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.
