Juba For Jesus Mission Follow-up: He Sets The Captives Free

Jaba prison inmate Charles Olili Philip

Below are a couple of testimonies from the Juba mission. Praise the Lord for what He did in these men’s lives, and let’s keep the follow-up process in our prayers.

Tomorrow, 9th November, marks the two month countdown to the 9th January 2011 referendum which will determine the status of Jaba's proposed independence from the north. Intensity is increasing in Sudan, and they desperately need the prayers of the worldwide church at this time.

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I met Charles and Sadic after interviewing a handful of prisoners who mainly wanted to protest about the conditions in the Juba prison. They had been selected by the prison colonel, who very kindly stood with us in the inexpressibly sweltering sun in the middle of the prison compound, providing some sort of security through his presence. Crowds of white clad prisoners sat tightly pressed against the wall seeking the small ribbons of shade, and watched curiously from around the perimeter.

Understandable though their complaints were, we wanted to hear about the impact of Stephen Lungu and his team who had visited the prison a week earlier. They had returned to the mission base excited, certain that the Lord had worked in many hearts. Through the prison colonel, we asked the on looking prisoners whether any of them wanted to share how they had found the AE “Juba for Jesus Mission.”

There was unsteady confusion as a large crowd prisoners approached, and encircled us completely. It could have been an intimidating experience, but strangely the vibe was more that of a school yard of inquisitive students – something had affected these men. Charles had been first to attract our attention, standing immediately and waving to us, and he stood in front of the others, most of whom were only there to listen.

Charles was 32 years old, and was married with 5 children. He shared that he had been baptised as a young child, and had been taken to church by his father. Despite being a church goer, he had never really understood the gospel or the bible well, and when he eventually joined the military at fourteen years old, he wasn’t interested in hearing from the Lord or reading His word.

Charles had been a driver for the army and during that time, he had started growing and taking drugs. One day he was caught under the influence and in possession of drugs, and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. He had been in prison for 2 years when Stephen Lungu and the young AE Foxfire evangelists visited.

Fellow Jaba inmate Sadic Taban.

Charles was struck by Stephen’s testimony – someone who had been abandoned as a child and who had lived on the streets, and slept under the bridge, and yet God had helped him. Charles reflected upon his own life, and realized that he had sinned, just as others had. But he told us earnestly that “the love of God is there in Jesus Christ, who forgives sin”…, and he had dedicated his life to be a new Christian.

He was genuinely excited as he told us about how this moment had impacted his life. His enthusiasm, in light of another 8 years in prison, was telling. Charles had started to read his bible again and wanted to start a church. He had started sharing with his fellow prisoners that life in Christ is a good life, translating for them from English to Arabic. He also expressed a concern to reach “those outside” (of prison) with the good news about Christ. He knew that if he was in trouble he could call on the Lord who would help him.

His remorse was obvious. Charles said that the he and the prisoners all needed forgiveness because they broke the law, and he freely apologized to the government for contributing to disorder in Sudan.

Charles was accompanied by Sadic, a young man of 26 years. He was also married, and had two young sons. His story was heart wrenching and I was struck by the joy and lack of resentment with which he told it. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty (possibly unjustly) of murdering a man in a motorbike accident. Although he protested his innocence of the crime which brought him to prison, he openly admitted that he had never gone to church because he preferred to go places which were more consistent with his promiscuous lifestyle.

Sadic explained how he had given his life to Christ after Stephen Lungu’s message, and had been saved from “the way of death”. He now enjoyed reading the bible, and had joined the prison prayer group. He went on to explain that registration for the prayer group had increased significantly after the Juba for Jesus mission event because of the number of men who had been saved during that time.

Charles and Sadic had found freedom despite imprisonment, and new meaning despite seemingly hopeless futures. They were so thankful that African Enterprise had brought the gospel to the prison, and had shared hope in Christ with those who were suffering. They encouraged those supporting the ministry to continue, because they were greatly blessing others. We ended our time with Charles and Sadic in prayer, heads bowed, in the sweltering heat and surrounded by hundreds of imprisoned men who also, we pray, will hear about the grace of God through them.

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Lausanne World Congress 2010: Michael Cassidy Report, Pt. 1

Welcoming the Lausanne delegates to Africa.

Very Dear Praying Friends in South Africa, across Africa, and in the Global Church,

This is the first installment of my report on the recent Lausanne Congress:

I. Overall Summary

Well, the third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation has been, come and gone. Did I say gone? I did, but I don’t really mean that. No, not really gone, but certainly GONE FORTH! Because from 2010 Cape Town people from almost every country in the world have gone forth with new zeal, energy, determination, motivation, and biblical conviction to take the Gospel afresh to every corner of the globe and to be witnesses as per Acts 1:8 in our Jerusalems (i.e. where we immediately are), our Judeas (the areas round about where we reside), our Samarias (the people with whom we normally have no dealings) and to the ends of the earth. And to do it recognizing that it can only be done in the power of the Holy Spirit and in faithfulness to God’s Word.

A closing press release described the Congress as “Perhaps the widest and most diverse gathering of Christians ever held in the history of the Christian Church.” 4,200 delegates (the 250 Chinese delegates never made it) from 198 countries were present. The Congress connected also to 650 global sites in 91 countries. Then there were 100,000 more participants, from 185 countries, visiting the Congress website. So the participation went well beyond those in Cape Town.

We were thankful that in spite of malicious attacks bringing down the Congress website in the first 48 hours, the battle in cyberspace was won by Congress IT boffins who got it all going again.

Incidentally there were also observers there from the Vatican, The World Council of Churches as well as Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The closing press statement also contained the following statements:

“’Our vision and hope was firstly for a ringing affirmation of the uniqueness of Christ and the truth of the biblical gospel; and a clear statement on evangelism and the mission of the church – all rooted in Scripture’, said Lindsay Brown, Lausanne Movement International Director, in his closing address. ‘The evangelical church has rightly put an emphasis on bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to every people group, but we have perhaps been a little weaker in our attempts to apply biblical principles to every area of society, and to public policy: to the media, to business, to government. We need to engage deeply with all human endeavour – and with the ideas which shape it.’ The Congress included an Executive Leadership Forum and a Think Tank for leaders in Government, Business and Academia. ‘There is a groundswell of conviction’, said Mr Brown, ‘that greater concerted effort is needed to apply biblical truth in these arenas.’”

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