DR Congo: Ebola

According to public health officials, DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak is now the deadliest in its history. The death toll and number of confirmed cases are climbing steadily. Several vaccines are in development – pray for this work to be sped up so that more lives can be spared. Pray for people to have the information they need to take sensible precautions and help stop the spread of the disease. And finally, pray for CMS partners on the ground who are responding to this urgent need.

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DR Congo: Ebola outbreak escalating

DR Congo’s Ebola death toll has jumped from 1,500 to 2,000 in the space of a week and the current outbreak is on track to be worse than the 2014–2016 outbreak (which killed more than 11,000 people). CMS partners in DR Congo write, “Pray for protection and healing for communities affected by the Ebola outbreak. Pray for healthcare workers, health facilities, community health volunteers, and ministry partners involved in prevention, awareness, treatment, and response efforts.”

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Rwanda: the growing church

Praise God for exciting progress in Rwanda: the recent ordination of three pastors and five deacons earlier this month, ongoing construction of a new cathedral, and a new phase of Biblical Education by Extension (BEE) teaching just begun for several people from different Anglican dioceses across the country. Pray for Christians across Rwanda to continue to grow in faith as they are discipled and disciple others.

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DR Congo: Ebola

According to the World Health Organization, the current Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is now the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in the country. The official death toll is now over 1,500, though it is feared the true number may be higher. Pray for healthcare personnel as they care for the sick and do what they can stop the spread of the virus. Please lift up mission partner Martin Gordon, Bishop of Goma and his family, and CMS-Africa partner Bisoke Balikenga, who leads a peace centre in Bunia, at the heart of the outbreak, as they support those around them.

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Sudan: an end to the conflict and violence 

“Give thanks to God for his protection and sustaining grace amid the severe hardships facing Sudan,” writes CMS-Africa partner Bishop Hassan James, Bishop of Kadugli and the Nuba Mountains. “Despite the loss of lives, including faithful servants of God among the clergy, we remain confident in his care. As Psalm 23 reminds us, ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.’ Even in the midst of darkness, destruction, and uncertainty, we trust in God’s presence, knowing that his light will overcome the darkness.” Pray for an end to the conflict and violence, and for the protection of civilians, especially women and children who have been displaced, particularly in the Nuba Mountains. Pray for lasting peace, reconciliation, and stability throughout Sudan.

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Could you sit in a church pew next to someone who had robbed you? Could you worship alongside a member of a community that, for years, had been locked in a deadly conflict with yours?

In Turalei, northern South Sudan, a bustling town of around 100,000 people, a newly planted church is answering that question every week.

On Sunday mornings, the congregation is made up of both Dinka and Nuer believers. They come from opposite sides of an ongoing violent conflict but share the same service. Afterwards, children play together outside while the adults sit in the shade, eating together and talking.

A few years ago, people on both sides of the dispute would have called this impossible. So, how did it happen? Their explanation is clear: “God has done this.”

The border dispute

The conflict between the Dinka and Nuer communities in this border region began in 2017. While rooted in historical disputes over grazing lands and water sources – realities increasingly under pressure due to changing climate patterns – the tension has been compounded by local political and economic factors.

People from the Dinka and Nuer tribes could tell you many stories about how the long-standing conflict and years of cattle raiding has displaced families, disrupted trade and cost hundreds of lives.

One of the more recent incidents took place in late 2023, when under the cover of darkness, four young Dinka men crossed the border into Nuer territory. Local residents caught the young men in the act of attempting a cattle raid, and a skirmish broke out. Two of the Dinka men were killed. The remaining two fled, seeking refuge with Garang Turoah, a respected spiritual leader among the Nuer community. In line with Nuer tradition, Garang granted them sanctuary. Their lives were spared, but the Nuer community held them indefinitely, refusing to let them return home.

Finding common ground on disputed land

Paul Lueth, a local church planter and theology lecturer, knows the weight of this longstanding division firsthand. A Dinka from Turalei, Paul and his wife Regina Atany (both working with CMS) have lived through the ongoing instability of the border conflict. With no clear path to resolution, Paul and other Christian leaders on both sides recognised that if things were going to change, the two communities needed to start talking.

Paul worked with church leaders from both sides to host an initial meeting in early 2024, hoping a shared Christian faith could help the groups move towards reconciliation. Leaders from both tribes – including Garang Turoah – sat down together.

They started their gathering with prayer and worship, before launching into a discussion about how to peacefully share the disputed grazing land. They were surprised to find that their shared faith gave them common ground and helped them move forward. As one of them put it during that first meeting, “What is this Jesus, that we are able to speak to each other beyond tribes?”

Following this, the Nuer leaders made a formal gesture of reconciliation: they released the two young Dinka would-be cattle raiders they had been holding for several months.

Sustaining the peace

To build on this initial breakthrough, Paul, Regina and other local Christian leaders have spent the last two years running joint training sessions for both Dinka and Nuer believers.

Because traditional church buildings are scarce and often targeted for destruction during border raids, Paul has focused on training both Nuer and Dinka women to lead house churches. The teaching reinforces that the church is a community of people rather than a physical structure, transcending tribal identities.

At the same time, Regina Atany has been hosting savings and microfinance groups where people from both tribes sit side-by-side to learn and work together to build financial stability for their families. Regina also uses these gatherings to run a discipleship framework called Disciple-Making-Disciples, equipping women to share these peacebuilding tools across the border with neighbouring communities.

The ultimate result of this quiet, relational work is the new congregation in Turalei. What began in late 2025 as a small group of Dinka and Nuer pioneers has now grown into a steady, weekly community of over 450 people and counting, where former enemies are choosing to build a peaceful future together.

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Kenya: CMS-Africa international office  

CMS-Africa ask for prayer for suitable tenants to come forward to lease office space in their building. Please pray for them also as they seek new people to join the CMS-Africa team – people who are committed to Jesus and to making disciples at the edges.

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South Sudan: improving healthcare for babies

Doctor Nicci Maxwell lives in Juba, where she trains and supports local paediatric teams and provides medical care for local and refugee communities. She asks for prayer for two medical officers to come and work on the neonatal unit at Al Sabbah Hospital for at least a year so she can train them well and the hospital can provide better care for babies on the ward.

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DR Congo, Uganda: Ebola escalating

Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote on X this week that the current outbreak of Ebola is escalating at an alarming pace and may become the worst outbreak the world has ever documented. The death toll stands at 1,031 and counting. Pray for healthcare personnel in DR Congo and Uganda, who are doing everything they can to stop the virus spreading and to care for the sick. Continue to remember mission partner Bishop Martin Gordon and his family in Goma and our local partner Rev Bisoke Balikenga in Bunia, epicentre of the outbreak.

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Sudan: new believers, peace and stability

“Pray for the 90 new believers who have joined the church in Kaja, that the Lord will preserve them in the faith, help them grow spiritually, and keep them steadfast in their walk with Jesus,” writes Hassan James, Bishop of Kadugli and the Nuba Mountains, and local partner in Sudan. Pray for peace and stability in Sudan and for God to bring an end to the war.

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DR Congo and Uganda: Ebola

“Continue praying for Bunia, where many lives continue to be lost due to the Ebola outbreak,” writes Bisoke Balikenga, a CMS partner who runs a peace centre in Bunia, DR Congo, ministering to people amid ongoing conflict in the country. The UN World Health Organization has this week reported that there are close to 2,000 confirmed cases of Ebola and that most new cases are coming from “unknown chains of transmission”. Stand with Bisoke in prayer: “Pray for quick containment of the Ebola outbreak, and for wisdom and strength for health workers to respond effectively. Pray for the peace centre ministry as the team continues to serve the community despite the many challenges.”

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DR Congo: Ebola outbreak and response

Please continue to pray for people in DR Congo, where the government has recorded over 1,500 cases of Ebola, including over 500 deaths. The World Health Organization reports that treatment centres are at saturation point. Mission partner Martin Gordon, Bishop of Goma, reports that scepticism around whether the disease is real has led to attacks on healthcare centres and medical workers. Pray for the church to continue to be at the forefront of the Ebola response, loving its neighbours, providing hope and signposting to practical help, and for the rapid development of a treatment and vaccine for this strain of Ebola (Bundibugyo).

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