Emergence and Development of Baptist in South Sudan, 2001 to 2018

EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF BAPTIST WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN, 2001 TO 2018. An Essay Submitted to the Faculty of Baptist College of Theology, Lagos In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree, Bachelors of Theology BY SWORO Elikana MATRIC NO. LA/2016/052/1199 June 2020 i Approval Sheet This Degree Essay titled: “Emergence and Development of Baptist Work in South Sudan, 2001 to 2018” Was read and approved by: ----------------------------------------- ------------------------------------ Supervisor Date __________________________ ___________________________ Internal Reader Date __________________________ ____________________________ Moderator Date ii Dedication This work is dedicated to the Glory of God who called and sustained me all through this course of study and to the Baptist Convention of South Sudan. iii Acknowledgment I sincerely acknowledge the Almighty God, for His grace, protection, and aid during this tremendous and adventurous period of theological training at Baptist College of Theology, Lagos. To Him alone be the Glory. I sincerely appreciate the leadership of the Baptist Convention of South Sudan, both former and current leadership for supplying necessary information, I further appreciate my church, Glory Baptist Church, Juba for always praying for me, and Victory Baptist Church, Ajah, Lagos for the partnership that enables me to study in this wonderful country. I cannot neglect the tremendous support given to me by the College Board for offering me a tuition-free sponsorship and the entire faculty of the college for encouraging me all through, May God Bless you all. I would like to appreciate my project supervisor for being friendly and for the thorough work and guidance while writing this project. I also appreciate my faculty advisor(s) for always encouraging me and praying for me, the Rector of the College for standing with me whenever I needed support, and the Registrar who always ensure I get the best. I can’t thank you all enough, I pray the good Lord who has called us to this great commission will continue to accomplish his purpose and plans for our lives in Jesus name, Amen. Thank you all. iv ABSTRACT This research titled “Emergence and Development of Baptist Work in South Sudan from 2001 to 2018” aimed at tracing the work of Baptist in South Sudan from inception to 2018. The scarcity or unavailability of records on the work of Baptist motivated the researcher to embark on this research. The purpose of the research is to document all or most facts or findings on the spread of Baptist work in South Sudan, its impact on the society, challenges confronting or hindering the spread and viable solutions to move forward. The researcher employed a historical method of research. Christianity came to Sudan as early as the 1st century. The influence of Islam force Christianity to extinction until the 19th century when the European missionaries came to Africa again and start evangelising the Gospel. While Baptist as a denomination started in 1609 AD by the formation of First Baptist Church in Amsterdam, Holland and in South Sudan it began in 2001 with the planting of Elegu Baptist Church (now Faith Baptist Church) in Nimule with the founding leaders attributed to David Kaya and Edward Dima and others who also brought Baptist to other parts of the country such as Ding Gatluak, Elijah Riak, John Manychol, and Matthew Dhol to Greater Upper Nile and Ellie Sworo to Juba, the capital city, and Northern Bahr El Ghazal states. first convention of Baptist in South Sudan was formed in 2007 in Rumbek called “Baptist Church of Sudan” with Elijah Riak elected as the President and in November 2011 at First Baptist Church, Kajokeji, at the convention business meeting, the name was changed to “Baptist Convention of South Sudan” with Edward Dima chosen as the President. Baptists since inception in South Sudan have thrived with the support of various partners who have worked in hand with the Baptist Convention leaders and her work has impacted many lives spiritually, socially, economically and educationally. However, much need to be done for the Baptist Convention of South Sudan to move forward and become functional as an organisation and among the needs to move forward include: - putting a structure in place, focused leadership, headquarters and infrastructures, cooperative programme, theological institutions need to be set up for training of quality leaders, and also Baptists around the world need to partner with South Sudan to build the Baptist convention. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Approval Sheet Dedication Acknowledgment Abstract Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study Research Methodology Scope of the Study Definition of Terms CHAPTER TWO: CHRISTIAN MISSION AND BAPTIST WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN Christian Mission in Africa Christian Mission in South Sudan An Overview of the Beginning of Baptist Denomination Beginning of Baptist Work in South Sudan CHAPTER THREE: SPREAD OF BAPTIST WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN Baptist Work in the Greater Equatoria Region Baptist Work in Greater Upper Nile Region vi Baptist Work in the Greater Bahr El Ghazal Region Baptist Work in Northern Uganda and Other Refugee Camps Partners of Baptist Work in South Sudan CHAPTER FOUR: IMPACT AND CHALLENGES OF BAPTIST WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN Spiritual Impact Education Impact Economic Impact Social Impact The Challenges of the Work CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION Summary Conclusion Recommendation BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES BIOGRAPHICAL DATA vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of the Study South Sudan, officially known as the Republic of South Sudan is a landlocked country in East-Central Africa.1 It gained independence from the Republic of Sudan in 2011, making it the most recent sovereign state with widespread recognition. Its capital and largest city is Juba. South Sudan is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest and the Central African Republic to the west. (See map in Appendix I) The task this research work seeks to achieve is to document the History and further development of Baptist work in South Sudan from its onset to 2018.Though Baptist work had started in South Sudan before it gained its independence in 2011, the Southern Sudan region under the former Republic of Sudan government was having an autonomous administration after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005. This gave an opportunity for churches to operate freely in the Southern region and Baptist also took the opportunity. The mandate of Christ to the Church as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 28: 18 – 20 is, “Therefore go and make disciple of all nations…”2 This mandate extends to all Christian denominations in this generation, Baptist inclusive. For almost nineteen centuries, Baptist has been left out of the scene in reaching out to 1 "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Accessed on 14th June, 2 Matt. 28:19 (NIV) 2019. 8 the lost souls in South Sudan formerly known as Sudan before its independence from Sudan in 2011.3 History is the record of events that happened in the past and relating the events with the present in order to make preparation for the future. Certain events and activities that are sources of inspiration to people in society are always documented. The advent of Christianity in any society is one of these events. A careful investigation and documentation of its origin and advances is a blessing to history and this necessitated the studying of Baptist work in South Sudan. Statement of the Problem There is no doubt that Baptist work started quietly, earlier than many people thought in the 1990s and has invested significantly in the people of South Sudan. Owing to the fact that there are some Baptist primary schools, Secondary schools, and other aspects of the ministry such as clean water and health ministry, microfinance that empowers beyond her members; people with business skills, etc. In fact, Baptists provide quality education for hundreds of people and in the recent past had become the most preferred educational institution in Kajokeji specifically. However, when it comes to records of events concerning the activities of Baptists in South Sudan, such records are scarce, not even in any soft copy or hard copy. The scarcity of written documents on the work of Baptist in South Sudan has made it very difficult for researchers, mission agencies, partners and the church herself to have records to refer to as evidence of the progress of Baptist work in the country and to teach the younger generation. The Baptist Convention of South Sudan (BCOSS), from its formation in 2007 in Rumbek do not have good administration structures in place, no local funding (corporative programme) to the Convention, the 3 David Kaya, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministries, 16th June, 2017. 9 President serving voluntarily with no pay, no secretariat that can serve as office for the President and other officers of the Convention. Also, the Convention does not have any property of her own. Therefore, the following statements will serve as sub-problems around which the study will be formulated and serve as a guide to the discussion in later chapters: 1. The year in which Baptist work started in South Sudan. 2. The founding leaders of Baptist work in South Sudan. 3. The factors that hindered the growth of Baptist work in South Sudan. 4. Various ways in which the Baptist work has impacted the people of South Sudan. 5. Recommendations and possible ways available for the Baptist work in South Sudan to progress. Purpose of the Study Record keeping is an important aspect of the preservation of history. Thus, the major purpose of this study is to investigate and record the Emergence and Development of Baptist Work in South Sudan from inception to 2018. The project is not only concerned with the selection, arrangement and sequence of historical facts but it will also seek to achieve the following objectives: 1. Document the coming into existence of Baptists in South Sudan, Identifying the founding leaders to appreciate their labour. 2. Identify how the Baptist was able to spread into other parts of the country, the partners and individuals that God used to spread his work. 3. Highlight the impact of the Baptist work in the society across the nation 10 4. Bring to light some of the problems affecting the growth of the Baptist church in the country. 5. Recommend ways and structures that could be adopted as a way forward for the Baptist work to be done well. Significance of the Study This research will provide a handy document with the full history of the Baptist work in South Sudan. And could be useful for the training of the Baptist church leaders in her Seminary/ Seminaries in years to come. It will also be useful to students of Church History in other theological institutions around the world to understand how Baptist denomination came to South Sudan. This work will further provide strategic ways of moving the work of Baptist denomination forward in South Sudan and suggest appropriate leadership structure to help improve her administration. Scope of the Study This research focused on the history of the Baptist work in South Sudan from when it began to 2018. It further identified the founders of the Baptist work in South Sudan. The research is subdivided into different regions of South Sudan, i.e. Equatorial region, Bahr El Ghazal region, Upper Nile region, etc. The study also focuses on the borders of South Sudan, refugee camps in the neighbouring countries where South Sudanese are settled due to the conflict in the country and where the Baptist Convention of South Sudan (BCOSS) established churches. Research Methodology The research design employed in this work is historical research. Bibliographical search is also employed using historical books, mission and 11 evangelism books, journals, etc. The most important source for this research was interviews, being the first research on the history of Baptist work in South Sudan and there are few written materials on the work. Interviews of some selected pioneer leaders also formed the most relevant source. Definition of Terms There are few terms that the researcher considers important to this research and they are defined below. Emergence: - The term emergence is from the root word “emerge” which means to come out to existence or to appear.4 Therefore emergence is the act of emerging, coming forth to existence or appearing. This term to the researcher is specifically used in this context to refer to the coming into existence of the Baptist denomination in the soil of South Sudan. Development: - Development is a process of becoming mature.5 In other words, it is a process of an organization gradually becoming bigger, better, stronger or the expansion of an organization or church in all ramifications of its work. Development in this context is used to mean the progression, expansion, spread, establishment of the Baptist work in South Sudan. Baptist: Adeloye in his book titled “Baptist in Focus” stated that Baptists are a people who profess a living faith – a faith that is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ6 and His word as written in the scriptures. And according to the New Encyclopaedia, Baptist is a member of a group of Protestant Christians who share the basic belief of most Protestants but who hold as an article of faith that only believers 4 “Library” The New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language (New York: Lexican International Publication, n.d), 308. 5 Merriam-Webster Dictionary Andriod App. Accessed 23rd May, 2020. 6 Gabriel O. Adeloye, Baptist in Focus (Lagos: The Nehemiahs Rebuilding Ministry, 2009), 13. 12 should be baptised and that it must be done by immersion. The Baptists do not constitute a single church or denomination structure, but most of them adhere to a congregational form of church government.7In Baptist denomination, baptism is a prerequisite for church membership. In South Sudan, there are more than just one type of Baptist churches such as Independent Baptist Church, the Baptist Convention of South Sudan (BCOSS), Evangelical Baptist Church, and so on. But the main concern of this research work is the BCOSS, many Baptist members in South Sudan identifies with the BCOSS. Adeloye in his Ph.D. dissertation quoting Osadolor Imasogie said the Baptist denomination was founded on the New Testament teachings of the Bible and originated with certain English separatists who were congregational polity and who had come to consider believer’s baptism alone as valid according to the scriptures.8 The name was not chosen by the group but was applied to them by their opponents. The group preferred to be addressed as Brethren or people of the way but because of the popularity of the name ‘Baptist’ given to them by their mockers, they finally adopted Baptist as a name. The name Baptist seems to have been first publicly used in 1654 when William Britten published the moderate Baptist.9 Church: - Understanding the meaning of the term Church firstly can be traced to the Greek word ekklesia meaning the ‘called-out ones.’ This denotes a local assembly of people who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.10 The church, 7 The New Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol. 1. (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1990), 878. Gabriel O. Adeloye, History of Baptist Work in Osogbo. PhD Diss. Ajayi Crowder University, Abeokuta, 2017. 9 Henry C. Vedder, Short History of the Baptists (Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication society, 1907), p. 3. 10 W. A. Elwell, ‘Church’ Baker Theological Dictionary, (4th edition, 1996),p. 95. 8 13 according to Baptist faith is a body of baptized believers in Christ who have come together with one common goal to worship, fellowship and serve God through Christ. The local church is the first unit in Baptist life and there are two types of churches – the organized churches and the unorganized churches. An organized church would normally have trained and at least 20 baptized members in good standing. Unorganized churches are mostly preaching stations and are always under the leadership of the mother churches until they become full-fledged autonomous churches.11 In the Baptist denomination, an organized church is a full-fledged church – can stand on her own without external support (this is a self-governing church) and it is the focus of this research. 11 S. F. Davis, Association Guide Book, (Nashville, Convention Press, 1959), p. 27. 14 CHAPTER TWO CHRISTIAN MISSIONS AND BAPTIST WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN This chapter seeks to discuss Christian missions in Africa and narrow it down to Sudan (South Sudan inclusive), the beginning of Baptist work in South Sudan and the formation of her first body of leadership. Christian Missions in Africa The history of Christianity in Africa probably began during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, two thousand years ago. The New Testament of the Bible mentions several events in which Africans were witnesses to the life of Christ and the ministry of the apostles. It is possible that the history of Christianity in Africa began when these Africans shared what they witnessed with other Africans.12 The Gospel of Luke records that a Cyrenian was compelled to bear the cross for Jesus, prior to Jesus' crucifixion. Cyrene was in North Africa. The book of Acts records that, on the day of Pentecost, Egyptians and Cyrenians were among the crowd, and heard the apostles proclaim the Gospel in their native languages. Acts also record the conversion of an influential Ethiopian eunuch to Christianity. Finally, the book of Acts records that following the apostles' missionary journey to Cyprus, new converts were won. These converts who hail from Cyprus and Cyrene preached the Gospel to the Greeks in Antioch.13 The spread of Christianity throughout Egypt and Northern Africa, during the first five centuries, was rapid and intense, despite the prevalence of false “All About Religion” https://www.allaboutreligion.org/history-of-christianity-in-africafaq.htm Accessed on 12th September, 2019. 13 Ibid. 12 15 teachings, persecutions, and martyrdom. Some religious scholars believe that Christianity came to Africans by way of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Reportedly, the city boasted a very large Jewish community, which was near Jerusalem. It is believed that African Jews in Alexandria were converted from Judaism to Christianity following a Jewish revolt in A.D. 115.14 North African countries were the first to receive and embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Sudan (Southern inclusive) was part of those countries. The early church in North Africa went through severe persecutions from AD 64 through AD 311. In response, the church established the Catechetical Schools of Alexandria, among other similar schools of Christian instruction. Many significant leaders of the faith emerged from the early African church. Persecutions in Egypt resulted in the dispersion of Christians to the innermost regions of Egypt. Egyptian churches spread the Gospel in the Coptic (Egyptian) language and planted churches throughout the interior of Egypt. However, Christianity, in the region, was weakened by theological and doctrinal controversies.15 At the start of the seventh century, the Coptic Church had established itself as the national church and had penetrated every region of the country. Although Christianity began in North Africa several centuries before its introduction in Egypt, the church in North Africa did not grow as quickly because the North African church used the Latin language in its services and literature, rather than the language of the people.16 14 Ibid. Ibid. 16 Ibid. 15 16 An influx of Muslims into the continent of Africa, during the Middle Age, resulted in an exponential increase in Islamic converts, which forced many African Christian flee to Europe. Missionary efforts by the Roman Catholic Church and the European Protestant church reclaimed some of the African continents for Christ. However, Islam remains the predominant religion on the continent, with Christians comprising just over thirty percent of the African population.17 Christian Missions in South Sudan Establishing the beginning of Christian missions in South Sudan requires, to firstly understand how Christian faith came to Africa as discussed above. Christianity is in fact “now one of the two most widely practiced religions in Africa with most adherents both Roman Catholics and Protestants living outside Ethiopia and Eritrea.18 The beginning of Christianity in Africa can be dated back to AD 43. Asha and Adeloye in the book Christian Church Formation stated that it first began in the first century when Mark the evangelist started the Orthodox Church of Alexandra19 in Egypt. It did not end there, some of the early churches also started in some northwest African territories were Greek-speaking were settling and were linked to the church in Rome. There are conflicting reports as to the religions practice in South Sudan before Christianity. However, it is accepted that three religions namely African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam are firmly rooted in the country.20 Christianity has a long history in the region that is now South Sudan. Ancient Nubia 17 Ibid. Joseph O. Asha & Gabriel O. Adeloye, Christian Church Formation: Historical Approach (Lagos: Awoye Arts Publicity, 2015), 165. 19 Ibid. 20 Kaufmann, E.P. Rethinking ethnicity: majority groups and dominant minorities. (Routledge, 2004), 45. 18 17 was reached by Coptic Christianity by the 2nd century. Missionary activity from Coptic Ethiopia consolidates de Coptic church community in South Sudan.21 In 1920, the Church Missionary Society originated a Diocese that expanded to form Lui, South Sudan. Even before the official conversion of the Nubian states to Christianity, there must have been a growing Christian influence in Nubia, especially from the north.22Egyptian monks and hermits fled from persecution into northern Nubia to find peace and solitude.23 The most important of these persecutions were those under the Roman emperor Decius in 250 AD and the very tense persecution under Diocletian in 297 AD. Which was for the Coptic Church such an important event that it came to mark the first year of their calendar.24 Some legends that were preserved in the Coptic Church indicate a great influence on Nubians. In addition, because of the ongoing trade relations, it is very likely that Egyptian Christian Merchants penetrated Nubia as well as Nubian traders travelled into Christian Egypt. So, it is highly likely that in the 4th and 5th centuries AD before the official conversion of the Nubia, that a small but growing number of Nubians accepted the Christians.25 From this account, we can conclude that Christian came to Nubia (Sudan) as early as the 2nd Century AD but never penetrated to the Southern part of the nation, the now South Sudan for centuries. In the early 1990s, official records of Sudan as a whole (Sudan and South Sudan) showed that a large percentage adhered to African Traditional Religion (17%) 21 Ibid. Roland Werner, William Anderson and Andrew Wheeler, Day of Devastation Day of Contentment: the History of the Sudanese Church Across 2000 years (Nairobi: Pauline Publication Africa, 2000), 25. 23 Ibid., 25. 24 Ibid. 25 Ibid., 25. 22 18 and Christianity (8%), (though both located mainly in the south, some also at Khartoum). Most of the Christians are Catholic and Anglican, though other denominations are also active, and African Traditional Religious beliefs are often blended with Christian beliefs.26 From the submissions of different authors on the coming of Christianity into Sudan (current South Sudan inclusive), the researcher believes Christianity came into Sudan as early as the 1st Century AD. Sudan was privileged to have an encounter with Christianity due to her closeness to Egypt which was believed to be an ancient land of Christianity as recorded in the scriptures. Because of the influence of Islam on the Northern part of Africa including Egypt, an ancient city of Christianity, Christianity went into almost total extinction in Sudan. It was in 19th Century when the European missionaries made their way back to Africa and started evangelising the Gospel of Christ that Christianity came into surface again. It is germane to know that, the generations that existed when Christianity first came into the country through the land of Nubia were no more in existence when the white missionaries came to Africa again in the 19th century. This makes the author conclude that the coming of Christianity in the 19th Century was entirely a new beginning or new dawn and it is only through this mission of the European missionaries that Christianity has remained in existence in Sudan and South Sudan till today. An Overview of the Beginning of the Baptist Denomination The beginning of Baptist as a denomination is quite challenging as there are different accounts with different views. Every denomination has an origin as well 26 Hurd, Emma "Southern Sudan Votes to Split from North" Sky News 8 February 2011. 19 as the Baptist as a whole have an origin of how it came into existence. It is generally believed that the Baptist faith, like other mainline faiths other than the Catholic faith, i.e. the Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Seventh Day Adventist, etc, takes roots in the protestant Reformation which started in Europe in the sixteenth century (1517 A.D); but unlike them (other main-line faith), it was not started by any single or particular individual reformer or personality.27 While no single individual is said to have started the Baptist, 28 the origin of Baptist is being debated upon, “some trace the Baptist origin to the New Testament; others say it was John the Baptist that started the denomination while some even say that it was Adam that founded the First Baptist.”29? One of the African authors Imasogie, however, submitted that: The “Baptist movement” has no single “founder” in the same sense that church historians speak of Martin Luther as the founder of Lutheran Church or as John Wesley can be said to be the “founder” of the Methodist Church.30 Imasogie noted that there is no specific founder of the Baptist as a denomination and he regarded all the early Christian converts that followed the teaching of the apostle as recorded in the New Testament especially the believers' baptism by immersion as “Baptist.”31 It is important to note that Baptists originally had their roots from what may be called “Free Movement.”32 This term is used to 27 D. F. Oroniran Esq. The Baptist Heritage: A Nigerian Perspective (Ibadan: Titles Publishers, 2013), 1. 28 Gabriel O. Adeloye, Baptist in Focus (Lagos: The Nehemiahs Rebuilding Ministry, 2009), 1. H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1967), 21. 30 Osadolor. Imasogie, The People Called Baptist: A Summary of Their History and Distinctive Christian Beliefs (Benin City: Kolashina Graphic, n.d) , 18. 31 Adeloye, 2. 32 Ibid. 29 20 describe the effort of Christians based upon theological beliefs; that is their experience with God and their experience from person to person relationships.33 Both Imasogie submission and other scholars do not point to a specific date for the beginning of Baptist as a denomination but dates can be drawn from the General Baptists who are believed to have derived their name from their belief concerning atonement; “they believed in general atonement that Christ died for all people and whoever believes in Christ would be saved, they were influenced by the Dutch theologian Jacob Arminus whose theology paved way for free will.”34 The first person believed to denounce infant baptism is John Smyth who graduated from Cambridge University and was later ordained as an Anglican priest in 1606 AD. He disengaged from the Church of England to join a group of Separatists in Gainsborough and John Smyth’s act became the beginning of this new church. And the wake of severe persecution against all who refused to conform to the Church of England’s beliefs and practices which was started by King James. This made him and the Gainsborough congregation flee to Amsterdam in Holland. It was in Holland that Smyth had contact with some Mennonites and with the theology of Jacob Arminus who had taught that Christ died for the forgiveness and the atonement of the sins of all mankind. He was convinced that a Church comprises only regenerated members and therefore infant Baptism was not scriptural.35 John Smyth publicly denounced infant baptism in 1607 AD, baptised himself and other followers though by sprinkling or pouring for believers only.36 This led to the 33 Ibid. Ibid., 6. 35 L. Vedder, Short History of Baptists (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1982), 201. 36 Adeloye, 7. 34 21 formation of the very First Baptist Church in 1609 AD at Amsterdam, Holland.37 This makes this researcher conclude that 1609 AD can be reckoned as the very year Baptist denomination came into existence. Other accounts of the origin of Baptist also suggest that there were two popular groups associated with the Baptist, “the General Baptists” and “the Particular”. The General Baptist was the one associated with John Smyth and established First Baptist Church in 1609 at Amsterdam.38While the Particular Baptist was credited to Henry Jacob, John Lathrop and Henry Jessey; they too believed in atonement but that Christ died for the elects, they vested more power and authority in the hand of the local congregation, believed in believers’ baptism by immersion. Some of their beliefs also include the eternal security of the believers, the autonomy of a local church and hymn singing in worship. The two different groups differed in ecclesiology and belief system: The Particular Baptists were more independent, while the general Baptists were more conventional. The General Baptists lived as members of an indivisible community while the Particulars Baptists could afford to live a distance apart from one another,39 etc. The first generation of Baptist existed only in scattered churches: they did not form anything as cohesive and united as to be called a denomination. After a period of time, the two groups were able to harmonise some of their beliefs and in 1891, the two groups united together in the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland and 37 Nkem Emerald Osuigwe, The Quest for a Sound Legacy: Rediscovering and fostering Baptist Polity and Practice (Ibadan: Baptist Press, 2003), 10. 38 Adeloye, 7. 39 Ibid. 9. 22 became a great force in moral reform to fight against liquor, gambling, and antisocial issues like slavery in the colonies, urban poverty, and unemployment.40 The name Baptist does not evolve from the Baptist fathers – the pioneers of the modern Baptist denomination. Rather, at the take-off period, people who did not share this “new” strand of faith grouped them along with, and called them, “Anabaptists”, a name earlier given to a long-existing group of Christians out of mere derision (reproach). Perhaps because of this obnoxious sentiment but certainly due to the total rejection of identity with the “Anabaptists,” the Baptist fathers choose to be identified with such names as “Brethren,” “the Baptised Churches,” and the “churches of baptised way.” With the passage of time, especially by the early 1640s, some of their opponents began to call them “Baptist.” Even though the group itself identified with the name “Baptist” since the mid-1650s, it was not until a full century of their existence that the name “Baptist” became generally and universally accepted for the modern Baptist denomination.41 Beginning of Baptist Work in South Sudan Different authors as discussed above have submitted there is no single or individual founder of the Baptist denomination. The South Sudan situation is quite like that, there are so many accounts relating the beginning of Baptist Missions or Baptist work in Sudan, now known as South Sudan with entries from different borders and routes making its way to South Sudan. The first account narrates that it all began with the sending of Sudanese brethren converted into Baptist faith to the Seminary while in the refugee camps in Kakuma, Kenya in 1994. These individuals through partnership with Kenya Baptist 40 41 Ibid., 9. D. F. Oroniran Esq., 50. 23 Convention were sent for Theological training. Ding Gatluak, Elijah Riak, John Manychol and Matthew Dhol were the first Sudanese converts sent for theological training. After their training, they were sent to South Sudan and settled in Rumbek in 2004 where they met with an International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention missionary Mark Kissee who was planting Baptist churches in Akot – Rumbek in 2004.42 In February 2004, these four trained South Sudanese scattered to different parts to plant churches with Riak and John heading to Malakal while Ding and Matthew went to Naser and they stayed in these locations planting churches until the Comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) was signed in 200543 with the government of Sudan. Granting South Sudan autonomous statues and ending the decades of civil war that have engulfed the country. While these men continued with ministries to these various locations, the IMB started another mission work in the Eastern Equatoria town of Kapoeta.44 The second account credited to David Kaya and Edward Dima affirmed that Baptist mission began in South Sudan when the duo went to Global Theological Seminary in 1999 (these men were active young leaders in the Episcopal Church of Sudan [ECS]).Right before completing their studies, being exposed to Baptist doctrine and faith in the Seminary they developed a passion for Baptist denomination. They met with Harold Cathey from Global Outreach in August 1998 and expressed their interest in starting Baptist ministry in South Sudan then known as Sudan, this interest 42 Elijah Riak, Interview. Juba: BCOSS, 6th June, 2019. Ding Gatluak, Interview. Kakuma: BCOSS, 13th July, 2018. 44 Edward Dima, Interview. Kajokeji: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 10th March, 2016. 43 24 actually led them to go for seminary training.45 The first approach to church planting was in 1999, (the same year they started seminary training in Ariju, Moyo – Uganda at the border with Sudan). They started a house fellowship with only three members (David, Edward & Rev Henry Leju) and later Kenneth Duku joined. They continued with a systematic study of the Bible for one year in that fellowship. Edward Dima then moved on to start Lama Baptist Church in Uganda at the border with South Sudan. The church started with 8 converts baptised in early 2001 and later about 107 converts were also added to the number and were baptised.46 Later, Edward and David started having plans of moving into the soil of South Sudan. They entered Nimule town in South Sudan and planted Elegu Baptist Church which is the current Faith Baptist Church in Nimule. 47“I Care Enough International” (ICE) was the one supporting this work. From Nimule, they proceeded to plant Njara Baptist Church and Olikwi Baptist Church with Michael Okello one of the local Pastors who had joined the work of Baptists in the area48. The Church planting mission was running hand in hand with Basic Theological Training where the first set consisting of fifteen indigenes was trained to support the mission work.49 The partnership with ICE ended due to its mission approach system which conflicted with the vision of the indigenous pioneers of the Baptist mission (David and Edward). ICE only wants to plant churches without erecting a place of worship and this disagreement ended their partnership. After the termination of the partnership with ICE, the members fasted and prayed for open 45 David Kaya, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministries, 16 th June, 2017 Edward Dima, Interview. Kajokeji: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 10th March, 2016. 47 Loso Geofrey James, Interview. Nimule: Faith Baptist Church, Nimule, 20th December, 2019. 48 Ibid. 49 Kenneth Duku, Interview. Kajokeji: Liberty Baptist Church, Leikor, 21 st March, 2016. 46 25 doors for mission partnership to move the work of Baptist forward in South Sudan. When David and Edward went for further training in theological studies, they met Joseph Oyuki Otieno of New Life Baptist Church, Jinja - Uganda who introduced them to Evange Cube Ministry. They accepted to partner with E3 and David became the Country Director while Edward as Secretary. Many local churches already planted at this time were trained on the Evange Cube Evangelism and they reached out to convert many souls to Christian faith.50 While they were continuing with these mission works in Nimule and other parts, they did not abandon the mission work in Uganda at the border towns. Union Baptist Church was planted in Moyo where David became the first Pastor while Liberty Baptist was planted in Adjumani. Harold Cathey suggested the building of Liberty Baptist Church in Adjumani together with Lowa Baptist Church in Adjumani, they were completed and dedicated for use in 2002.51 Union Baptist Church, Moyo was planted as a stepping stone to enter yet into South Sudan through Kajokeji and the same year, First Baptist Church, Kajokeji was planted in 2001 and the building completed in 2003. Longa Joshua was asked to be the pastor of the church but later Edward Dima had to move and settle in Kajokeji to resume full time as the pastor of First Baptist Church, Kajokeji. The Planting of First Baptist Church, Kajokeji opened doors to the planting of other churches within Kajokeji county. Calvary Baptist Church, Limi was planted at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp and Wonya Athanasius became the pioneer Pastor. At this time, David Kaya was pastoring Union Baptist Church in Moyo but later he was appointed as an overseer of all Baptist churches planted by the 50 51 Ibid. Edward Dima, Interview. Kajokeji: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 10th March, 2016. 26 Sudanese community in both Northern Uganda (to the border with Sudan) and newly planted churches in South Sudan.52 Other denominations started seeing the Baptist ministry as a threat being a new denomination and it was converting even their own “churchgoers” to faith in Christ Jesus and thus losing them to Baptist. The Baptist mission work grew bigger and bigger amidst several challenges confronting it. As the church grew, the need for more leaders also grew. Some members such as Kenneth Duku, Mullai Ruman Ismail and others were sent for training in theological studies in the neighbouring country – Uganda. Kenneth Duku upon completion of his training in the seminary took over Union Baptist Church as the pastor while Mullai was sent to Yei to start Baptist work in the town. By this time the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was already signed by the government of Sudan and the militant in the Southern part of the country, The Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLA).53 The quest to set a firm foundation for the Baptist church in South Sudan, First Baptist Church, Kajokeji with support from David Kaya and other individuals started sponsoring some students in various sectors. Muta Samuel was sponsored in the Education sector to be able to come back and establish the Education Ministry of the Baptist which has not been feasible after finishing their studies because they went their own ways. While Miteng Thomas and Martin Mogga were sent to study in the Health sector, they didn’t come back to establish the Health ministry of the Baptist.54 They went in search of greener pasture. 52 Kenneth Duku, Interview. Adjumani: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 15th June, 2019. David Kaya, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministry, 25 th June, 2017. 54 Edward Dima, Interview. Kajokeji: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 10th March, 2016. 53 27 Equip, Evangelise, and Establish (E3) Partners came into partnership, it was an answered prayer to the expansion of Baptist work in South Sudan. Thirty-six (36) churches were planted in 2006, and in 2007 David Kaya met with Mike Congrove and he agreed to work with David and came to Kajokeji to Survey the environment and the entire country of South Sudan. Church Planting Movement (CPM) also came into South Sudan to start work and met with the IMB missionary Mark Kissee and while they discussed and shared ideas, they realized there was another Baptist group that entered through Kenya (Ding, Matthew, John, and Elijah) and were already planting churches in the majorly northern parts of the country in 2005.55 Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas USA who partnered with E3 wanted to build a church in Rumbek. After surveying the environment, David advised them to hold the plan. The two groups of Baptists (those who entered through Kenya and those who entered through Uganda) met together for the very first time in Rumbek and had their first extraordinary meeting supported by the IMB missionary and E3 and the meeting led to the formation of the first Baptist Convention executives where Elijah Riak was nominated as the pioneer President, Edward Dima vice President, David Juma as Secretary, Matthew Dhol as Treasurer. The Convention was formed without any significant document to govern the body such as a constitution, policies, etc.56 The third account of how Baptist entered the soil of South Sudan is that it entered to Yei through Koboko, Ugandan border, and the leader was by name Lewis Morshall. He studied in Beirut Lebanon in the Middle East, he was sponsored by 55 David Kaya, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministry, 25th June, 2017. Ibid. 56 28 some American Baptist (not clearly stated) in 2001 and he started planting some churches within Yei town and along Maridi, Lainya, and Kaya roads. Lewis's effort did not go far and he drew back.57 It is the desire of this author to solidify the exact year or period the Baptist as a denomination entered Sudan (current South Sudan). The researcher does not consider the year of the first Sudanese Baptist converts in other countries but rather the year the first Baptist church was planted in South Sudan. From the above accounts, the year is 2001 when Elegu Baptist Church, current Faith Baptist Church in Nimule town was planted. Though many people today consider First Baptist Church, Kajokeji as the First Baptist Church in South Sudan, this is certainly a wrong submission as Faith Baptist Church (formerly Elegu Baptist Church) was the first Baptist church planted. (See Appendix 2) David Kaya and Edward Dima can be proudly mentioned as the very first indigenous servants God used to bring the Baptist Denomination into the country, in the next chapter when considering the spread of Baptist into different parts of South Sudan and even beyond the borders in Congo and Northern Uganda, we will realise that these two individuals through partnerships with different ministries and mission agencies have worked tirelessly and their work to this day is commendable. Formation of the Baptist Convention in South Sudan The work of Baptist spread more especially in parts of Upper Nile (Malakal, Naser, Melut), former Western Lakes State (Rumbek) and in the Greater Equatoria (Kajokeji, Nimule, Torit, Yei). The International Mission Board (IMB) missionary Mark Kissee through his sending body (Southern Baptist Convention in 57 John Mawa, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministry, 16 th June, 2019. 29 the US) and Mike (E3 Partners) sponsored the first meeting of the local pioneering leaders and missionaries who were working in different parts of the country.58 This meeting was held at Rumbek, the base of the missionary (IMB) and it was during this meeting that the local leaders agreed to form the first-ever Baptist body called “The Baptist Church of Sudan” in November 2007 and the first set of leaders were nominated. 1. Convention President – Pastor Elijah Riak 2. Convention Vice President – Pastor Edward Dima Leju 3. Convention Secretary – Juma (second name not provided) 4. Treasurer – Benjamin Matak 5. Assistant Treasurer – Matthew Dhol The body was called “The Baptist Church of Sudan” because the country was not united during this time. The Southern part (predominantly Christian) had not yet gained independence. This body was formed without any laid down the constitution, policies and guidelines and did not know where to begin and how to lead the body, the period of this leadership achieved little as a result.59 Pastor Elijah Riak Pioneer President Baptist Church of Sudan 58 Ding Gatluak, Interview. Kakuma: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 10th October, 2017. Edward Dima, Interview. Kajokeji: First Baptist Church Kajokeji, 12th March, 2016. 59 30 The first set of leaders served for about 4 years between 2007 and 2011. After the Southern part of Sudan gained its independence in 2011, there was a need for another meeting of the Baptist brethren across the country to strategize and plan for expansion of her work in the new country and what seems the first extra-ordinary meeting of the Baptist was organised again by another IMB missionary, David Crane. The meeting was held at First Baptist Church, Kajokeji from 11th to 14th of November, 2011 just a few months after the country succeeded from Sudan’s government and became a nation of its own called South Sudan. This time, the name of the body was changed from “The Baptist Church of Sudan” to the “The Baptist Convention of South Sudan (BCOSS)” and a new set of leadership was elected. The leaders elected were: 1. Convention President – Pastor Edward Dima Leju 2. Vice President – Pastor Ding GatluakGatluak 3. Secretary – MulaiRuman Israel who did not continue in his work and replaced by Matthew Dhol (Acting Secretary) 4. Treasurer – Pastor Kenneth Duku Pastor Edward Dima Second/ Incumbent President Baptist Convention of South Sudan 31 The second administration led by the incumbent president did not serve for long when the 2013 conflict erupt, many citizens were forced to flee to the Protect of Civilians (POC) sites within the country created by the United Nations (UN) but thousands of others that year fled to the neighbouring countries as refugees. This prompted the leadership of the Convention to start sending missionaries to the refugee camps to evangelise and plant churches. 32 CHAPTER THREE SPREAD OF BAPTIST WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN Baptist Work in the Greater Equatoria Region Introduction Equatoria is a region of southern South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile. Originally a province of Egypt, it also contained most of the northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert. It was an idealistic effort to create a model state in the interior of Africa that never consisted of more than a handful of adventurers and soldiers in isolated outposts.60 The Equatoria region has three major division, the Eastern Equatoria where the towns of Kapoeta, Torit, Nile, etc belongs, the Western Equatoria where the towns of Yambio, Tombura, Maridi, Nzara, etc are found and the Central Equatoria where the towns of Juba, Yei, Kajokeji, Terekeka, Lainya, etc can be ascertained to. (See Appendix 3. The Greater Equatoria Region highlighted in red in the Map of South Sudan) Baptists in Kajokeji, Lainya, Maridi, Mvolo, Yambio, and Nzara Baptist mission like in any other nation started in a particular location and never stopped there, it spread to as many parts of that nation as possible. The Baptist mission that started in Kajokeji and the founding leaders worked tirelessly to spread the gospel.61 The pioneer leaders (David and Edward) moved to and from, doing evangelism and follow-ups in areas to strengthen the few churches started and to map 60 Moorehead, Alan. The White Nile First ed. (New York: Harper Perennial, 2000). p. 448. This is an eyewitness information as observed by the author of the research. 61 33 out new locations to plant new churches. The entire area that time was under the Sudan People Liberation Movement.62 The outreach to Kajokeji for evangelism and follow-up was between 20002004. Global Outreach Ministries, a US-based ministry donated ten thousand United States dollars for the construction of the worship centre in Kajokeji. Which was called First Baptist Church, Kajokeji. This became the heartbeat for the spread of Baptist to other parts of the Equatoria region. First Baptist Church, Kajokeji was considered as the mother of many Baptist churches in South Sudan entirely, Sudan, Congo and Northern Uganda. When First Baptist Church, Kajokeji was built, they needed a resident pastor for effective ministry and thus called Pastor Joshua Longa who was based in Wudu Kajokeji to the pastorate of the church when Edward and David were in Uganda refugee camps.63 Pastor Edward Dima moved with his family to Kajokeji after he got married in December 2005 and assumed the Leadership of First Baptist Church, Kajokeji. To achieve the vision of starting FBC, Kajokeji as a stepping stone to spread the Baptist work in other parts of the nation. Many churches began after this, such as Calvary Baptist Church, Limi was planted in 2004, Trinity Baptist Church, Mondikolok Baptist Church, Liberty Baptist Church, Pomuju Baptist Church, Hope Baptist Church, Leikor, Full Life Baptist Church, Litoba, New Life Baptist Church, Kiri, Jalimo Baptist Church, Jalimo and so forth. All these became feasible when Edward Dima assumed the leadership of First Baptist Church, Kajokeji in partnership with E3 Partners and EvangeCube Ministries who sent in their volunteer missionaries from the US once a year for a one-week mission experience of witnessing and 62 63 Ibid. Edward Dima, Interview. Kajokeji: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th June, 2016. 34 planting churches. A total of one hundred and two Baptist Churches were established in Kajokeji by 2015. The war that erupted the nation and mostly affected the Equatoria region, Kajokeji led to the closure of nearly all these churches in Kajokeji. Everyone including the leaders fled for their lives to the neighbouring countries.64 The work did not end in Kajokeji, the outreach of First Baptist Church, gave birth to many daughter churches within and outside. It spread to towns in the Equatoria regions such as Lainya County of Central Equatoria State then, but now Yei River State, five (5) Baptist churches were established then, though the number raised to more than 10 Baptist churches. Due to the conflict that erupted in 2016 that displaced thousands of people in the area, most of these churches have been closed as both members and leaders of these churches fled to the refugee camps in the neighbouring countries. In early 2008 the Baptist denomination also started her missions in Maridi of Western Equatoria led by James Kenneth where three churches were planted immediately, she continued to also plant churches Mvolo, Yambio and Nzara all in the Western Equatoria. When Edward assumed the leadership of First Baptist Church, Kajokeji, the pastor of the church Joshua Longa was commissioned together with some few others as the first local missionaries. They were sent to southern Bari Land to establish Baptist work and were able to plant three Baptist churches before Joshua Longa left the Church and stated the Independent Baptist Church movement.65 Due to the quick spread of the Baptist in Kajokeji, the area quickly gained the status of a Conference (Region as per the termed used in the BCOSS constitution), there are 8 associations in the region: 64 David Kaya, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministry. 15th June, 2017. Kenneth Duku, Interview. Adjumani: Seed Effect Uganda Head Office. 15th June, 2017. 65 35 Lire Baptist Association led by Onetime Spirit. Nyepo Baptist Association led Bebu Evans. Liwolo Baptist Association led byMonoja James. Kangapo I Baptist Association South led by Jale Charles. Kangapo I Baptist Association West led by Wonya Athanasius. Kangapo II Baptist Association central led by Kenyi Benjamin. Kangapo II Baptist Association North, led by Duku David. Kangapo II Baptist Association West led by Patrick Mawa. Baptist Work in Yei Yei is yet another major city in the Equatoria region and like many denominations, Baptist had the interest to spread the gospel of Christ to this city too. The Baptist churches came to Yei through Uganda, first, Lewi Morshall played a major role in bringing the Baptist denomination to Yei. He studied in Beirut Lebanon in the Middle East sponsored by some American Baptist in 2001 and he started some church planting within Yei town and along Maridi, Lainya and Kaya roads, Lewis effort did not go far and he drew back.66 This became a challenge for FBC Kajokeji and E3 Partners that was working in partnership with FBC Kajokeji, they finally decided to send someone to spearhead the work in Yei town and the environs and MuIai Ismael Ruman who was an ex-army and a graduate from the Theological School in Uganda was sent to go and strengthen the Baptist work in Yei. His presence gave momentum to the work in Yei and several other churches were planted including Community Baptist Church. Yei before there was a split in E3 Ministries (Empower One Ministry came out where 66 John Mawa, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministry. 16th June, 2019. 36 David Kaya was appointed Director of Empower Sudan and Mulai was appointed Director of E3 Partners) and misunderstanding started in leadership, Mulai had to break out. Mulai’s breaking out halted the spread of the Baptist in Yei but the existing churches moved on with ministry before the 2016 war which also affected this town greatly and many of the churches had to be closed except Community Baptist Church that stood to this date. Before the war that scattered the work of Baptist, Yei was already an Association of its own with ten Baptist Churches led by Mulai himself and David Taban.67 Baptist Work in Juba Juba is the Capital City of South Sudan, because the town was expensive, it was not in the plans of the pioneer leaders of Baptist Work in South Sudan. They so much concentrated in minor towns and villages than in the capital city. Elikana Sworo (mostly known as Ellie) was an icon in bringing Baptist to Juba, after finishing his Secondary School in 2007, he served briefly at FBC Kajokeji in various roles before he decided to move to the city in search of a job and living to support his parents. Upon arrival in Juba in June 2008, he went from one church to another but could not find befitting worship and study of the word of God like in Baptist.68 In early 2009, he started a fellowship with a local orphanage home to share the gospel of Christ and bring hope to the less privileged children before God lay it in his heart to start a church. After sharing the revelation with Edward, he was connected to Richard Dumo who was a Baptist Christian also living in Juba. Ellie quickly met Richard, they prayed together and planned how to start a Baptist Church in Juba. By the grace of God, on 24th October 2009, an evangelism fellowship was held in 67 68 Ibid. Eyewitness information the writer of this research. 37 Richard’s house. This led to the first Sunday worship service that we held on 25th October 2009; the day marked the birth of Juba Baptist Church.69 In addition, another man, God used to bring Baptist to Juba was Ding Gatluak, He was among the pioneers of Baptist who came in from Kenya and entered the northern part of South Sudan and planted churches in the Upper Nile region. While doing ministry, he was employed also by the University of Upper Nile as a lecturer and later was transferred to Juba. In his faculty hostels, he started sharing the word of God to the faculty families and later decided to move outside the hostel to start a fellowship. This fellowship was started in front of South Sudan Beverage Ltd (SSBL) a beverage company and in a bar where people come and drink. After sometime, the community was able to give a space for the fellowship to hold. Ding was joined in this fellowship by his brethren from Upper Nile, Simon Gatluak was assisting him and they named the Church Nuru Baptist Church.70 These two men, Ellie and Ding were the men, God used to bring Baptist to Juba. These two congregations were close to each other but they never knew each other until March 2010 when there was a meeting of Baptist leaders in South Sudan that Ellie hosted at his workplace. It was at these two days meeting that both came to know each other and the presence of these two Baptist churches. Since the two churches were close in proximity, it was recommended in the meeting that both leaders should go and meet their congregation and suggest merging the two churches together to boost their work, the idea was welcomed by the two congregations and in 69 70 Ibid. Ibid. 38 July 2010 the two churches were merged and they both agreed to adopt the name Nuru Baptist Church, Juba.71 The problem of unstable leadership, caused by the inability of the pioneer leaders to offer full time service to the church; as both Ellie and Ding were serving as bi-vocational leaders, the church could not multiply by reproducing (planting new churches). Ellie was constantly on the move from one State to another in the place of work and Ding was also engaged with his lecturing job. To the glory of God in 2012, Victory Baptist Church, Ajah, Lagos, Nigeria after some survey of the country encountered the church in Juba (Nuru Baptist Church). They proposed to adopt the church on 13th February, 2013 which was accepted by both leaders and the congregation. The church was adopted as a daughter to Victory Baptist Church, Ajah, Lagos Nigeria to this date. The sacrifices made by both Ellie and Ding prompted other Baptist leaders to see the need for planting more Baptist churches in the capital Juba. Empower One, sponsored some of their Muslim converts who had gone through Theological training to plant church in Juba among the Muslim community and Adam Harun established Hai Referendum Baptist Church for the Dafurian Muslim community, other leaders like Elijah Riak (former President, Baptist Church of Sudan) also started a church in Juba. By the end of 2018, at least ten Baptist churches were established in Juba, the capital city of Southern Sudan72. Baptists in Eastern Equatoria The Baptist work in the Eastern Equatoria started with so much enthusiasm. When the first set of graduates from North East Africa Theological Seminary (NEATS) sponsored by E3 partners were sent to the area, they went with so 71 Ding Gatluak, Interview. Kakuma: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th June, 2019. Eyewitness information by the writer of this research. 72 39 much passion for the work of ministry. Tolbert Alochi was sent to Nimule and took leadership of Faith Baptist Church in Nimule town which became a focal point for the spread of the work to the Madi and Acholi corridor, through his passion for work and leadership, many Baptist churches were planted along the corridor. Dominic Africa was sent to Torit town and he too started few Baptist Churches in the vicinity but could not continue with the work of ministry and his efforts in Torit all died. While E3 partners on few occasions visited Kapoeta and the Didinga hills to establish Baptist churches in the area, few churches were planted but they could not sustain the work there. John Wanyonyi a missionary sent by the Kenya Baptist Convention continued with the work in mainly Kapoeta among the Toposa people to this day.73 Baptist Work in the Greater Upper Nile Region Introduction The Greater Upper Nile is a region of north-eastern South Sudan. It is named for the White Nile, a tributary of the Nile River in North and East Africa. The region consisted of the erstwhile states of Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile.74 It borders Ethiopia to the east and the Republic of Sudan to the north. Greater Upper Nile is the area most affected by the civil war that started in South Sudan in December 2013. This has caused considerable loss of life, widespread displacement and loss of livelihood for residents of this region, with the scarcity of goods and rampant inflation. At the same time, Maban County in Upper Nile State hosts refugee camps 73 Tolbert Alochi, Interview. Alwi: Empower One. 16th June, 2019. “The Greater Upper Nile” http://concordis.international/greater-upper-nile-the-situation/ Accessed on 8th September, 2019. 74 40 for Sudanese from Blue Nile State in Sudan, who have left their homes because of violent conflict in that State.75 (See Appendix 4. The Greater Upper Nile Region highlighted in red in the Map of South Sudan) Baptists in Unity State of Greater Upper Nile Region Through the effort of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, they supported Pastor Mathew Dhol and John Monychol by sending them to plant Baptist churches in Unity state and some churches were planted there but unfortunately, the work was affected by the conflict that erupted in the area in 2013.76 Baptists in Bor of Jonglei State in Greater Upper Nile Region Abraham Maper played a very key role in the spread of Baptist Church to Bor of Jonglei, he moved from East Rumbek County and came to start churchplanting missions in Aweriel and Yirol areas with the help of E3 partners which later became Empower One Ministry and First Baptist Church, Kajokeji.77 Pachola and Pibor of Greater Upper Nile Region This is a new area of Baptist work with little work done. The communal conflicts of cattle rustling and others forced some people into Internally displaced camps in Juba. Baptist reached out to the campus and began sharing the gospel and discipling new converts. Two disciples, Akila (the second name not given) and Okello (the second name not given) both from Anyuak peoples group became key persons in spreading the gospel and Baptist work among their kindreds or peoples. They went “The Greater Upper Nile” http://concordis.international/greater-upper-nile-the-situation/ Accessed on 8th September, 2019. 76 John Manychol, Interview. Juba: Empower One. 1st July, 2019. 77 Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th June, 2019. 75 41 back into their community and started church-planting missions in both Pachola and Pibor.78 Baptist Work in the Greater Bahr El Ghazal Region Introduction The Bahr el Ghazal is a historical region of north-western South Sudan. It was dissolved in 2015. Its name came from the river Bahr el Ghazal. The region consisted of the erstwhile states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, and Warrap. It borders the Central African Republic to the west. It is an area of swamps and ironstone plateaus inhabited mainly by the Dinka people, who make their living through subsistence farming and cattle herding. Under legislation approved by the government of South Sudan in 2011, Bahr el Ghazal could host a planned city at Ramciel intended to serve as the new national capital. If a new capital at Ramciel is built, it would mark a shift away from the power centre in Equatoria, though Ramciel is located very close to the border between Lakes state and Central Equatoria.79 (See Appendix 5. The Greater Bahr El Ghazal Region highlighted in red in the Map of South Sudan) Baptists in Rumbek During the liberation movement of the Sudan People Liberation Movement before the independence of South Sudan, Rumbek was anticipated capital city for Southern Sudan, when the first missionary of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States of America came to the country, he settled in Rumbek. Mark Kissee during his time in Rumbek planted many 78 79 Ibid. Ibid. 42 Baptist churches in Bahr el Ghazal and particularly in Rumbek and the environs. However, many of those churches died immediately he left Rumbek and his successor did not settle in Rumbek to inherit his work there. Only very few churches remained existing to this day and Akot Christian Ministry is attempting to plant and strengthen the work of the Baptist churches in the areas.80 Baptists in Aweil of Northern Bahr El Ghazal Aweil town was the former capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal before it becomes a state of its own in 2017. This was the state or area that Baptist work did not reach for many years since its inception in the country. The Baptist came to Aweil through Ellie Sworo who was deployed to the town by a humanitarian organisation called Malaria Consortium, as a Field Finance Officer. As he always desires to spread the gospel anywhere and everywhere, he goes, he started worshipping in a local church in town before moving to worship with the UN peacekeeping forces chapel. While in the local church, he met David Lual. Lual was a vibrant and passionate young leader who was assisting the pastor of the local church he went to worship. Lual later had a disagreement with the pastor of the church on the issue of marrying more than one wife (the pastor wanted to marry a second wife – adopt his late brother’s wife as his own), Lual stood with the Biblical position of one wife one man.81 The pastor opened the exit doors for Lual and he left the church, this encouraged Ellie to see an opportunity of discipling Lual to start Baptist ministry in the town. Ellie started discipleship sessions with Lual at his guest house provided by the organization he was working with. After series of discipleship sessions, he shared 80 Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th June, 2019. David Gatluak, Interview. Aweil: First Baptist Church, Aweil. 12th August, 2019. 81 43 the vision of planting a Baptist Church in Aweil which Lual welcomed with much joy. It was not long that Ellie resigned from work and moved back to Juba after he got married in 2014, however, he kept contact with Lual with the desire of seeing Baptist church started in the town. Soon later, Lual took the step to start a fellowship and it gave birth to First Baptist Church, Aweil.82 Ellie’s desire was so strong to see this new church started in Aweil does not die prematurely but grows to give birth to many other churches in the State. He identified the need to equip Lual with pastoral leadership training and for the church to be supported and strengthen thus he sought for the support of Empower One Ministry, who invited Lual to Kajokeji. Empower One Ministry later sponsored Lual to study Theology at Global Theological Seminary, Jinja, Uganda. Empower One Ministry further bought a parcel of land for the church in Aweil, sent people to strengthen the church from time to time. Since the establishment of First Baptist Church, Aweil, the church has multiplied and given birth to several others. By the end of 2018, there are about 15 Baptist churches in Aweil State to the glory of God planted in just a period of 4 years, 2014 to 2018.83 Baptists in Northern Uganda and Other Refugees Camps The fighting that first broke out in December 2013 in South Sudan prompted the need for the South Sudan Baptist Convention to reach out to the fleeing citizens from the Jonglei, Upper Nile and other parts of the country into the neighbouring countries with the message of hope and reconciliation. The fleeing citizens were first hosted by Faith Baptist Church, Nimule just at the border with 82 83 Ibid. This is a personal testimony of the writer. 44 Uganda for several weeks before they could cross the border and registered officially as refugees and transports to refugee camps in Adjumani District.84 In March 2014, the Convention through partners with New Endowment ministry and other partners agreed to sponsor some missionaries to go into the refugee camps and start churches and minister to the heartbroken citizen many of whom have lost their properties and even loved ones in the process of fleeing. The first set of about 5 missionaries was sent to Adjumani refugee camps and scattered into different camps in the district. Mario Lokure was among the first missionaries to be sent out by the Convention and their ministry has been effective in restoring hope, reconciling communities of tribes affected in the conflict, and several other churches planted.85 During this time, some people especially those closer to the border with Kenya fled into Kakuma refugee camps and some pastor who fled into the Protection of Civilian Site (POC) in Juba felt the need to leave the country and join their brethren (people from their tribe) in Kakuma and thus Pastor Ding Gatluak, Simon Gatluak, Thomas Tut, and others left for Kakuma refugee camps and started reaching out to the community. Today, several Baptist churches have been planted in the camps.86 The greatest influx happened when what was seen as the biggest displacement hit the country again in July 2016. The 8th July 2016 conflict that started in the capital Juba between the forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those loyal Firstly to Vice President Riak Machar (the leader of the opposition) had a disagreement at J1 (State House). This conflict spread throughout the Equatoria region and led millions of citizens forced out of their comfortable homes to flee into refugee camps in Uganda. 84 Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th June, 2019. Ibid. 86 Ibid. 85 45 The towns of Kajokeji, Yei, Nimule, and many others were among those affected with this conflict as a result, the President of the Convention and other executives were also forced out of their homes into the neighbouring country of Uganda to seek refuge in the hands of the United Nation. This gave rise to the spread of Baptist work in Northern Uganda, by December 2018, there were already more than two hundred and fifty (250) Baptist Churches among the South Sudanese communities in the refugee camps of Moyo District, Adjumani District and Yumbe District. The North-East African Theological Seminary (NEATS) sponsored by Empower One Ministry was also relocated into the Bidibidi refugee camp of Yumbe Districts and continued to train and raise leaders to reach out with the gospel of Christ.87 Supporters of Baptist Work in South Sudan The Baptist Mission work in South Sudan as stated in chapter two was started by indigenes who needed partners and support to keep the work going. The Baptist work did not go into extinction during the internal crisis that engulf South Sudan because several partners and supporters around the globe supported the work These supporters and partners include: Empower One Ministry In 2006, Mike Congrove88 and David Kaya started what would become a partner for the Gospel in South Sudan and Sudan. They worked together. Mike would recruit people in the United States to come on short-term mission trips to South Sudan. David would organize the pastors on ground, the volunteer missionaries in partnership with the local pastors could go out for a week’s evangelism and church 87 Ibid. Mike Congrove is the Founder of Empower One Ministries in the United States and he served also as the director for the organization. 88 46 planting mission in locations identified, these mission trips became an annual thing and led to the planting of nearly 95% of the Baptist churches in Kajokeji by 2015. They felt God instructed them to start a Bible School in Kajokeji that would specialize in training church planters. And It would serve as strong base for biblical and theological training, but it would also include many practicums in disciple-making, church-planting (or starting), and living like a missionary. In March 2007 North East Africa Theological Seminary (NEATS) was established in Kajokeji, South Sudan.89 This Seminary became a big engine for the spread of Baptist churches in the country, many leaders were trained and sent out and they went out with passion and fire for the Lord leading to the planting of several churches across the country. Over time, Empower One ministry has become the most reliable partner of the Baptist in South Sudan, through Empower One mission and vision are not to work with an individual denomination, the Baptists are the main and major beneficiary of their support. The Baptist Convention mostly relied on Empower One Ministry for the continuity of their work especially in the aspect of the training of leaders done through full sponsorship of students and 99% of graduates from the Seminary ended up Baptist Pastors planting Baptist Churches everywhere. Empower One Ministry is an indispensable partner of the Baptist Convention of South Sudan. Seed Effect Microfinance Seed Effect Microfinance came into scene as an initiative of the pioneer leaders David Kaya and Edward Dima. After David partnered with E3 partners, short term missionaries visited South Sudan from the United States of America and observed how local members of the churches were struggling with small scale 89 Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan 10th June, 2019. 47 business to earn a living for their families. This gave them the idea to start a Microfinance initiative, not only to give small loans to the members but also to train them with basic business skills and spread the gospel of Christ to the rest of the neighbourhood. The existence of Seed Effect Microfinance has been a great boast, for its 7 years in South Sudan until its relocation to Uganda before the war broke out in South Sudan. Seed Effect had collectively reached 2,500 South Sudanese across three locations - Nimule, Yei, and Kajokeji with services.90 Seed Effect Microfinance had hoped to grow larger and more quickly but encountered several challenges due to a lack of infrastructure and growing conflict. Even amid these challenges, though, the people that participated in Seed Effect's programme saw the drastic impact. They were able to grow their businesses, provide for their families with dignity, and many came to know Jesus and grew in their faith. Missy stated “We have always served individuals from all tribes and religious backgrounds.”91 Savings Group meetings also included prayer and time in the word as well as ongoing education in health, business, etc. In early 2016, Seed Effect added a Christ-centred, savings-led Microfinance programme that it offered concurrently alongside its credit-led programme. In the savings-led model, self-selected groups of 15-25 individuals pool their savings and lend to each other. Those loans are repaid with interest to the group and at the end of the savings cycle (9-12 months), the money saved/earned is shared out to each member based upon the amount saved.92 90 Missy Williams, Interview. Dallas TX: Seed Effect US. 10th July, 2019. Scovia Kiden, Interview. Adjumani: Seed Effect Uganda Head Office. 15th June, 2019. 92 Peter Lokang, Interview. Adjumani: Seed Effect Uganda, Adjumani Branch Office. 20 th June, 2019. 91 48 The 2016 conflict led to several persons fleeing the country for safety and survival. The Seed Effect organisation also left South Sudan to join the people where they fled to. The group launched a Christ-centred savings-led microfinance programme in northern Uganda in May of 2017 among the refugee communities and the citizens of the host country. Since launching, they have served over 22,000 Ugandans and South Sudanese. This programme has led many to know Christ and added to the church where it moved to serve among the South Sudanese refugee communities.93 Global Mission Board (GMB) of the Nigerian Baptist Convention The Global Mission Board of the Nigerian Baptist Convention made her way to South Sudan in 2013 through a partnership with Victory Baptist Church, Ajah, Lagos. After Victory Baptist church started a mission work in South Sudan in 2012 by adopting a local church in the capital Juba, they felt the Global Mission board needs to be part of the Mission work there. They reached an agreement and GMB sent in her own supervising missionary Rev. Markus Dangiwa Landi. The missionary served in South Sudan until September 2015 when he and his family left South Sudan back for Nigeria.94 While the GMB missionary was serving in South Sudan, his mandate was not limited to supervising the missionary sent by Victory Baptist Church but also worked directly with the Convention body. He carried out discipleship programme for leaders occasionally taught in the Theological seminary (North East Africa 93 94 Ibid. Bankole Kayode, Interview. Lagos: Victory Baptist Church, Ajah. 15th July, 2019. 49 Theological Seminary) that was run by the First Baptist Church, Kajokeji and he also worked in developing mission strategy and approach for the Convention.95 International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention IMB has shifted focus from geographic countries to people groups, with a concerted effort to start church planting movements among unreached peoples. Technological advances have provided unprecedented opportunities for missionaries to spread the gospel, and Southern Baptists have reached into areas previously considered forbidden by political barriers. Every believer has a part to play in the Great Commission, and IMB is dedicated to forging the pathways necessary to connect each church with the work of missionary teams across the globe. United in this sacred effort and in obedience to our sovereign God, the possibilities for missions are truly limitless. 96 With the shift in focus over the years, IMB entered South Sudan with the aim of reaching out to the unreached people groups and hard to reach places. Her first missionary, Mark Kissee came and settled in Rumbek during the early years of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, he began church planting missions and reaching out to some villages. Before this time, IMB had started her mission work among South Sudanese in Kakuma, Kenya by sponsoring four indigenous men to study theology at the Kenyan Baptist Seminary. After Mark had come to South Sudan, these indigenous men were sponsored to move back to South Sudan and started church planting business. 97 95 Markus Landi Giwa, Interview. Kaduna: Global Mission Board of the Nigerian Baptist Convention. 09th October, 2019. 96 “International Mission Board” https://www.imb.org/history/ Accessed 10th October, 2019. 97 Ibid. 50 Another key contribution of the International Mission Board was organizing the first meeting of Baptist leaders across the country. This led to the formation of the first-ever executive committee of the Baptist Church of Sudan (BCS) which later became the Baptist Convention of South Sudan. While carrying out this, IMB was still focused on her mission to unreached people’s groups and later after Mark left, the new missionary started mission activities in Eastern Equatoria among the Toposa people of Kapoeta and other hard to reach locations across the country. 98 I Care Enough International (ICE) I Care Enough International is a group of retired doctors and soldiers in the USA formed to share the love of Christ, they sponsored the training of some of the pioneer leaders such as David Kaya and Edward Dima and continued to train others such as Kenneth Duku, Mulai Ruman and others. They also worked among the Muslim communities to share the Gospel of Christ and in war-torn areas. 99 Global Outreach Global Outreach is also a ministry from the US that worked with the Baptist churches in South Sudan to care for orphans and sponsor students to be train leaders in various fields of study. 100 98 Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th July, 2017. David Kaya, Interview. Arua: Empower One. 10th June, 2017. 100 Ibid. 99 51 Global Mission Fellowship Global Mission Fellow came out from the US and partnered with the Baptist church in South Sudan to plant churches in her early years of foundation. 101 Baptist World Alliance Baptist World Alliance is a fellowship of 214 Baptist unions and conventions compromising a membership of more than 3 million baptised believers. This represents a community of approximately 80 million Baptists ministering in more than 200 countries. The BWA unites Baptists worldwide, leads in world evangelism, responds to people in need and defends human rights, uniting Baptists Worldwide for Global impact for Christ… in fellowship, evangelism, justice, and aid. 102The BWA has supported the Baptist work in South Sudan by sponsoring projects of humanitarian aid and basic education training. 103 New Life Endowment Ministry This ministry is based in the United States and led by Mike Scalf, this ministry work with the Baptist Convention of South Sudan in leadership empowerment in the refugee camps in Northern Uganda among the churches established by the Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 104 101 Ibid. Gabriel O. Adeloye, Baptist in Focus (Lagos: The Nehemiah Rebuilding Ministry, 2009), 79. 103 Ibid. 104 Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th July, 2017. 102 52 Sufficient of The Scriptures (SOS) Ministries Founded in 2002, SOS Ministries is a Christian non -profit organization that seeks to provide humanitarian aid and biblical training to all those in need, focusing on the people of Uganda. Shannon Hurley founded SOS Ministries after seeing the overwhelming physical and spiritual needs of the Ugandan people. These needs primarily are a result of the horrific reign of Idi Amin Dada in the 70′s, the devastating results of the AIDS epidemic, and a continued culture of poverty, single-parent families, alcoholism, and various parasitic false religions promising wealth and health. 105 The SOS founder, Shannon meeting with the President of Baptist Convention of South Sudan, Edward Dima and visiting Kajokeji to see what God was doing there in 2015, Shannon the founder of SOS felt the need to partner with the Convention. The partnership has yielded so much for the Baptist Convention of South Sudan, SOS has been sponsoring the review and redevelopment of the constitution of the Convention by hosting the meetings and sponsoring every delegate for the meeting. The ministry has sponsored the training of more than 10 leaders at her Shepherd Training Centre in Luwero, Uganda. 106 Calvary Road Ministries This ministry, led by David Crane is a US-based ministry. Crane was a former IMB missionary to the East African Region and after leaving the mission board, it was led to this ministry. The ministry majorly supports the training of leaders and is the main sponsor of the Bible training centre of the “Sufficient of the Scripture” https://www.sosministries.org Accessed on 10th October, 2019. Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th July, 2017. 105 106 53 Baptist Convention of South Sudan in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. The ministry also does leadership empowerment by conducting seminars and strengthening churches among others. 107 107 Ibid. 54 CHAPTER FOUR IMPACT AND CHALLENGES OF BAPTIST WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN It is obvious that no organisation will ever start and operate without making an impact on at least a few persons or communities as well as operate with any challenges. The Baptist as discussed in the previous chapters came with a strong passion for Christ to spread and make an impact on the communities they find themselves in, the impacts for the interest of this research have been categorised into four major sections, the spiritual impact, education impact, economic impact and social impact. Spiritual Impact The spiritual impact on the society is paramount and is the primary focus of the spiritual organisation. It ensures lives are transformed spiritually and people are reconciled back to their maker, the Lord God through salvation in Christ Jesus. Alfred Waran the pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda said the availing of Bibles in local languages by the Baptist Leadership through her partners has boasted the spiritual growth or the faith of many believers who are not able to read in English but their mother tongue.108 While David Kaya asserts that the preaching of the undiluted gospel message by the Baptists has deepened peoples’ understanding of the scriptures and more especially the topic of forgiveness which has led families to be united again, people forgiving one another which is a good sign of spiritual impact in their lives.109 108 Alfred Waran, Interview. Bidibidi: Liberty Baptist Church. 15th June, 2019. David Kaya, Interview. Kampala: Empower One Ministry. 11th June, 2019 109 55 Some Baptist pastors like John Mawa believes Baptist has done so much to impact the society spiritually especially in sound doctrinal teaching, spiritual transformation – salvation of souls (some individuals whom the community have given up hope on and other churches consider them as people who can never receive salvation because they are either drug addict, etc. The Baptist prayerfully ministered to them and to the glory of God, many are saved and responsible leaders today), and church planting which brings about liberation to communities churches are being planted.110 The president of the Baptist Convention of South Sudan on his part said, raising of spiritual and committed leaders is a milestone spiritual impact, the Baptist is able to train leaders at different levels regardless of their educational level to have an understanding of the scripture and basic leadership skills in order to lead a church and spread the gospel of Christ. This has seen many leaders raising up to spread the gospel in their communities.111 Education Impact Baptist in South Sudan is known for providing better educational training. They didn’t only focus on the spiritual impact but took education as one of their priorities in reaching out to the younger generation and producing quality leaders for the future to serve the nation at large. The education started with nursery and primary schools but later added secondary schools (Ebenezer Baptist Secondary School is one of them) and even vocational and entrepreneurship training were added. The Baptist primary and secondary schools provided best performing students at their respective levels.112 Another educational impact as noted by both Mawa and Waran is the fact that Baptist 110 John Mawa, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministry. 16th June, 2019. Edward Dima, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 11th June, 2019. 112 Ibid. 111 56 also provided scholarship and sponsorship to orphans in school to ensure they attain a certain education level and sending people to study in different fields as cited in the history above. The likes of Martin Mogga, Muta and Miteng who were sponsored to study special field in the university such as education, health, and making positive impact in the society today.113 Economic Impact Most of the communities where the Baptist churches are found are remote with most of the members struggling to survive. Most depend solely on very small-scale agriculture or business for their livelihood and when seasons are not favourable, they are left to be scratching their heads for what to eat, how to care for their families, etc. this too affects the local church and the organisation at large. But Baptist did not close her eyes to the needs of the communities it belongs. Some of the economic impact includes: - Establishment of microfinance schemes to provide loans to small scale businesses that have empowered so many people and numerous testimonies of how their lives have turned around economically. This microfinance scheme has gone further to rather set up savings groups, training them with entrepreneurship skills and the groups manages their savings and loan to members which have made many to gain financial stability, able to educate their children, feed their families even in the hard economy of the country. - Agricultural support is yet another economic impact the Baptists had on the society, training of farmers with better farming skills to improve their yield and provision of seed multiplication mechanism or skills. 113 David, 11th June, 2019. 57 - Training of women on bread baking and other bakery skills has empowered many women financially. - Vulnerable people like widows have been empowered by giving them animals to rare such as goals. - Due to the nature of ministry in South Sudan, all pastors and leaders of the convention are serving on a voluntary basis with no payment of salaries or benefits, this has led to some leaving their churches in search of greener pasture. The convention to counter this problem provided some pastors with mobility means like motorcycles, bicycles and even others with financial assistance. - After the breakout of the conflict in South Sudan which forced many to leave their homes for the refugee camps, Baptists has from the beginning provided relief materials and services like food and non-food items to alleviate the people from the situation. Social Impact Socially, the Baptists have promoted harmony and unity among communities and on some occasions have acted as mediators in conflict among communities and notable of this was the conflict between the Madi community of Moyo Uganda and the Kuku community. The Baptists leadership came to the danger zone raising a flag and restored calm to the two communities.114 Also, promoting sporting activities like football to unit communities is another impact of the Baptist. Similarly, Provision of health care and clean water for communities that bring the community together was also taken seriously. 114 Ibid. 58 Challenges of Baptist Work in South Sudan The challenges of the Baptist work in South Sudan are numerous and among them include: 1. The Challenge of having a headquarter and an administrative office115 Since the inception of the Baptist church in South Sudan and the formation of her first body in 2007, the convention does not have headquarter or administrative office where the president and other officers of the organisation will work from. The office has always been mobile, mostly in the president's home. The first president operated from Malakal as he was based there, the incumbent president operated from Kajokeji where his family and ministry were and after the war in Kajokeji, he moved to Uganda and operated from the refugee camps. This shifting of office from a location to the other has left the Baptist Church not to grow especially inside South Sudan and in major cities in the country. 2. The Challenge of a workable structure and policies The current structure of both leadership and bodies within the convention is not a realistic structure. Currently, the structure adopted is Convention – Regions (Instead of Conference) – Association and the Local Church, the regional division is rather political and not based on the number of associations to make up the region or conference. The president most time works independently without consulting other executive members or carrying them along, there is no regular executive meeting of the convention officers. Most of the officers are only bearing the office name without portfolio, i.e. the treasurer is not aware of all donations coming in and how they are spent, he is not in charge of the convention accounts. 115 Elijah, 6th June, 2019. 59 The body also does not have policies to govern the body like financial policy, ordination policy, etc. This has left the church unguided most of the time. The constitutional drafting that was started in 2015 has taken so much time to be completed and there is no consistency in the people reviewing the constitution, every meeting, new people are included in the review. 3. The challenge of focused leadership Focused leadership is the drive of any organisation to thrive and grow. The Baptist convention lacks focused leaders, they mostly concentrate on the minor and leaving the major responsibility of uniting the body. The current leadership so much concentrates on the refugees in the neighbouring countries neglecting the work within the country. He considerate in providing relief services most times instead of building infrastructures. The danger of not being focused on the body entirely has been brought to bear when the incumbent leader concentrated on Kajokeji where he lived. After the conflict in the area, his work was brought to scratch, no single Baptist church remained in the area except for him to start afresh planting churches in the refugee camps. 4. The Challenge of the war in South Sudan116 War is a disaster in all situation. The war in South Sudan affected the work of Baptist greatly. Kajokeji which was the stronghold of Baptist with more than 100 churches was shutdown entirely with no single church surviving except in recent times that Pastor Patrick Wolyan went back to restart First Baptist Church Kajokeji. Other parts of the country like Yei, Malakal, and Nimule were all affected by the war in the country leaving few churches standing. 116 Edward, 12th June, 2019. 60 5. The Challenge of funding the convention The convention entirely depends on foreign aids and funding to finance her activities. Local churches have not been encouraged on the need for a cooperative programme to finance activities of the convention, conferences and associations. Due to the lack of funding for the organisation, all the leaders or officials of the convention, conferences, associations and even the pastors in the local churches are serving on voluntary bases with absolutely no pay. Churches do not take care of the needs of their pastors rather they run to the pastor for help most of the time and this is due to lack of educating the leaders at various levels and the local congregation on the importance of giving to support the work of God. In addition to this, the convention as a body does not have investment schemes or finance generating activities to help raise more funds to run the organisation. 6. The Challenge of good Theological Training or lack of theological seminary in the country117 The only seminary the Baptist relies on for the training of her leaders is North East Africa Theological Seminary (NEATS) owned by Empower One Ministry. This seminary does not give in-depth theological training to the students but rather basic bible interpretation, evangelism, and preaching skills. Again, the trainers in the seminary are inexperience lecturers who some of them graduated from the same seminary with diploma, and they also teach diploma students. In regards to the challenge of good theological training, most leaders did not pass through any seminary training and some only acquired discipleship training and are already pastoring churches. There is a need for a good seminary where Baptist Courses i.e. 117 Alfred, 15th June, 2019. 61 Baptist history, Baptist doctrine, Baptist cooperative programmes among others are well taught. 62 CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION Summary This thesis titled “Emergence and Development of Baptist Work in South Sudan, 2001to 2018, elucidates the coming of Christianity to Sudan in the early centuries cannot just be ignored. Although the efforts of the early Coptic church were in vain as the influence of Islam force Christianity into a total extinction until the 18th century. The European missionaries came to Africa and started re-evangelising the gospel. Moreover, when these missionaries came to Africa in the 18th century, Baptist was not among the denominations that started in South Sudan. It was until the 20th century that Baptist founds its way to South Sudan, firstly through indigenes who went to Baptist seminary training for Pastoral training in the neighbouring countries and returned to start Baptist work in South Sudan. They were supported later by partners from around the world to move the work forward. In fact, the work of Baptist would have not thrived without the support of these various partners. The partners especially helped in mobilising the Baptists working in various parts of the country for meetings which led to the first meeting in 2007 that yielded in the formation of the first body of Baptist and later the second set of leadership in 2011. Unquestionably, it is impossible to write about the work of Baptist in South Sudan without mentioning some key leaders who have contributed a quota to either the beginning of Baptist in one part of the nation or as part of the leadership of the convention. Notably among them includes, David Kaya and Edward Dima who are believed to have started the first Baptist church – Elegu Baptist Church, Nimule in 63 2001 and later proceeded to plant numerous churches all over other locations, including starting of leadership training through partnership with E3 and Empower One Ministry. Also, the group of brethren who entered from Kenya to the Northern part of the country, Ding Gatluak, John Manychol, Elijah Riak and Matthew Dhol played a vital role in bringing Baptist to the Upper Nile States. Ellie Sworo was notable for bringing Baptist to Juba, the capital city and to Northern Bahr El Ghazal. Furthermore, as Baptist body was first formed in 2007, Elijah Riak was chosen as the pioneer President and in 2011 as Edward Dima was elected as the second President of the Baptist in South Sudan, more significantly, the name of the body was changed from “Baptist Church of Sudan” to “Baptist Convention of South Sudan.” The outbreak of conflict in South Sudan in late 2013 and again in mid2016 did not only affect the work of Baptist negatively but also led to its spread to the refugee camps in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. The conflict led to total closure of many Baptist churches, more than one hundred in areas affected by the conflict such as Kajokeji which was the stronghold of Baptist. However, the ministry in the refugee camps has brought about hope to thousands of lives and many churches have been planted among the refugee settlers. Conclusion This work ‘Emergence and Development of Baptist work in South Sudan’ discusses the rising of Baptist in the country. The Baptists in South Sudan, unlike in other nations in Africa was pioneered by the indigenes. Though they have struggled to establish a stronger body, have secretariat as a headquarter, cater for her leaders but it has not given up in spreading the Gospel of Christ to other parts of the nations and beyond through church planting and others. In all these, they have not thrived alone, 64 partners from around the world have always supported their efforts and the work of God in this nation. The Baptist Convention of South Sudan leadership needs to rise especially now that there are signs of hope and stability in the country after her work was destructed by the outbreak of conflict in 2013 and 2016 that nearly scattered most of her work in the country. It is time for the leadership to be focused and set up a strong foundation for the Convention as a body that is comparable to most Baptist Conventions in the world. The recommendations below have highlighted some relevant things that when done, the convention will move to her next level and there will be hope for the future of the convention. Recommendation On the bases of the finds as identified above, the research therefore would like to give the following recommendations to the Baptist Convention of South Sudan, her leadership, institutions and the local churches. It’s further recommended for Mission Agencies and Theological institutions around the world. Functional Structure The Baptist Convention needs a structure that does not cover political boundaries like states, County, Payam, etc. There should be set guiding rules or procedures for the formation of associations and conferences. As noted above, South Sudan currently uses Region instead of a Conference, and as stated, using the term ‘Region’ is political in nature thus the researcher recommends it should be called ‘Conference’. With this, the structure will be, Local Church (es) – Association – Conference and Convention. The researcher also observed that formation of these bodies is not based on some requirements but rather political boundaries and thus 65 recommends, for the formation of the different sections. There should be minimum requirements or qualifications that are met for the approval of such body. To form an Association a minimum of six (6) self-standing organised Baptist churches is needed. Request of such intention must be written through the President of the Conference to the Executive Council of the Conference for approval and ratified at the bi-annual Conference General Meeting. Likewise, to form a Conference, at least four (4) active and organised Associations is required. The intention must be tendered in request to the Convention Executive through the President of the Convention and ratified at the annual Convention in Session. This informs that the formation of such bodies is by meeting the requirement and not by political regions as it is done currently. (See Appendices 6, for the structure of each body with required officers) Focused Leadership The current President of the Convention is probably a very instrumental leader who leads with lots of humility and an exemplary leader who is always at the grassroots carrying out the work of ministry. But as an organisation that needs to build a functional team and organisation, the Convention needs a focused leadership. It has been stated in the challenges above that the leadership so much focus on one side (Kajokeji before the conflict and the refugee camps in northern Uganda after the conflict) neglecting other parts of the country. Also, notable is the leadership concentrate on refugee relief services and forgets the building of infrastructures and a system that will help the Baptist to stand independently, while the president has been noted for working alone without carrying along the rest of the Baptist Executive members. The researcher, hereby, recommends the need for an inclusive, and team worker leader to build a Convention that can stand independently and where various 66 leaders are responsible and accountable for their stewardship to the Lord and to the Convention. The researcher is also of the opinion that it would be necessary for the Baptist Convention of South Sudan to handover her leadership of the Convention to foreign partner(s) to set up the right structures, meet up the standard of a Baptist Convention globally, etc for at least a period of twenty (20) years. This is to allow local leaders to be developed in various capacities and have good theological training. Headquarters and Infrastructures This is a matter of urgency. An organisation cannot operate for more than ten years without absolutely an office or headquarters. Many opportunities have passed the Baptist Convention in South Sudan especially many Baptist organisations around the world have come to South Sudan and went into partnership with other organisation or churches as they thought Baptist doesn’t exist due to lack of her presence (Headquarters) in the capital city, Juba. The researcher, therefore, recommends that, the convention leadership should consider setting up a secretariat for the Convention in the capital city or any agreed upon major cities in the country as her headquarters and the president and other executives should be able to work from the headquarters. The researcher further recommends that, the Baptist Convention of South Sudan should invest in the building of infrastructures for the future of the Convention. Infrastructures such as office structures, Conference Centres to host national events of the Conventions, etc. Promotion of Baptist Cooperative Programmes 67 The autonomy of the local Church is one of the sacred doctrinal beliefs of the Baptist Denomination. However, the voluntary coming together of autonomous churches leads to cooperation out of which Baptist cooperative programmes come into being from history in other countries. Cooperative programmes can also be defined as the coming together of autonomous churches to merging resources of knowledge, skills, talents, finances, time, etc. Though the researcher has observed some efforts to bring together churches or leaders, the concept of the cooperative programme has not been taught. These gatherings are in most cases not to merge their resources but rather to spoon-feed them. The researcher, therefore, recommends that there should be seminars and teachings across the entire Baptist Convention of South Sudan on Cooperative programmes and to encourage churches to give a percentage of their income to the Convention, Conference and Association for self-sustainability of the work of Christ at various levels. The researcher hereby recommends that 15% income be paid to Convention, 8% income to Conference and 7% income to the Association and these percentages could be reviewed as the work progresses. Baptist Theological Institutions or Seminary Currently, the Baptist Convention rely mostly, on North-East African Theological Seminary, owned by Empower One Ministry (an interdenominational ministry). Uganda Baptist Seminary (UBS) in the neighbouring country and Global Theological Seminary also in Uganda where nearly 99.99% of her leaders are trained. The South Sudan Baptist Convention needs her own Seminaries or Theological Institution(s) where the curriculum is designed in the context of the needs of ministry which incorporate local history, doctrine, ministerial ethical, etc. The convention needs a seminary where it can raise not only pastors and evangelists but also 68 academicians, theologians, philosophers and the like, who could write articles, books, journals, etc to address trending issues in the church. Literatures The Baptist Convention of South Sudan doesn’t have any single published literature, leadership solely depend only on the scriptures and their head knowledge. There is, therefore, need for literature urgently like more Bibles in various languages, Baptist Hymnal – the culture of hymn singing is dead, only about two or less than five Baptist churches across the convention sing hymns regularly, educational kinds of literature, Sunday School (Bible Study) literatures, Children Ministry literatures, etc. These kinds of literature should be sourced either through publications (setting up publication press) or through partnerships with other conventions around the world who are able to support such a venture. Media In this 21st century, no one would ever want to ignore the use of the media. Media involvement connects the organisation to the rest of the world. The Baptist Convention of South Sudan through the efforts and support of Ellie Sworo registered a website (www.bcossd.com) and this website is not being maintained including a Facebook page. The researcher, therefore, recommends an active use of the media by the Baptist Convention of South Sudan to connect to the rest of the world and promote the work of God in the country. Other media means that could also be considered as viable means are having a radio station and Television Station as approximately more 60% of South Sudan Population listen to radio every day. Regular Annual Sessions 69 The last time the Baptist met as a body and drew together people from various parts of the nation was in December 2013 at Yei just before the outbreak of the conflict in the country. Since that meeting; which was just the second general meeting after the first one held at First Baptist Church, Kajokeji in 2011, the Baptists never came together again except at Associational or Zonal levels. The researcher, therefore, recommends, to boaster unity among the Baptist, there should be ‘Annual Convention in Session’ (Annual General Meeting that gathers all Baptists together). The fear of the leadership for such meetings is sponsorship, but as it is done in many nations, delegates from local churches to the meetings should be sponsored by their local churches and should pay some registration levy. The convention should also introduce that delegates take care of the feeding, accommodation and transportation during such meetings and minimise the practice of spoon-feeding by sponsoring every expense. Investment Plans The future of an organisation depends on the present investment plans of the organisation. The Convention should invest not only in income-generating but also in developing leaders in all sectors of life to contribute to the development of the country. The researcher, therefore, recommends the Convention to consider investing in things like, establishment Baptist University Education, Baptist Hospitals, Baptist Tertiary Education, buy land in all major cities in the country (land always appreciates and the current value is lower than what it will be in 5-10 years to come, the Convention should grab the opportunity to acquire landed properties in all major cities in the country) for her future expansion and development. 70 Partnership The need for partnership cannot be overemphasised, The Baptist Convention of South Sudan needs other Baptists around the world who are missionminded to partner with them in building a holistic, inclusive and a functional Convention. The convention needs partners who are not only focused on short term plans like providing relief, etc but also long-term plans of seeing the stability of the Convention, building her infrastructures, structure, and other recommended things as stated above. 71 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Adeloye Gabriel O., Baptist in Focus (Lagos: The Nehemiah Rebuilding Ministry, 2009). Alan Moorehead, The White Nile First ed. (New York: Harper Perennial, 2000). Asha Joseph O. &Adeloye Gabriel O., Christian Church Formation: Historical Approach (Lagos: Awoye Arts Publicity, 2015). Ayanda S. S., ‘Baptist Autonomy, Democracy and Effective Governance’, in The Nigerian Baptist Convention in the 21st Century (Ibadan: Baptist press, 1999). Davis S. F., Association Guide Book, (Nashville, Convention Press, 1959). Elwell W. A., ‘Church’ Baker Theological Dictionary, (4th edition, 1996). Emma Hurd, "Southern Sudan Votes to Split from North" Sky News 8 February 2011. Imasogie Osadolor, The People Called Baptist: A Summary of Their History and Distinctive Christian Beliefs (Benin City: Kolashina Graphic, n.d). Kaufmann, E.P. Rethinking ethnicity: majority groups and dominant minorities. (Routledge, 2004). McBeth H. Leon, The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1967). Oroniran D. F. Esq. The Baptist Heritage: A Nigerian Perspective (Ibadan: Titles Publishers, 2013). Osuigwe Nkem Emerald, The Quest for a Sound Legacy: Rediscovering and fostering Baptist Polity and Practice (Ibadan: Baptist Press, 2003). Vedder Henry C., Short History of the Baptists (Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1907). Vedder L., Short History of Baptists (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1982). Werner Roland, William Anderson, and Andrew Wheeler, Day of Devastation Day of Contentment: The History of the Sudanese Church Across 2000 years (Nairobi: Pauline Publication Africa, 2000), 25. 72 Interviews Alochi Tolbert, Interview. Alwi: Empower One. 16th June 2019. Dima Edward, Interview. Kajokeji: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 10th March 2016. Dima Edward, Interview. Kampala: Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 10th June 2019. Duku Kenneth, Interview. Adjumani: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 15th June 2019. Duku Kenneth, Interview.Adjumani: Seed Effect Uganda Head Office. 15th June 2017. Duku Kenneth, Interview. Kajokeji: Liberty Baptist Church, Leikor, 21st March, 2016. Gatluak Ding, Interview. Kakuma: Baptist Convention of South Sudan, 10th October 2017. Giwa Markus Landi, Interview. Kaduna: Global Mission Board of the Nigerian Baptist Convention. James Loso Godfrey, Interview. Nimule: Faith Baptist Church, Nimule, 20th December, 2019. Kaya David, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministries, 16th June 2017 Kayode Bankole, Interview. Lagos: Victory Baptist Church, Ajah. 15th July 2019. Kiden Scovia, Interview. Adjumani: Seed Effect Uganda Head Office. 15th June 2019. Lokang Peter, Interview. Adjumani: Seed Effect Uganda, Adjumani Branch Office. 20th June 2019. GatluakDavid, Interview. Aweil: First Baptist Church, Aweil. 12th August 2019. Manychol John, Interview. Juba: Empower One. 1st July 2019. Mawa John, Interview. Arua: Empower One Ministry, 16th June 2019. Riak Elijah, Interview. Juba: BCOSS, 6th June 2019. Waran Alfred, Interview. Bidibidi: Liberty Baptist Church, 15th June, 2019. Williams Missy, Interview. Dallas TX: Seed Effect US. 10th July 2019. 73 Online Sources "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Accessed on 14th June 2019. “All About Religion” https://www.allaboutreligion.org/history-of-christianity-inafrica-faq.htm Accessed on 12th September 2019. “International Mission Board” https://www.imb.org/history/ Accessed 10th October 2019. “Sufficient of the Scripture” https://www.sosministries.org Accessed on 10th October 2019. “The Greater Upper Nile” http://concordis.international/greater-upper-nile-thesituation/ Accessed on 8th September 2019. “The Greater Upper Nile” http://concordis.international/greater-upper-nile-thesituation/ Accessed on 8th September 2019. Dictionaries and Encyclopaedia Merriam-Webster Dictionary Andriod App. Accessed 23rd May, 2020. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol. 1. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1990. The New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language (New York: Lexicon International Publication, n.d). 74 APPENDICES Appendix 1. Map of South Sudan showing the countries it borders. Adapted from Wikipedia. Appendix 2. List of Early Baptist Churches planted in South Sudan. 75 Appendix 3. The Greater Equatoria Region highlighted in red in the Map of South Sudan. Adapted from Wikipedia. Appendix 4. The Greater Upper Nile Region highlighted in red in the Map of South Sudan. Adapted from Wikipedia 76 Appendix 5. The Greater Bahr El Ghazal Region highlighted in red in the Map of South Sudan. Adapted from Wikipedia. 77 Appendix 6. Structure of the Convention, Conference, and Association Convention Conference Association President President Moderator Convention Chairman Conference Chairman Association Chairman Vice President Ministerial Secretary Assistant Moderator Assistant Secretary Secretary Financial Secretary Assistant Secretary Secretary Treasurer Financial Secretary Assistant Secretary Mission & Evangelism Treasurer & Policy Development Vice President Finance, Administration & Human Resource (Financial Secretary) Vice President Mission and Evangelism Director Treasurer Men Ministry Coordinator Mission Coordinator Men Ministry Director Women Ministry Men Fellowship Coordinator Coordinator Youth Ministry Women Fellow Coordinator Coordinator Children Ministry Youth Fellowship Coordinator Coordinator Women Ministry Director Youth Ministry Director Children Ministry Director Director of Education, Literature & Publication Note: All the officers above for convention, Conference and Association are to be appointed by the general assembly at the annual or bi-annual session. An appointment should also consider academic competency especially for technical positions. Draft Job descriptions for each office can be provided whenever the need for review. 78 BIOGRAPHICAL DATA PERSONAL ADDRESS AND CONTACT DETAILS Full Names: Residential Address: area Nationality: Sworo Elikana Jendoru BK 5 Residential South Sudanese Marital Status: Married Telephone: +211 (0) 922 002171 E-mail: esworo69@gmail.com Date of Birth: July 1988 National Identity Documents: Nationality ID and Passport EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENTS • Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Religious Studies (in review) University of Ibadan, Consultancy Service Unit, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria • Bachelors in Theology (in review) Baptist College of Theology, Lagos, Nigeria • CPA (Certified Public Accountant) – Course Not Completed KASNEB (Kenya Accountant and Secretariat Examination Board) • Diploma in Accountancy Young Men Christian Association (YMCA), Kampala • Secondary Education (Uganda Certificate of Education) – 2007 Itula Senior Secondary School, Moyo District, Uganda • Computer Science and Technology Kajokeji Vocational Training School, Kajokeji South Sudan under CHF international Professional Trainings ➢ Financial Performance International Business Management Institute, Berlin – Germany. Online Training 79 ➢ Finance and Accounting International Business Management Institute, Berlin – Germany. Online Training ➢ Risk Management International Business Management Institute, Berlin – Germany. Online Training ➢ Essential Management Skills International Business Management Institute, Berlin – Germany. Online Training ➢ Human Resource Management & Organization International Business Management Institute, Berlin – Germany. Online Training ➢ Strategy and Operations International Business Management Institute, Berlin – Germany. Online Training ➢ Basics of Project Management International Business Management Institute, Berlin – Germany. Online Training Financial and Computer Skills Simple Computer Maintenance Financial software’s i.e. Agresso, Quick books, Sage, etc OTHER TRAININGS Financial Management Essential Training (E1) Mango (www.mango.org.uk) – Juba, March 16th to 20th 2015 Personal Safety & Security E-Course Department of Global Safety & Security and Save the Children 80 Skills and Work Experiences A. MINISTRY EXPERIENCES 1. 2006 Assistant Secretary, Scripture Union Itula Senior Secondary School 2. 2006 – 2012 Church Planter/ Interpreter First Baptist Church, Kajokeji/Baptist Convention of South Sudan. 3. 2009 – 2012 Church Leader Juba Baptist Church (now Nuru Baptist Church). 4. 2017 - 2020 Student Pastor Victory Baptist Church Ajah, Lagos B. NONE MINISTRY EXPERIENCE 1. June to July 2017 Finance Consultant Save the Children International – Juba Country office 2. June 2015 to July 2016 Senior Finance Officer Save the Children International – Juba Country Office 3. September 2014 to May 2015 Finance Officer – Payroll Specialist Save the Children International – Juba Country Office 4. August 2012 to March 2013 and October 2013 to August 2014 Finance Officer Malaria Consortium South Sudan (Aweil, Northern Bahr el Ghazal Field Office) 5. June 2012 to July 2012 Finance and Documentation Consultant Relief International, Juba Country Office 6. December 2010 to May 31st 2012 Country Accountant Manager Afex Sudan Ltd, Afex River camp – Juba 7. February 2009 to November 2010 Accountant Assistant/Cashier Afex Sudan Ltd, Afex River camp- Juba 81 Communications Writer and Author of Several Articles and Book(s) Books includes: - (1) Sex Before Marriage: Eleven Grounds to Say a Big No (2) Excelling Marriage Articles Includes: - (1) Laziness Among Teenagers and Youth and Appropriate ways to Overcome it. (2) Managing Financial Crisis in a Minister’s Home (3) Humility: A Required Virtue in Christian Educators Leadership Founder and President of Raja for Children a voluntary Charity Organisation for Children. President of Theology Department in the College (2019/2020) REFEREES 1. Edward Dima Leju President, Baptist Convention of South Sudan E-mail: dimaedward45@gmail.com 2. Mohamad Jalil Internal Auditor, World Food Programme Former Country Finance Manager, Save the Children International, Juba – South Sudan E-mail: MHD.abduljalil@gmail.com; Mohamad.abduljalil@wfp.org 3. ElgerNieuwenhuis Country Finance Manager, MAF South Sudan, Juba – South Sudan Former Management Accountant, Malaria Consortium, Juba – South Sudan E-mail: elger@elger-songa.nl 4. Rebecca Javier Former Country Finance Manager, Relief International, Juba – South Sudan E-mail: beccajavier@gmail.com 82