areas,” Melki says.

“This is directly impacting us. Our center in Ghazieh is very close to a lot of what is happening, but our team has been able to shift and find safe areas to operate and respond.”

How to help

You can help Heart for Lebanon meet immediate needs and share the hope of Christ with 1,500 new families here.

Pray Heart for Lebanon can continue getting supplies for its food ministry.
(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

“This is just the tip of the iceberg; just the initial response because of what transpired in the last 48 hours,” Melki says.

“These are vulnerable Lebanese families that woke up one day and had nothing prepared for a crisis like this. This also encompasses some refugee families who are now twice and thrice displaced, whether Kurdish or Syrian.”

Most importantly, pray. Ask the Lord to protect Heart for Lebanon teams as they travel in dangerous areas to bring aid to those in need. Pray for continued access to “our center in southern Lebanon, because that is the hub of our response,” Melki requests.

“Please pray for the hearts of these (1,500) families and our ability to show the Gospel in action. This is not something that we are wired as humans to respond to, but it is yet another opportunity for the Kingdom to expand and for the hope of Christ to be front and center.”

In the header image, a recent art activity at Heart for Lebanon’s children-at-risk club exposed the deep trauma experienced by Lebanon’s children. (Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

But that data only counts those registered with the UN. The real number is undoubtedly much higher — and every one of these children, women, and men needs so much more than just food and shelter. 

“They are coming just to find hope in our country, and they fear the future. So we have to give them hope and comfort,” says Marihan with Kasr El-Dobara Evangelical Church (KDEC) in Egypt. “That’s why we are expanding our ministry to reach out to them and give them hope and a future.”

School in Cairo, Egypt (Stock photo courtesy of Primrose Murahwi via Unsplash)

After two years of hard work,  KDEC is ready to open a new education center for around 80 children in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. 

“It was a long journey of success and failing and frustration,” Marihan says of the process. “It wasn’t easy at all. Sometimes we were learning new things, because it’s our first time to establish an education center for refugees.”

But God opened the way, bringing both government permission as well as a local partnering church that can legally staff the center.

The center will meet a critical need. For Palestinian refugees in Sinai, for example, Marihan says, “they cannot go anywhere else in the country, and they cannot use the local school.”

Showing the love of Christ to families opens the way to share His message. Please join in praying for the ministry of this new center to dozens of refugee families. Ask God to keep the door open for this way to serve. 

“Pray for protection — protection for the people who serve with us. And even pray for the local church there who will be responsible for the education center,” says Marihan. “Pray for the teachers. Pray for the people who will receive the message.”

Header photo courtesy of KDEC.

The UN says two-thirds of Sudan’s population will need help to survive another year. Children are disproportionately affected, with 55 percent of displaced people being under the age of 18.

Hope remains for Sudan, but not because the government says that 2026 will be a “year of peace.” Instead, a different source offers a more optimistic outlook.

“God is at work in our fallen world,” says a Gospel worker we’ll call John.

“He is not silent, not powerless. He is bringing people to Himself in the worst of times.”

Help for the hopeless

Sudanese church planters and medical teams bring donated medicines to displacement camps in Sudan and South Sudan. More about that here.

“The last bit of medicine that we had in this second shipment went to an orphanage outside of Juba,” John says.

Sudan refugees
(Representative AI photo created by ChatGPT)

More than 900 children call the facility home, and “this orphanage encapsulates what’s happening everywhere we go,” John says.

“About 15 percent of the children are suffering from what they call night blindness, and it is caused most times by an extreme deficiency of vitamin A,” he continues.

“The children were covered with sores and lesions from malnutrition and poor hygiene.”

“Critical edge of death”

Famine is widespread in Sudan as a result of the war. Children at the orphanage only get “one meal a day, and it is a small thing of beans and cornmeal. Because they’re not getting iron, there is a large, large percentage with anemia,” John says.

You can help by supporting Sudanese church planters through John’s organization.

“We’ve decided to do a four-month effort and then see what God does. So, we’re going to provide meat for those 907 children every week, and multiple vitamins for each one of them,” John says.

“We’re purchasing some of the protein meals that the UN uses to get these children under five away from that critical edge of death.”

As the children received medical care through the latest outreach, they heard about a God who loves them. Pray that these Gospel seeds will take root.

“Anyone who gets involved with the suffering of displaced people in the world is up for a great blessing,” John says.

Header and story images are representative AI photos generated by ChatGPT. 

(Photo courtesy of Erik McLean/Unsplash)

Two years of conflict shuttered most hospitals and clinics. One review found that in states affected by the war, close to 70 percent of health facilities had closed or were barely functioning. Even if a clinic exists, most Sudanese cannot safely or affordably get to it.

Earlier this year, the Lord’s provision seemed like a miracle in and of itself. “God provided medications that allowed us to do what we were capable of doing, and it was just an incredible blessing,” says a Gospel worker we’ll call John*.

“We did a pop-up clinic, we identified the needs of people, and we gave them medication.”

But the blessing didn’t stop there. Sudanese church planters working alongside the medical teams shared Christ with every patient.

“The Gospel is hope. When there is an actual connection with a person to say, ‘I have hope for you today. Would you like to hear it?’ And the answer is ‘yes, please’ – in the middle of an unchanged exterior, there is an internal rest,” John says.

“The outside things that happen to a person – peace doesn’t come from there. It comes from what happens on the inside.”

Today, those patients still have peace that surpasses understanding.

“It’s hard to calculate the responses of the people that are coming to Christ, but the absolute power of the Gospel, when it’s combined with practical, compassionate service to their needs, has been a very special thing,” John says.

Find your place in the story

Now that you know, how will you respond? Start by seeking the Lord. Then, wait for His leading. “I found there needed to be a transformation in my prayer life, from taking the list of my needs to God to be part of His plan for reaching the world,” John says.

Submission also involves asking the Lord, “Will you involve me in the Great Commission?” John adds.

“There are a lot of ways of going, and first of all, it is going there with your heart. Eventually, your other parts of your life will continue… it is a wonderful beginning of a new aspect of your faith.”

Consider partnering with John’s organization to support Sudanese church planters.

*Pseudonym

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Nappy/Unsplash.

Millions of people are homeless and cannot meet basic needs like food, water, or shelter. Rape and theft are common, doubling the trauma endured by survivors.

John, a Gospel worker focused on Sudan, says the spiritual side effects are overwhelming.

“That’s what the enemy does. He brings loss upon loss upon loss, and then fear of greater loss, deep, debilitating grief over loss, trying to bring the individual to the point where they believe all is lost,” John says.

Believers are meeting the medical needs of displaced Sudanese in refugee camps. More about that here. “It’s a shipment of medicine; we have distributed so far, 7000 pounds,” John says.

“We’re provided only with medicines, and then we, by faith, take it from there.”

A gift of any amount helps John’s organization – unnamed for security purposes – meet more needs.

Hope and help go hand-in-hand. “We do an open presentation of the Gospel, and it talks about the love of God,” John says.

“It talks about the evil in the world. It talks about what the Bible says God offers to the individual, regardless of the circumstances, and that’s the power.”

Pray for transformation as believers follow up with people in the camps.

“The clinic comes, and then it goes. But the evangelism and church planting team stays there because they are displaced.”

Ask the Lord to strengthen believers and medical teams. They expect to receive a third round of donated medicine in the coming days.

Header image is a representative photo courtesy of unfoldingWord. 

Two years of civil war have left close to 80 percent of Sudan’s health facilities useless. So-called “citizen-led clinics” are filling the void.

Sudanese church planters recently partnered with Christian doctors, nurses, and pharmacists from South Sudan to hold several citizen-led clinics in displacement camps. “They went to 12 pop-up clinics and 10 camps in four locations,” a Gospel worker we’ll call John says.

“In total, we did 104 days of clinics, and we were able to see 7,000 people. The majority of this last medical outreach was with pediatric medicines, and we’ve been able to see about 3,500 children.”

Pop-up clinics offer lifeline

It’s the latest edition of a coalition formed earlier this year between Sudanese church planters, U.S. suppliers who provide donated medications, and medical professionals from South Sudan.

(Photo courtesy Joko_Narimo/Pixabay)

Including earlier dispersals, “We distributed 7,000 pounds” of donated medications, John says. “We don’t get to choose all of the medications. We get a list of what’s available, and we say, ‘Yes, we can use these things,’” he continues.

“They arrive, then they’re divided up, taken to the locations where refugees are. Working with the South Sudan Council of Churches, we were able to get the medications duty-free.”

In an email to MNN about the medical ministry, John adds:

Medical ministry among Sudanese refugees is one of the most powerful ways God’s love is made visible. In refugee camps on South Sudan’s border with Sudan, access to even basic healthcare is often limited or nonexistent. Through our partnership in Movement of Medicine, we are blessed to step into these gaps, offering not just physical healing but also dignity, comfort, and the hope of the Gospel.

A doctor dressing wounds or treating a fever may also be the one who listens, prays, and brings emotional healing to a war-torn heart. In such settings, the power of medical ministry is not merely in the medicine, but in the message that every life is valued by God. As prayers are answered through healing hands and compassionate presence, the Gospel is preached not only in words but in action.

Donate to John’s organization, unnamed for security purposes, to help cover the costs associated with outreach.

“We’re provided only with medicines. And then we, by faith, take it from there,” John says. “At times, we had to find other funding for things like bandages.”

Help and hope

As medical teams meet desperate needs with donated medicine, the church planters address spiritual needs. “Every time we have a clinic, we have an open-air presentation of the Gospel,” John says.

“We’re hearing, as a result of the clinics, about some pretty powerful (spiritual) harvests. These are all Muslims, primarily – 1,750 asked for individual trauma counseling, approximately 1,200 people put faith in Christ.”

Ask the Lord to strengthen believers and medical teams. They’ll receive a third round of donated medicine in the coming days. “Our teams have said, ‘We’re not going to take Christmas break, and we’ll be continuing,’” John says.

“‘Sudanese people need the Gospel, but they also need the encouragement that, somewhere in the world, Christians recognize what they’re suffering.’”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy Nappy/Unsplash.

“Iranian children right now are victims of their wider society and the struggles that their parents face,” says Silk. “There’s a lot of very serious economic hardship in Iran today, and that is affecting the adult population in their mental health. There are a lot of people turning to drugs and alcohol. There’s a lot of joblessness and struggling to put food on the table. So that worry and stress and struggle, of course, is going to permeate the whole household. And children are very helpless in these kinds of situations.”

The weight of these challenges increases for Christian children. In Open Doors’ World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution, Iran ranks #9.  According to Silk, Christian Iranians have needed to be even more cautious with their faith since the 12 Day War in June, which started when Israel launched targeted airstrikes in Tehran, dramatically escalating conflict within the Middle East.

“The government is really scrutinizing everything and desperately trying to weed out the Christians, and these children have been very careful at school to toe the line and keep up pretenses that they are sympathetic, at least, to the Muslim faith. So all of that carries its toll.”

And while Iranians are free to acknowledge Christmas as a “festival,” that doesn’t mean Christians are safe to celebrate the meaning behind the day.

“People can still decorate their homes and make a fuss of that time of year,” says Silk, “but as soon as you get into a truly Christian celebration of what happened 2000 years ago, then that’s all going to be kept quiet.”

She notes that Iranian children outside of Iran are mostly refugees, with their own set of challenges: “A lot of the issues they face really affect their sense of well-being, even mental health, depression, anxiety, panic attacks.” However, evangelism efforts are much less dangerous for Iranian refugees than for Christians living within Iran.

“We do a lot of that, particularly in Turkey, where we can gather other refugee Iranians who are all living a sort of bleak life at the time,” Silk says. “And so the Christian families can say our holy celebration is coming up. So it’s a great way just to gather a community, and of course, through that, then we get to bless these families, practically and spiritually, sharing truth.”

For all Iranian children—Christian or not, within Iran or in refugee regions—Transform Iran is working to share joy through Operation Christmas Joy, a six-week program where families gather and talk about Jesus and what Christmas means, culminating with a gift for each child that helps meet a practical need.

“We talk a lot about joy and peace and hope at Christmas time,” says Silk. “We thought, well, how do we share the gospel message with children and truly allow it to penetrate their lives so that it does birth joy in their hearts? We want them to be laughing again and dancing again and enjoying community.”

To learn more about partnering with Transform Iran this Christmas, visit their website.

Header photo courtesy of Transform Iran.