Update: Christian school reopens amidst growing persecution


Pray for the protection of student and staff in Sudanese schools.

Amid threats of further losses, classes recently resumed at a Bible school and church compound in Khartoum, Sudan, that Muslim extremists set ablaze in April.

On April 21, Sudanese Muslims set Gerif West Bible School on fire -- a fire that not only obliterated school walls, but also destroyed cartons of Bibles and school textbooks (for more information, please click here). While students and administrators have yet to fully recover their losses from the attack, classes resumed on October 15.

However, Muslims are continuing to target the believers by attempting to take school land and by broadcasting anti-Christian messages from a nearby mosque loudspeaker. Muslim leaders have been asserting through the mosque loudspeaker that Christian institutions should not be permitted in Sudan, as the country should be a "purely Islamic state" since the secession of South Sudan on July 9, 2011.

Thank the Lord for the reopening of Gerif West Bible School! Pray that the Lord will protect the students and staff. Pray that the Holy Spirit will be at work in the hearts and minds of those opposed to Christianity in Sudan. Pray that Sudanese believers will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:43-48).

For more information about Sudan's persecuted Church, please visit the Sudan Country Report.

  • Country Information

    Population
    49,197,555 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Sudanese Arab (70), Fur, Beja, Nuba and Fallata (30)

    Religion
    Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

    Leader
    President (to be determined)
    Transitional military leadership in place

    Government type
    Presidential republic

    Legal system
    Mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Sudan

    Pray that Christians throughout Sudan will continue to entrust themselves to Christ and preach the Gospel boldly, knowing Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth (2 Timothy 1:7-12, Revelation 1:5).

    Pray also that peace, justice and religious freedom may be firmly established.

Sudan News

  • Church Building Destroyed While Authorities Watch
    A pile of rubble - corregated metal, wood, and various other objects - is heaped where a building once stood.
    A demolished Pentecostal church building in Khartoum.
    Photo: CSW

    On July 8th, approximately 30 individuals equipped with heavy machinery demolished a Pentecostal church in the El Haj Yousif area of Khartoum as police officers and military personnel looked on without intervening. By the time the demolition was finished, the worship hall – which had been constructed in the early 1990s – was reduced to rubble, along with the church's administrative offices, guest house, and other adjoining buildings.

  • Church Leaders Face Violence from Multiple Sides
    A large church with several spires.
    A church in Sudan.
    Photo: Flickr / David Stanley (cc)

    The bishop of the El-Obeid diocese in Sudan recently suffered a harrowing ordeal at the hands of both members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and those of the opposing rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On December 1st, Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali reported that he was travelling with a deacon named Joseph. The ministry team had just arrived in El-Obeid when they were suddenly stopped and harassed by the SAF. The troops seized the small sum of money in U.S. dollars that the bishop was carrying, claiming that it was forbidden currency. During the robbery, the soldiers also physically harmed the two men.

  • Displaced Christians Driven From Their Homes
    A large group of people are gathered around a small mosque.
    A group of people in Sudan.
    Photo: Wikipedia / Nina R (cc)

    Residents of the Al-Makniya area of Sudan's River Nile state drove 34 displaced Christians from their homes on October 19th. Those responsible for the displacement explained that they did not want any Christians nor black people in the area.

  • Military Officers Arrest Christian Refugees
    A group of men are standing together. They appear to be singing.
    Photo: VOMC
     

    Amid the ongoing civil war in Sudan, a group of over 100 Sudanese men, women and children travelled to the city of Shendi on the banks of the Nile River in search of refuge from the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group, RSF. There, the refugees – most of whom are members of the Sudanese Church of Christ – sought shelter in an affiliated church building.