Sudan (MNN/GRA) — War. Displacement. Disease. These three words describe much of what the people of Sudan and South Sudan are facing today.

Drought makes dire conditions even worse, pushing Sudan closer to a fourth word: famine. According to data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, at least 14 areas in the war-torn nation are edging perilously closer to famine.

Meanwhile, funding cuts to international aid groups mean there’s less help to go around. Unless funding needs are met, the report warns, “catastrophic food insecurity, acute malnutrition, and excess mortality will likely intensify, placing countless lives at risk.”

John*, a Gospel worker whose ministry serves Sudanese refugees, says suffering compounds daily in the region.

(Representative AI photo created with ChatGPT)

“There are so many things that, as they happen, millions of people are going to die from conflict [or] starvation,” he says.

“There are now 7.8 million South Sudanese who are facing acute hunger. There are more than that many in Sudan. 3,000 refugees are coming across the border into South Sudan every week.”

A mission school with a growing reach

God has placed the ministry John represents among displaced Sudanese scattered throughout the region. Its school of mission equips Muslim-background believers to offer practical compassion and share the hope of Jesus with people facing indescribable loss.

“Three years ago, we had a number of graduates from 60 tribes. We now have 350 graduates from 90 tribes, unreached people groups, in refugee camps,” John says.

Based in Juba, South Sudan, the school averages 50 graduates a year. These believers are often frontier Gospel workers, carrying the Good News to their people for the very first time.

“There are 100 converts from Islam that are waiting to come to the school; they are the first believers from their tribes,” John says.

Find tangible ways to support the ministry here.

Gospel workers persevere through danger

The work isn’t easy or safe. Yet the Lord always provides because He loves Sudanese Muslims, and He wants them to be saved.

“This year, we’ve had our leaders in these refugee camps shot. They’re threatened; everything they own [has been] looted,” John says.

Some leaders have even been falsely accused and thrown in jail, he adds. “But in that reality, there is still a greater freedom for people to think and to begin to question Islam. And, in that context, the Gospel is being shared person to person.”

Pray for food and relief to reach families facing hunger. Ask God to protect Gospel workers and provide the resources needed to train more believers. Pray that Sudanese refugees will find hope in Christ.

 

*Pseudonym

Header image is an AI-generated photo illustration of Sudanese refugees receiving aid and studying Scripture in a camp.