Sudan

Pray for Africa

Prayer Points

  • For resolution of the border conflict.
  • That relations between South Sudan and Sudan will be restored.
  • For the protection of the remaining Christians in Sudan.
  • That believers will be unified despite decreasing numbers.
  • That believers  will use every opportunity to witness of the love and the truth of Jesus.
  • That God will again open the door for foreign workers to return to Sudan.

LOCATION
North-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea

POPULATION
42 166 323 (2017 est.)

RELIGION

Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

INTERNET USERS

10 886 813 (2017)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
13, 6% (2014 est.)

MISSIONARIES
Sent N/A
Received N/A

LEAST REACHED PEOPLE GROUPS
131

We Pray...

Father, we bring Sudan before you and ask for resolution of the border conflict. Lord, will you please restore relations between South Sudan and Sudan.

We pray for the protection of the remaining Christians in Sudan, Lord, that You will provide for their needs. We pray for the Church of Sudan, that believers will be unified and find support and fellowship despite decreasing numbers. We also pray that believers will stay faithful in the face of increased pressure and that they would use every opportunity to witness of the love and the truth of Jesus.

We pray, Lord, that You will again open the door for foreign workers to return to Sudan. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

State of the Church

Before the secession, the Sudanese Church in northern regions of Sudan consisted mostly of refugees from the south. Under the Muslim government, persecution of Christians existed for more than 60 years, becoming more intense since 1985. Deliberate attempts to eliminate a viable Christian presence in the north were extreme and included the bombing of Sunday church services, destruction of church buildings, hospitals, schools, mission bases, Christian villages, massacres and mutilation, and murder of pastors and leaders.

Since the end of 2012, there has been a deliberate attempt by the Sudanese government to rid the north of any Christian presence. Foreign workers have been expelled, Christian schools and ministries have been shut down, and extreme oppression has set in. Local churches have started moving underground. In light of this, the northern Sudanese Church is at a tipping point, knowing that their continued existence would be likely to bring increased persecution for all those who choose to stay.

Overview

Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the second half of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in the northern Muslim Arabs’ economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983.

The second war (and its famine-related effects) resulted in more than four million people displaced and between two and four million deaths over a period of two decades peace talks gained momentum in 2002 and 2004, with several agreements being signed. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths, drawing much international attention and activism. US Secretary of State Colin Powell declared the existence of genocide in the region, calling it the “worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century”.

The final peace agreement between north and south, signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebel forces autonomy for six years, leading up to the referendum for independence for South Sudan, granted in July 2011. Since southern independence, Sudan has still been combating southern rebel troops in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

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