ONE Prayer Update: Sudan

Crew!  Here's the latest update from Sudan for the ONE Prayer Network.  Enjoy! -sj

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Twenty church planters and a lot

 of other people attended the training in eastern Sudan in September.  It is becoming harder and harder to limit the training only to the church planters enrolled in the year long program.  The objective is to take a cohort of new church planters through training that focuses on the skills needed for each stage of church planting, but as time goes on, more people hear about the sessions and just show up. 

Like Jesus model with his disciples, the twenty church planters have been sent out two by two after each training session.  At this session, all ten reported that they have started a ministry center.  The three largest have between 25 and 30 adults at regular worship services, all from mixed Muslim and animist backgrounds.

Each team of workers is related to a “mother” church which takes responsibility for the emerging new congregation.  The leaders of these churches met with the trainers and shared how they are encouraged to be “totally active” in the new churches.  (It is wonderful to see these leaders so energized by the success of their missionary teams.  Many “mother” churches have been in survival mode, convinced that they cannot reach Moslems.  Now with training and experience, the new groups are already talking about how to reach other villages and will bring plans and prayers to the December training session.)