Hidden Faith: The Untold Story of Sudan’s Persecuted Believers
We decided to listen first.
The small plane touched down on a sunbaked dirt airstrip, its propellers kicking up red dust that hung in the air like a veil. Before the engine even cut, we saw them – a group of Sudanese pastors standing at the edge of the clearing, their dress shirts crisp despite the heat, their smiles visible even from a distance.
These were the men who had traveled for days to meet us – some from conflict zones, others from underground house churches. As we shook hands, their grip was firm, their eyes alight with a warmth that immediately erased any formality. Without ceremony, we piled into the backs of pickup trucks and set off toward the refugee camp, the pastors pointing out landmarks along the way like tour guides showing visitors their hometown.
As I stood at that makeshift pulpit, the video captured what words struggle to convey: rows of believers who had walked hours through dangerous territory for this moment. Their Bibles (those who had them) were frayed at the edges, their clothes dusty from the journey, but their stillness spoke of a hunger no war could extinguish.
After the final “Amen,” we shared a simple meal, the pastors talking between bites. One by one, they laid bare the reality of their flocks. There were many small churches, with congregations seeking to learn from God’s word. However, the pastors we spoke with felt they needed greater equipping. Many youth leaders were desperate for training but didn’t have the resources to travel far.
The needs were indeed overwhelming – biblical, logistical, existential. Yet as the afternoon light faded, something else emerged: not despair, but determination. The beginnings of a plan.The rumble of engines announced another arrival. Truck after truck rolled in, carrying pastors and their families from deep in the Nuba Mountains – some having traveled twelve hours on roads better suited for goats than vehicles. More than 150 came, all the trucks completely crammed with people and singing joyously. Their temporary homes in the IDP camps were behind them now; ahead lay three days of fellowship and teaching.
Prayer Requests from Our Brothers and Sisters from the Nuba Mountains:
- For spiritual growth – That new believers in the camps would be grounded in God’s Word.
- For the work of our hands – That the training and distribution plans we are developing with our Sudanese partners will bear much fruit for the empowerment of His people.
- For basic needs – Most IDP families lack consistent access to food, clean water, and Medicine.
- For discipleship – We heard a recurring theme: “We have converts, but need training to teach them.” May the Lord enable us to provide for this need.
Hidden Faith: The Untold Story of Sudan’s Persecuted Believers
The Land Cruiser rattled across Sudan’s cracked riverbeds, kicking up dust that clung to our clothes like the questions weighing on our team. We’d come with recorders, notebooks, and a burden—but no assumptions. The government has expelled foreign aid workers. We were travelling with trusted Sudanese ministry partners who have worked with Pastors and other leaders on the ground for many years. On this trip, we aimed to determine what the local church truly needs. Was it Bibles? Shelter? Medicines? Or something more…
We decided to listen first.
The small plane touched down on a sunbaked dirt airstrip, its propellers kicking up red dust that hung in the air like a veil. Before the engine even cut, we saw them – a group of Sudanese pastors standing at the edge of the clearing, their dress shirts crisp despite the heat, their smiles visible even from a distance.
These were the men who had traveled for days to meet us – some from conflict zones, others from underground house churches. As we shook hands, their grip was firm, their eyes alight with a warmth that immediately erased any formality. Without ceremony, we piled into the backs of pickup trucks and set off toward the refugee camp, the pastors pointing out landmarks along the way like tour guides showing visitors their hometown.
As I stood at that makeshift pulpit, the video captured what words struggle to convey: rows of believers who had walked hours through dangerous territory for this moment. Their Bibles (those who had them) were frayed at the edges, their clothes dusty from the journey, but their stillness spoke of a hunger no war could extinguish.
After the final “Amen,” we shared a simple meal, the pastors talking between bites. One by one, they laid bare the reality of their flocks. There were many small churches, with congregations seeking to learn from God’s word. However, the pastors we spoke with felt they needed greater equipping. Many youth leaders were desperate for training but didn’t have the resources to travel far.
The needs were indeed overwhelming – biblical, logistical, existential. Yet as the afternoon light faded, something else emerged: not despair, but determination. The beginnings of a plan.
The rumble of engines announced another arrival. Truck after truck rolled in, carrying pastors and their families from deep in the Nuba Mountains – some having traveled twelve hours on roads better suited for goats than vehicles. More than 150 came, all the trucks completely crammed with people and singing joyously. Their temporary homes in the IDP camps were behind them now; ahead lay three days of fellowship and teaching.
Prayer Requests from Our Brothers and Sisters from the Nuba Mountains:
For spiritual growth – That new believers in the camps would be grounded in God’s Word.
For the work of our hands – That the training and distribution plans we are developing with our Sudanese partners will bear much fruit for the empowerment of His people.
For basic needs – Most IDP families lack consistent access to food, clean water, and Medicine.
For discipleship – We heard a recurring theme: “We have converts, but need training to teach them.” May the Lord enable us to provide for this need.
Something Greater
Nepal is best known for the highest mountain peak on earth, Mount Everest at over 29,000 feet (8848.86 m). This year over 1000 people will crowd the mountain between the beginning of April and the end of May in an effort to reach the summit. It is a dangerous endeavor. Over 200 frozen bodies litter the mountain. Climbers prepare for years honing their skills on smaller mountains before they undertake Everest. The cost to try is from $40,000 to $100,000 to spend two months in below-freezing temperatures and a few brief minutes at the summit, if you are successful.
Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit first in 1953. In a Forbes interview, Hillary said, “Clients are spending a large sum of money just to trek up our route, mainly so they can go back home and boast about it more.” Climbing is a welcome industry in Nepal that attracts adventurers looking to accomplish something “greater.”
What is not particularly welcome in Nepal is a testimony of the power of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, in whose name salvation resides. Over 80% of the country is Hindu. Less than 2% is Christian.
Imagine believers gathered in a pastor’s home to pray, study, and sing. When suddenly local Hindu extremists surround the house, shouting abusively, demanding the Christians cease their worship, finally torching the home and burning it to the ground. What do you do? You move to a relative’s house where you continue to, quietly and humbly, pray, study, and sing while rebuilding the pastor’s home. You stay the course knowing that God is at work. You live daily prepared to respond to any who would ask “why?’ (1 Peter 3:15).
Christ calls us all to live as our Nepalese brothers and sisters on the frontline of Satan’s attack against His Church. Resolute. Confident in Christ. Given fully to God, all we have, all we own, all we are. Knowing we need look no further. We have found the Greatest. We boast in Christ alone.
