We looked at the prison story yesterday, and today, we’re going to look at what happened next with the two villages at war.

Partners in Compassionate Care (PCC) works with Set Free Ministries in South Sudan to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the people in that area.

Stuart Bowman of PCC says, “Back in the prison, we were encouraged to go to the warring tribes that had just gotten in a fight and had been killing each other. And so, we decided to go.”

The Gospel challenges violence

The two villages were in a heated dispute that had escalated into murder on both sides. Unfortunately, South Sudan is no stranger to these types of disputes.

“Both of those villages were fighting against each other. And that’s where this young man in prison had fought against his relatives and had killed some of his relatives in fighting. And they were fighting over a name … that a particular area of the village was named after,” Bowman explains.

(Photo and header photo courtesy of Stuart Bowman)

And so, they listened to this man’s request and visited the two warring villages. Just like in the prison, they shared the JESUS Film using the solar-powered video projector from Project World Renew.

“There were about 700 people at that showing in that village and we sat down and we talked to them afterward, after showing the film. And after showing that, we talked to them about what it looks like to love your neighbor as yourself, and how Jesus said that we can’t only love those who love us, we have to pray for those who persecute us.”

They encouraged the villagers to model their lives after Christ — a revolutionary concept for an area so plagued by tribal violence. But it resonated.

“The word from the chief and from everyone there that got up and spoke afterward — they said, ‘We believe that God has sent you to us because he wants us to turn from our sins and turn to him and confess our sins and to give our lives to him.’ And so, out of those 700 in the morning, we had about 220 and all of them got down on their knees and accepted Christ.”

In the second village, there was a similar response and about 250 people made a commitment to Christ.

Bowman says he was struck by one woman’s story from that village who was overjoyed at the message she had just heard. You see, she had recently just barely escaped death.

“They had dug a grave for her and buried her, and she actually woke up out of the grave. And she just broke out in tears and she just said, ‘I am so thankful, after seeing this film. I know how much Jesus loves me. I know how much he cares for me.’”

This revolutionary message of forgiveness, the Gospel, had a big impact on both villages as they consider how to deal with their disagreements.

Amazingly, Bowman says, “Now both communities are actually in peace talks, trying to work out the situation. And both chiefs from both parties are trying to work on bringing peace to that region.”

The Gospel challenges social norms

The Body of Christ comes from all different backgrounds and cultures. But sometimes, something that is culturally acceptable is not actually biblical. In other words, Bowman says, “You can’t hide behind your culture and say it’s my culture if it’s sin. Sin is sin.”

This came up when they visited another village — this one near a PCC satellite clinic. Once again, they shared the JESUS Film one evening. The next morning, they sat down to talk about the Bible and to just have some honest conversations. During that time, Bowman became aware of a serious issue that had become normalized in the area.

(Photo courtesy of Stuart Bowman)

Bowman says, “I had heard that many of the men have a tendency to beat their wives when they get upset. And, we talked about the need for them to understand that [the Bible] says if you … beat your wives, your prayers won’t be answered. You’re to love your wife as Christ loved the Church and lay down your life for her.” (1 Peter 3:7 and Ephesians 5:25)

They were able to have a good discussion about this issue. What happened after these Bible studies gave Bowman goosebumps.

“It ended really well after giving the message… We had several there accept Christ… And then afterward everyone faced their own direction, and it was the neatest thing. Everybody faced their own direction to where their houses were, and they began to sing, and they began to pray, and they began to bless the land, asking God to come back and to restore their land, to protect them from the adversary, and to drive out the wickedness in their land. So, to see them really repent, the whole city, and to pray and to dedicate their land to God was amazing.”

As with the prisoners, PCC left behind strategically-distributed audio Bibles so these people can continue to study the Word, build Bible study groups, and be discipled.

Will you ask God to guide these new believers as they counter harmful societal norms? Ask God to bring lasting peace between the two villages, and that the Church would grow there. Pray for the husbands in this final village to value their wives and to love them.

To learn more about PCC, click here.

For Set Free ministries, click here.

Tomorrow, we’ll share what happened when the team visited a leprosy colony in South Sudan. Click here for that story. 

This was Bowman’s first time traveling to South Sudan without his father. Bowman says he feels God calling him personally to serve in South Sudan. Part of this call led him to visit the prison during this trip.

“I got there and first impressions—there’s a barbwire fence, obviously, just similar to what we have here in America. But you know, they have a pump for their water. And, it’s definitely rustic. It’s not quite the same as what you’d almost envision here in America.”

Using the video projectors from Set Free Ministries, the team set up the JESUS Film in a small room filled up with about 90 people.

(Photo and header photo courtesy of Stuart Bowman)

Throughout the showing, some of the men had to leave the room from time to time, but as soon as their other task was finished they would come straight back to finish watching the movie. You see, they were hearing a message of forgiveness that, for many of them, was opposite of how their culture encouraged them to live their lives.

After the showing, the men were asked if they wanted to respond to the Gospel message and give their lives to Christ.

Bowman says, “And 85 of them raised their hands to accept Christ and to turn from their sins and we asked if anybody needed to have prayer to come down afterwards.

“Well they came down, and I remember this one man, he came down and he said ‘I renounce my sin before the Lord for I shed the blood of my relatives. I killed them in war and in fighting.’”

The man asked the PCC team to pray for his people—those who were imprisoned along with him, and those in the villages. He told them to go visit the two warring villages and share the same message these prisoners had just heard. He said they must tell the villages to ask for forgiveness and to stop fighting. And, he asked them to pass along the message that he and the others there were sorry for their actions.

You see, for this man who came forward, the Gospel message was absolute freedom.

(Photo courtesy of Stuart Bowman)

Bowman says, “He continued to let me know that he had had demons and he had been tormented by the fact that he had shed blood. And so, we were blessed to have the opportunity to pray with him, and we stopped back later and he no longer was having these dreams and wasn’t tormented and [he was] getting involved with the Bible studies there.”

Whenever PCC and Set Free Ministries share the JESUS Film, they follow it up by handing out audio Bibles called Treasures so that Bible studies can be started.

Bowman explains, “If you don’t disciple them, out of a hundred, you’ll have two in six months. But with every Bible study that you start with these talking Bibles in their own language, instead of two, you’ll have about 1,600 people at the end of six months.”

In our next story from Set Free and PCC, we’re going to visit the two villages that the prisoner wanted so badly to hear the Gospel. To read that story, click here.

Warriors Set Free of Set Free Ministries focuses on counseling veterans dealing with emotional troubles because of combat-based trauma. They do this with a biblical-focus and understanding of spiritual warfare. They have a lot of experience dealing with issues like PTSD, guilt, depression, and more. But they want to also help first responders who deal with many of these same things.

(Logo courtesy Warriors Set Free)

That’s why, next month, Warriors Set Free is teaming up with Sheepdog Seminars to provide a seminar for first responders, veterans, their families, and anyone else interested in helping to bring healing to those whose job it is or has been to protect us.

Sheepdog Seminars is an organization primarily focused on church security training. A while back, Steve Prince of Warriors Set Free attended one of their security seminars. Leading the seminar was retired Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman, someone Prince had met previously during his military career.

Prince says, “I told them what we were doing to help veterans and they were excited—they made an announcement right there and then that they wanted to partner up with us.”

Sheepdog Seminars are for people who feel drawn to protect others. Prince explains, “The sheepdog mentality covers military, law enforcement, first responders, firefighters, veterans, people who carry concealed weapons.”

And while these seminars are very practical, Grossman has also touched upon the emotional and mental trials common to first responders through a couple of his books, and so he is well versed in some practical strategies to meet those challenges head-on.

Together, the groups are putting on the very first “Sheepdog Spirit Seminar” on April 28 in West Michigan to address topics like suicide prevention, depression, addiction, and more.

What to expect

Prince says, “We’re going to talk about the best tools—both practical that anybody can use as well as the spiritual aspect of using faith and using Scripture and forgiveness and confiding truth to dispel lies to help process those kinds of events.”

He gives an example of what kind of event might trouble someone long after it happens and what it means to combat these struggles biblically.

“One of the vets that we worked with, they were on a mission. And they were supposed to clear the road to the end of the road, and they could see the end of the road, but they didn’t walk to the end of the road. And my guy told his leadership, ‘Hey, we need to walk to the end of the road.’

“So they got back out of their vehicles, walked to the end of the road, and one of the guys hit an explosive and died. So, my guy blames himself over and over and over again.”

Many first responders, as well as veterans, deal with heavy burdens like this. They can be told over and over again that it’s not their fault, but giving up that guilt is not that easy. How can they be set free?

Prince says there are two principles to consider: “One is, even if you did something wrong– which this guy didn’t do anything wrong– you can be forgiven for everything. The other is God’s ultimate sovereignty of what was supposed to happen that day, happened that day. And God doesn’t have a ‘plan b.’ Even when trauma happens to us, God’s got a greater purpose for why those things happen.”

This hearkens to the biblical principle that God uses tragedy and trials for good. But the other side of what Set Free Ministries and Warriors Set Free does is to help their counselees recognize that there is someone intending to use these tragedies for evil.

“These guys carry the pain. And they think it’s their fault even though it’s not. And they’re being tormented by the enemy mentally and spiritually. And if they don’t know how to fight then they’re going to lose the fight.”

These are the type of spiritual topics Warriors Set Free will be talking about. Sheepdog Seminars’ Grossmen will be focusing on some more practical techniques.

Prince says, “He actually studied warfare, police shootings—what happens to your body. In ‘On Combat’ he’s got a chapter called ‘The Price of Combat.’ And he talks about the aftermath and how to practically evaluate and deal with what went down. And he talks in great depth about debriefing and having a meeting and sitting down and hearing everybody’s perspective about what happened. And you’re actually seeking truth.”

This technique is important, Prince says, because often after something bad happens, our recollection of an even is skewed or incorrect. By hearing several viewpoints, people are able to come to a better understanding of what really took place.

Goal of “Sheepdog Spirit Seminar”

Overall, Prince says, “It’s all about helping people and helping that specific population deal with the trauma of what they’ve been through. And with my military experience, I understand that really well.

“But from a law enforcement aspect—I mean, think in your own life about the times you’ve had interactions with police and they’re all bad days. They’re some of your worst days. And for those police officers, that’s every day. That’s every hour. That’s especially for out on the road. It’s bad event, after bad event, after bad event. And you can’t carry that without it affecting you spiritually.

“And so, locally, we want the West Michigan area to know that we’re available to help them deal with whatever they’re carrying.”

And in the future, Prince says they hope this will turn into another branch of ministry made more readily available around the nation.

(Photo courtesy of Thomas Hawk via Flickr)

“Lt. Colonel Grossmen’s main mission from his life has been … about preparing people before they go into the fight. And after the fight is just as important to be able to not become a casualty after the trauma,” Prince says.

And while this is targeted directly at the “sheepdog” persons, everyone is invited to attend this seminar.

“If you’re a family member or you’re a best friend, or you’re like ‘Hey, I don’t understand my uncle because he went through Vietnam and he won’t talk to me,’ you’ll learn something that day to be able to help to bridge the gap.”

Even if you’re not intending to go to this seminar, will you pray? Ask God to bring the right people to this seminar, and that the attendees will be blessed in a huge way. Pray for the Gospel to have an impact on those who attend who don’t know Jesus. For more information on Warriors Set Free and Set Free Ministries, click here.

This seminar will be held in Byron Center, Michigan. Find the event details here.