Try to imagine being a child in eastern DR Congo. Your whole life you’ve lived in the shadow of violence.

Think of the horrors you might have witnessed – armed robbery, murder, sexual assault.

And what if your parents had also never known an extended time of peace, so they had no words of comfort for you?

Who could you talk to? Who could your parents go to, to get help coping with their anxiety, grief or anger? Or would they just have to bottle it up inside?

A beacon of light for broken hearts

In 2013 The Guardian reported that DR Congo was undergoing a “mental health catastrophe” due to millions of people living with the stress of near-constant conflict for decades. Today, there are still only a few dozen trained neuro-psychiatrists in a population of over 65 million people.

In places like Goma, where CMS mission partner Martin Gordon serves as bishop, there are only a handful of mental health professionals for millions of people.

Suicide, addiction and domestic abuse are rampant in a population which has  known only violence for so long.

Enter the church.

Bishop Martin shares that local Christians are at the forefront of recognising the need for psychological and spiritual care if the cycle of violence is ever going to be broken in DRC. He also shares some glimmers of hope gleaned in the past year since the latest outbreak of violence.

On the ground in Goma

An update from Bishop Martin Gordon

The east of Congo has known conflict for nearly 35 years, and we’re still under occupation since the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group seized the city in January 2025. They had been taking over ever greater swathes of land around Goma for almost three years prior to the invasion.

The immediate aftermath of the occupation saw 8,500 deaths, a peak in sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, public beatings and executions, kidnappings and raids on hospitals. We count the number of internally displaced people and the number of children out of school in the hundreds of thousands.

Today, although the banks, the airport, the prison and the courts remain closed, there is now more of a sense of calm. But it is an uneasy calm. Violence can flare up at any moment.

Seeking solace in church

But for us as a diocese there has been some encouragement. The Church is still seen as the one remaining institution that can be trusted and in DRC there’s always a church at the heart of every village and community. 

After Goma fell to the rebels, we saw an increased attendance in several of our parishes. Those who don’t usually come to church came asking for prayer, and those on the fringes started coming more regularly. There is a spiritual hunger.

In the weeks following the fall of the city, through the generosity of Anglicans across the world, we were able to distribute emergency cash to 60 of our clergy, 50 diocesan staff and over 200 school teachers whose salaries were not able to be paid by the central government. And we were able to rebuild or repair eight out of our 109 schools ahead of the start of the academic year. So almost 3,000 pupils can study in better conditions than before.

Thousands turning to Jesus

And in the sadness, in the pain, in the suffering, there are some real signs of hope. Because most of the diocese is under M23 control, it means getting around is easier. We’ve been able to visit parishes that have been inaccessible for the last three years to see how they’re doing and to encourage them. Land purchase and construction are less heavily policed and in the last year we’ve been able to build 16 churches and have bought 22 plots of land for church planting.

In summer 2025, we were able to hold large scale evangelism campaigns in four of our secondary schools in the city, where over 6,000 children heard the gospel and a thousand came to faith and our school chaplains are now busy following them up.

We’re seeing particular fruit in Walikale which is our archdeaconry in the forest, two days away from Goma by motorbike. Here, God has given us an open door for the gospel. We’ve been busy training church leaders, buying land, building schools and a guest house, and planting churches.

Since 2024, the church in Walikale has gone from a handful of struggling groups of believers to 17 churches, each with their own land and church building. Nineteen leaders have already finished two or three years of theological training or are in the process of being trained.

We’ve heard some exciting stories of the power of God breaking into people’s lives through monthly evangelism campaigns in Walikale.

From hate to hope

The bigger picture for us as a diocese and part of our day-to-day calling as a church is to pursue peace and reconciliation in the midst of conflict. For four years, we’ve been working with all faith leaders across the city, issuing joint media statements to change the narrative of hate and suspicion, doing weekly radio broadcasts to millions of people, and organising inter-community cultural and sporting events.

At the heart of our peace work is training religious and community leaders in self transformation. Teaching them to find peace with God and with themselves and then being sent as peacemakers to bring peace and reconciliation to their families, churches, and communities.

Joining hands for peace

After one such peace training focusing on youth, leaders from four different ethnic groups, usually at each other’s throats, took to the stage, joined hands, and gave a public commitment that from now on they would work together to bring healing to the community.

Photo: schoolchildren form an enthusiastic crowd at an evangelism campaign

Mental health mission

Increasingly within this area of self-transformation, we’re focusing on trauma healing for pastors and for leaders. This latest conflict is just another layer on top of previous trauma. We believe that the pastors are much better able to help their own congregations if they themselves have experienced de-traumatisation or found some measure of healing from past trauma.

To date we have trained around 300 young people, women, pastors and evangelists to be able to offer support for others who are traumatised.

Adopted into the family!

I’ll end with a story of healing and reconciliation that has profoundly moved many of us.

Canon John, the Archdeacon of Goma, retired in 2025 after 49 years of ministry and 50 years of marriage.

The first 10 years of marriage were hard as his wife Providence fell ill and they couldn’t have children. Eventually, they did have two children, although they’d always wanted more.

Earlier this year, Canon John was with Mama Providence in a trauma healing seminar. There was another participant called Ansh who gave her testimony around the trauma of never knowing her father.

She was now in her 30s. She had six children, but she spoke of how she missed the father she’d never known. She also told of how her husband had abandoned her. Her tailoring business had been looted in the fighting.

Everyone sympathised with her situation. But Canon John did something different. Touched by her story, he had a whispered conversation with his wife. They approached Ansh to say that they’d always longed for more children and would love to adopt her as their own adult daughter. Ansh readily agreed and immediately took their family name and started calling them mom and dad. Their only son Samuel who was at seminar came forward publicly to embrace and welcome Ansh into the family.

You can imagine the reaction of the other participants. Canon John came to my office the following week to tell me that everyone in the community knew that they now had a new daughter and earlier this year she brought two of her children to the cathedral to be baptised.

Holding on to hope

I want to end simply by thanking you all for your prayers, your interest and your support. Times are still incredibly hard in Goma.

The recent invasion adds one more layer of trauma to more than 30 years of conflict.

And many still struggle to make ends meet.

But amid the suffering, we can testify daily to the faithfulness of God, and we continue to put our trust in him, knowing that he sees our suffering and is always at work.

Related posts

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post DR Congo: new hope rising appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

In the hours before a peace rally was held in Makol’s town, Makol was out stealing cattle. He was caught in the act. He knew his fate was sealed: he would be publicly executed.

Yet, a speech delivered by Archbishop Moses Deng at the peace rally about forgiveness and reconciliation changed everything. When the Archbishop trained with CMS-Africa in 2010, he never imagined that his words could save a man’s life more than a decade later….

Where livestock is everything

In South Sudan livestock represents wealth, social status, income, food and dowries. Cattle raiding is big business for the perpetrators and hugely damaging for the victims.

Makol was a cattle raider from Warrap State, South Sudan. He knew that stealing cattle was wrong and that people were getting hurt, but he was making too much money to stop. He also knew he couldn’t afford to get caught – if he was caught, he could be executed by firing squad in front of his community.

In parts of South Sudan, cattle raiding has been practised among pastoral communities for as long as anyone can remember. But in recent years, the traditional spears and bows and arrows have been replaced by guns and heavy weapons. Raids have become more intense, more violent and take place on a much larger scale.

In addition to cattle raiding, many tribes in South Sudan are fighting with each other over land disputes and other matters. Most people struggle to remember a time when they weren’t in conflict. Very sadly, conflict between tribes leads to more cattle raiding, which feeds more conflict, pushing communities across the country into a downward spiral of violence, costing many lives.

Discipleship with a difference

CMS-Africa is working with local churches in South Sudan to disciple Christians and raise up “Abunas”. Abunas are men and women who find their identity in faith rather than in a tribe. They are recognised for their good character and will actively work to transform families and communities.

CMS-Africa also offers trauma healing, builds relationships between church leaders from different tribes and works with congregations through individual churches’ groups and activities.

Peace comes to town

In the Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan, an inter-church peace committee representing multiple denominations is also working to foster peace among warring communities. In early 2021, the committee organised a series of peace rallies and conferences in Makol’s home state, Warrap. Church leaders, senior government officials and Archbishop Moses Deng – Bishop of the Diocese of Wau – visited towns and villages, to speak to communities and traditional leaders about peace. Drawing on his training with CMS-Africa, Archbishop Moses Deng spoke to each community on the theme of love and forgiveness.

In the hours before a peace rally was held in Makol’s town, Makol was out stealing cattle. He was caught in the act, arrested and put in a police car. He knew his fate was sealed: he would be publicly executed.

The governor of Warrap State, General Aleu Ayieny, planned for Makol to be killed in front of the crowd at the end of the peace rally that same day. Evening came and Makol found himself sitting in the back of the governor’s car, waiting for his punishment, while General Ayieny listened to Archbishop Moses’ message nearby.

Expecting execution, receiving forgiveness

The Archbishop spoke about peace, forgiveness, reconciliation, repentance and peacebuilding – as he did in every community he visited. When he had finished, the governor stood up and addressed him: “Your Grace Moses, I have a living dead young man in the back of my car. I have brought him here to kill him in front of these crowds and multitudes by firing squad. We have spoken a lot against this practice of cattle raiding and today we could have been making an example out of this man…. But because you have spoken of forgiveness and reconciliation, I have forgiven him.”

The governor went back to his car and instructed Makol to follow him to the gathering. Makol followed slowly, walking to his death. But standing there in front of his community, hanging his head in shame, he heard the words, “You are forgiven.” Makol was overwhelmed. Could this really be true? A moment ago, he had been sentenced to death. Now he was being told he was forgiven, and the crowd who should have witnessed his execution were celebrating with him.

That day, Makol received Jesus and was baptised.

Four years later, his cattle raiding days are behind him. He and his family belong to a local church where they are being discipled and Makol provides for his family honestly by working as a prison warden.

One disciple at a time

Peace in South Sudan will not be achieved overnight, but CMS-Africa is committed to steady, long-term discipleship throughout the communities of Bahr el Ghazal in South Sudan.

As people are discipled and Abunas are raised up one at a time, CMS-Africa is seeing lives changed and in cases like Makol’s, even saved. Could these be the first green shoots of the peace God wants for this nation?

Sign up

Would you like to be inspired by more life-changing stories like Makol’s? Sign up for emails and follow CMS on social media.

Sign up for emails

Related posts

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post From certain death to eternal life appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

As Ukraine marks 1,000 days since the Russian invasion our local partners Valery Alymov and Anya Manchuliak have sent a video message to CMS supporters.

Please pray for them and mission partner Alison Giblett, who serves alongside them.

Their message expresses the hopes of faithful Ukrainian Christians as they seek to serve their fellow citizens, including Valery’s work as a military chaplain.

Valery speaks movingly of his assurance of Christ’s presence with them and the hope they receive from Christ’s victory.

We invite you to join us in prayer:

• Pray that all people across the region, including the troops and fearful citizens, may know, in Valery’s words, “the fullness of God’s peace”.
• Please pray for Valery, Anya, Alison and all the people of Ukraine as the weather is much colder with snow coming, making conditions more difficult for everyone.
• Energy infrastructure was attacked this week, rocket attacks continue and power cuts happen. When the Metro (underground) is not functioning (e.g. in a power cut) bus travel is much more time consuming.
• People are feeling war weary. Stresses are unsurprisingly taking their toll, especially increasing sirens alerting possible rocket attacks and the sound of bombs.
• Pray too for the leaders of both Ukraine and Russia, that a just peace may soon be reached and the appalling loss of life on both sides may stop.

More from the team…

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post Ukraine: 1,000 days of war appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

What can make someone go from being part of an armed militia to a minister of the gospel? As local partner Bisoke Balikenga shares the remarkable transformation story of Manasseh from DR Congo, his answer is clear – only Jesus.

“There was nothing else to do”

Manasseh never thought he’d join an armed militia. But one night he jolted awake to the sound of gunfire shattering the stillness of the night in his village in eastern DR Congo.

Dangerous militia men were coming: Manasseh and his wife were told to get out and run, escaping into the forest.

They lost everything – leaving behind their property, their possessions and the farm that supplied their food and income, with survival their only thought.

Without any of the security of his former life, Manasseh joined the militia group to survive. He explains, “There was nothing else to do. You’d left all your property, you cannot plant, you cannot farm, you cannot do business.”

He lived in the forest with the militia and later became the bodyguard of one of the commanders. Manasseh felt that life in the forest with the gangs was not good, and knew he was doing bad things – but he didn’t know where to turn.

Eventually the commander was arrested for war crimes and Manasseh knew he was at risk too. He ran away with his family, ending up in a refugee camp in Bunia.

Complex conflict

The people of eastern DR Congo have long felt the terrible effects of violent conflict.

CMS local partner Bisoke Balikenga works for peace in Bunia and explains, “The situation in DRC is very complex. In the north east of the country we have three militia groups attacking and killing people, and there are ongoing conflicts between different tribes too.

“Where I live in Bunia there used to be conflict between the Hema, who farm cattle, and the Lendu, who grow crops – this dated back to the period of Belgian colonial rule, but intensified 20 years ago.

“That conflict wasn’t fully addressed and now both groups have weapons. And we have 440 tribes in DRC, and they each have conflict with another tribe.

“People say, ‘if our group can have a weapon, it can protect our village’. So now all those people are fighting together.

“In Bunia, we have UN peacekeepers, and also government soldiers. That’s why in Bunia there is a bit of peace, but you cannot go more than 20km away.

“People are coming to Bunia because where they used to live the killing is still going on. There’s no way to stay – it is better to run away, to go where they can have peace.

“But when they get to Bunia, there is another terrible situation. People come having lost a loved one or some of their family, and when they reach Bunia, sometimes food and a place to stay is not easy to find.

“If there is peace, life in the village is nice. We have very good soil people can cultivate, so you can have land, you can eat very well and relax. But in town people need to buy everything and they don’t have money.

“When I talk about this situation, I feel so bad. People have been killed like insects. Our future is really not clear.”

Working for peace

In the face of this bleak reality, Bisoke, who works for the Anglican Church, is still seeing God at work through a peace centre he started. And Manasseh now works alongside him!

How did such a transformation take place? Bisoke is clear: “Only Jesus.”

The peace centre was born out of a request for Bisoke’s help and the gift of a small piece of land. After praying and talking to local leaders, Bisoke wanted to do something about peace.

Starting small, Bisoke and his colleagues cultivated crops and started to help women to learn to read so that they could access the Bible. Later they started teaching practical skills so women could earn an income.

When war came nearby, many people came to the centre knowing that there might be a welcome there.

The people arriving were traumatised and needed help, so Bisoke and his team got training in trauma healing and reconciliation to offer a trauma healing programme.

The centre provides food and access to clean water too, as people need these basic necessities before they can engage with the training.

Bisoke and his team face great challenges, but they are seeing God at work and seeing people become Christians and be transformed. Some are starting to be able to work together across divides.

Turning to Jesus

The Anglican team from the peace centre go into surrounding refugee camps to share the gospel, including the camp where Manasseh was staying.

Manasseh’s wife became involved with the peace centre first. Like other women receiving their support, she began to noticeably change.

Manasseh started to slowly get involved at the peace centre too, encouraged by the fact that the team showed him God’s love despite the terrible things he had done.

Bisoke recalls that when he first met Manasseh, he was not happy and could not laugh or smile.

Over time, they started to talk more and Manasseh took part in the trauma healing programme. He turned to Jesus, and over the five years since becoming a Christian he has participated in training with the peace centre and CMS-Africa.

CMS-Africa’s training aims to help people experience holistic transformation as their faith impacts all areas of their life.

Manasseh learned about self-reliance and having a biblical approach to money and resources, and as a result he planted crops, sold them and started a shop to provide for his family.

Bisoke’s team arranged for Manasseh to train for ordination in the Anglican Church, and now he is the pastor in an Anglican parish as well as working at the peace centre. He goes into the refugee camps to preach and share his testimony to encourage others.

Testifying transformation

There are more people like Manasseh who used to be in the militias coming to the peace centre.

Manasseh shares, “They go through a very difficult life, violence, no peace, conflict among themselves and within themselves. They can now see how I live outside, since I have come out and joined Jesus and been rehabilitated in the community.”

At the peace centre, there are people who have been deeply traumatised by the militias experiencing support and healing from their suffering, as well as those who have participated in horrific violence.

Bisoke shares, “We keep seeing the way Jesus says: ‘I’m coming in to help those people who are sick.’ Then we see the people coming in are really vulnerable people.

“God has really put his hand on some people. They are becoming Christian. They are being transformed. Then some are saying, now we can work together.

“They say, ‘People were killing us. Then we ran away and we are here. We thought you really can help us, or the army can help us. No. Now we have seen the only one who can help us is Jesus.’

“That’s why we keep saying only Jesus. We like people to develop prayer a lot so they can discover Jesus. Then they will come back to help us, like Manasseh.

“It builds our faith, to see the way people are coming without anything. Then they become Christians. In spite of everything they face, some say, ‘Wow, we see things as very good,’ which means we’re really in the right place to help people.”

Related posts

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post From armed militia to minister appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

A new kind of leader is needed in conflict zones like South Sudan – and many of them – as we discover in this conversation…

With Joan Busolo and Naomi Rose Steinberg.

Naomi: Can you tell me where the idea for a tribe of Abunas came from?

Joan: We know that in many countries in Africa where there is much violent conflict, there are also high numbers of Christians and churches. We have been asking, why is it that forgiveness is not more in the vocabulary? Or peace? Where are we in these contexts?

We held a gathering of Christian leaders in Wau, South Sudan, to consider the continuing armed conflict there. There has been very bad fighting, many people killed or displaced.

We discussed how, clearly, there was a gap in understanding and practice in what it means to be a disciple of Jesus amid violent conflict. Recognising this gap was the beginning of the idea of making and multiplying Abunas.

Naomi: What is an Abuna?

Joan: Abuna is an Arabic word [that we are using] to refer to a pastor or leader who is recognised for good character, care for the congregation, and exemplary faith and integrity. This is an individual who fosters peace and provides visionary and servant leadership to their household, community, society and nation.

An Abuna finds their identity in faith, not tribe. So, it became a rallying cry for the kind of disciple that we seek to have in South Sudan. There are 64 tribes in South Sudan. We want to see a 65th – a tribe of Abunas.

Naomi: How can this happen?

Joan: It is not an overnight journey. At the meeting, with many denominations represented, we kept returning to the question: why is fighting continuing?

Some reasons included disputes over land or cattle. Digging deeper, you realise the prevailing mentality is: “We are the people being wronged; we are the people who need the cattle, we are the people who to whom the land belongs – the others are undeserving.” But why aren’t they deserving? Because each side doesn’t see the other as human, as worthy.

Naomi, people have been so hurt, they cease to feel. They can only see their own pain; they need to be continually re-sensitised.

Since that first meeting, my colleague Karobia has returned to the area to continue the conversation. He said people are realising that there is enough for everyone – you don’t need to be killing. To me this is a very strong message. If we separate ourselves from greed and selfishness, we can be sustained.

Karobia also mentioned there was real forgiveness happening: people from different communities apologising, embracing, agreeing that they must get past this kind of living. And continue to raise up Abunas.

It is a journey, and that is why CMS, CMS-Africa and our partners find this so crucial. We have to journey with them. We have to help them face the atrocities and prayerfully, we expect then we will begin to see the Abunas, this new tribe.

Naomi: Is an Abuna always a leader, or should we all be Abunas?

Joan: In whatever context you find yourself, you can be an Abuna. We are talking about a movement that is borderless, a lifestyle that can cut across South Sudan. It’s the answer to the atrocities. It is the answer to the pain people are experiencing.

Naomi: Can I ask how?

Joan: The Bible says when we do not have God in us, we have hearts of stone. And when we accept Christ and we know who we are in him, then we have hearts of flesh. Abunas have hearts of flesh. To see the pain of others. And empathise. Abunas are willing to resolve issues with love.

Naomi: Is one of the issues about finding one’s true identity in Jesus, not a tribe?

Joan: Yes, we’re talking about walking in the pattern of Jesus. Jesus was able to sit with the Samaritan woman and not judge her. Jesus went to Zacchaeus’s house, though he was a tax collector. Jesus forgave Peter even when Peter denied him. When I am able to see you as beautifully and fearfully made by God, here for a purpose, a complement to the person that I am and not the opposite… that’s what we are looking at here.

Naomi: Would people actually say something like, “I refuse to commit violence because I am an Abuna”?

Joan: People will return home from our discipleship training, to their churches or youth groups and we expect they will talk about what is shared and why it’s transformational. And they will say they are Abunas and people will watch them to see if they are driving peace.

And hopefully they will see something they want to emulate. This is how the light will be shared.

Naomi: It seems to me that people must be able to look to the church and find a visibly different community of peace?

Joan: 100 per cent yes. It truly takes the Spirit of God and prayer plays a crucial part. To think that a person can kill a whole village, kill everyone in the most brutal way possible… and walk away as if nothing happened…. It takes a miracle for them to turn around. For me this really brings forth why we are saying it is with Jesus that we are going to these edges – it is in vain if you dare go alone.

Take part

Could God be calling you to go to the edges with Jesus?

Explore mission opportunities with CMS

Related posts

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post Abunas – the 65th tribe? appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

Amid near-constant reports of brutal violence in South Sudan, Karobia Njogu shares glimmers of hope and “small miracles” happening among two tribes who are working to find peace through Jesus.

Interview with Karobia Njogu, then CMS-Africa cross-cultural mission manager by Paul Francis, CMS key relationships manager

Paul: Can you give us a bit of background about the conflict between the Twic and the Ngok peoples?

Karobia: So, I humbly submit this as an admitted outsider from Kenya. South Sudan has been a country in formation. For a long time, there was armed conflict between the government and various rebel groups.

In 2018 a peace agreement was signed and two years later a government of national unity was formed. That sort of reduced a certain kind of violence.

But what emerged was unresolved tribal conflicts between communities in various regions. Sometimes jostling for power but maybe conflicts about resources: land, water, cattle; there’s cattle raiding because people want cattle to pay dowry for their sons to get married, or settling court cases or paying fines.

People pick up guns

What happens is that people pick up guns: AK47s, RPGs. Or they fight with fists. There’s an element of understanding in many circles that this is how you resolve things.

So, the Dinka are one of the largest ethnic groups with various subgroups. The area we are talking about is called Abyei. Two Dinka subgroups bordering each other in this region are the Twic and the Ngok.

The groups used to be on good terms but in recent years they have been in a vicious land dispute.

My understanding is that there used to be a river between the two groups but when it dried up the Ngok started moving to the Twic side, settling down, having families.

But when the government started adjudicating the land after the war, the Twic said the Ngok didn’t belong near them. Official boundaries were left unclear and the seeds of destruction were sown.

What have been the outcomes of this dispute?

To be direct, they have been slaughtering one another. In terrible ways I won’t describe here but I have seen pictures. The Ngok have not been able to safely pass through the Twic area for two years now, which is a key part of this story.

So, how did the two groups end up getting together?

A couple of years ago, CMS and CMS-Africa felt God calling us to focus together on making disciples of Jesus in areas of armed conflict, such as South Sudan.

Focus on peace

Last year we scheduled some training for church leaders in the area on holistic ministry, biblical worldview principles and peacebuilding. Our local partners Paul and Regina Lueth come from the Twic community and were part of the training.

During that time, there were discussions about the Twic–Ngok conflict. Because we have strong partnerships in the area, we thought, we can do something. We thought, what if we bring church leaders from both sides together in Wau for training?

Our training shows people how to identify problems and address these using resources that are already present in the community. This could be a good basis for building peace.

We started planning for this, identifying people to invite. We wanted a mix of church leaders, lay people, men, women and young people.

Things were progressing but there was a big problem – how to get people to Wau safely. Remember, the Ngok couldn’t travel through Twic-controlled territory.

UN support

The UN has a presence in Abyei – the name of the agency is UNISFA (United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei). Our partner, Bishop Joseph Mamer of Wanyjok Diocese approached them for help.

Amazingly, they agreed to provide safe transport – by helicopter – for the Ngok church leaders.

Two of the UNISFA officials ended up staying through the training. I think they were curious to see what would happen, having witnessed a previous effort by NGOs to get these groups to come together in early 2023 – to no avail.

They told us there was too much animosity and hostility and a complete lack of trust. They couldn’t even stay in the same hotel out of fear of each other; it was a disaster.

And this time?

So, in January, 15 Christian leaders from each community met together in Wau. When the Ngok leaders landed and the representatives from the two groups saw each other, they started hugging and greeting each other warmly. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time due to the conflict. 

Brothers and sisters together

It was really heartwarming to see brothers and sisters excited to see each other. It was a lovely beginning to five days of training.

During that week, the group talked and shared meals. They kept taking phone calls from anxious people back home, asking if they were okay, if the other group was causing trouble. And they were able to tell them all was well.

For them, there’s a connection – the blood of Jesus is thicker than tribal identity. There is something positive, hopeful, and comforting when Christians hold hands and see each other as brothers and sisters like Paul says – we are one in Christ.

The training they leaders went through is Wholistic Transformational Leadership by CMS-Africa and peacebuilding, conflict resolution and mediation which was facilitated by CLIP – the Church Leaders Initiative for Peace. CLIP brings together different church denominations to promote peace in the Bahr El Ghazal region. 

Moving forward

At the end of five days the leaders had agreed to work together for peace between the groups. One of the UNISFA officers said that he felt hopeful for the first time in a long time. Then something terrible happened.

What was that?

On the last day, during breakfast, phones started buzzing with reports that there had been a major attack in the Abyei market and dozens of people had been shot and killed, mostly Ngok, including the cousin of one of the leaders present.

There was a heavy spirit in the air. Everything could have easily fallen apart.

But then one of the Ngok leaders said, “We cannot stop this. We have to move forward.” 

What are some things the two groups have agreed to do?

At the conclusion of the training, the church leaders from the Twic and the Ngok agreed to do three things:

1. Counteracting the negative messages that foster hate and incite conflict filled with lies with positive messages of truth and hope. 
   • One thing that was identified during the week was the cultural lies that had been spread about each other – often through social media. Negative stereotypes, false reports.
   • There are people who try to sow division and foment hostility for their own ends, sometimes political.
   • Even some pastors had believed the lies about the other group.   
2. Work with the various community leaders on each side to facilitate free movement of people and goods between the two communities. 
   • This is a huge sign of reconciliation taking place when people can participate in exchange. 
3. Each leader committed to reach out to their local authorities
   • to share what they learnt about peace-building and community transformation
   • to encourage to support them in their efforts towards peace-building and conflict resolution.
   • From there they can bring local people together for community-wide peace events.

The key is people need to keep talking and getting together and church leaders from the various denominations have to keep playing their part.

Another thing that is sorely needed is trauma healing training for church leaders. This must be managed carefully. People have been so hurt; they wear their losses likes cloaks; they are ever present.

How can a leader minister effectively to someone who has lost property, their children, their spouse, friends to such horrific violence?

How can they allow them to share their grievances without seeking revenge?

Some want to confess their crimes against another, but how can they do so without fear?

We need much wisdom from God.

How will you know if peace is being built?

This is an emerging story, one that we’ll keep tracking. Indicators of success will include more instances of churches bringing people together, children from both sides being able to go to the same school like they used to, market trading together. And more reports of people resolving their problems without resorting to violence.

I did hear recently from Joseph, our country coordinator. He called and said, “Karobia, something is happening.”

He told me that a group of Ngok people recently travelled safely through Twic territory over ground. A bunch of trucks got safely to the other side.

The people will tell you, this was actually a small miracle. It shows what is possible. A bus travelling on a road it couldn’t before. The amount of joy was amazing.

There is hope, a belief that something beautiful can come of this, and CMS and CMS-Africa can be part of it. God is doing much more than we imagined already, through simple acts of obedient faith.

Related posts

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post “The blood of Christ is thicker than tribal identity” appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

The war in South Sudan had come closer and closer, until one day Lilias saw her brother’s daughter shot in front of her.

by Camilla Lloyd

Now Lilias knew it wasn’t safe for her family to stay in Kaya, South Sudan. She went home, gathered her four children and her husband and they left.

There was no time to take anything with them – the family left with just the clothes on their backs and fled towards the Uganda border.

In the confusion of their escape, one of Lilias’s children got lost in the bush. Not knowing whether she would see her child again was almost more than a mother’s heart could bear.

But Lilias and the rest of the family had no choice – their only hope was to keep running towards the border with Uganda.

The rest of the family made it to safety and were taken to a refugee camp, but it was two weeks before Lilias was reunited with her lost child.

Trapped in trauma

In the refugee camp, things got worse before they got better. Lilias and her family were kept in a war zone by their own memories.

Things they had seen and heard in South Sudan went round and round in their minds as if being played on a loop. Repressed memories could be triggered at any time, suddenly causing flashbacks and retraumatising them.

Even while sleeping, Lilias and her family weren’t safe from reliving the trauma they had suffered. War broke into their dreams and immersed them in gunfire and bloodshed once again.

Lilias and her family had been driven from their homeland and the trauma they had suffered meant they were barely surviving.

Lilias drank more and more, trying to numb her pain. But the drinking made her treat her family badly; she couldn’t drink and still be a good wife and mother. Her marriage was already difficult, now things were getting worse. Lilias didn’t know what to do or where to turn for help.

Things got so bad that she tried to end it all – but a lady called Grace stopped her. Grace told her about the hope Jesus offers, and invited Lilias to a trauma healing group.

In the trauma healing sessions, Lilias and the others read the Bible and learned about Jesus. Lilias could feel that people in the group cared about her and over time, she felt safe enough to share her trauma and begin to work through it.

Through the sessions, Lilias found the strength to stop smoking and drinking. She accepted Jesus into her heart.

Today, Lilias is happy, full of smiles, because through Jesus, she has found peace. “Now I am alive.”

Forgiveness is the key

Lilias believes she and her family may be able to return home one day. She believes peace in South Sudan is possible. How? In her own words, “The only way we can have peace in South Sudan is if we forgive one another.”

One of her favourite Bible verses is Colossians 3:13: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Because of Jesus, Lilias was able to work through her trauma and forgive others, even those who shot her brother’s daughter in front of her.

Because of Jesus, Lilias is alive today.

Because of Jesus, peace is possible.

Related posts

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post Peace through forgiveness appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

After a desperate start to an unexpected journey, Betty eventually found peace, healing and hope in a refugee camp in northern Uganda.

by Camilla Lloyd

Back home in Lainya county, South Sudan, Betty Kigeni used to help her brother look after his children, who had already lost their mother.

When the war came to their village, they didn’t have time to plan their escape.

Very quickly, gunfire was all around them. Taking the children by the hand and leaving everything else behind, she and her brother ran.

As he looked back, Betty’s brother was shot down.

What could Betty do? For the sake of the children, she had to keep running. They ran all the way to the border with Uganda, where they were taken to Bidibidi refugee camp.

They were safe now, but Betty’s brother, and the children’s father, was gone forever.

Wasting away through bitterness

Betty had left South Sudan, but what had happened there stayed with her.

She was safe in a refugee camp, but she couldn’t move on from the fact that her brother had been killed. Her emotional pain caused her chest pain and made her not want to eat.

Over time, she became very thin, wasting away through bitterness towards those who had killed her brother.

Like many others in the refugee camp, she couldn’t see a way through her pain, and seriously considered suicide.

Healing through forgiveness

A ray of hope came in the shape of a small black device, about the size of a phone, which someone handed her one day.

This, she discovered, was a digital audio player (DAP), and it played Bible stories such as the story of Joseph being betrayed by his brothers but later forgiving them. This story particularly resonated with her.

Betty was also invited to a trauma healing group, where she could open up and talk about her trauma when she was ready.

Gradually, Betty’s life started to change.

Through meeting Jesus, spending time in God’s Word, sharing with others and actively working at forgiveness, she has found God’s healing and now has peace in her heart.

She has even been able to forgive those who killed her brother, and others can see the difference in her. She started eating normally again and has returned to a healthy weight.

Without the trauma healing programme, Betty says she would not be alive today. “Because of this message of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, now I have hope.”

Now, she wants to share the hope of Jesus with others.

Related posts

Get our email newsletter:

SIGN UP

The post Pulled back from the edge appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

We are looking for a skilled project lead to support our strategic partner in making disciples in contexts affected by armed conflict – focusing on South Sudan and DR Congo.

You will be a vital support in building a movement with input from multiple organisations, having a clear overview of strategic activities and how they come together to serve the project’s aims.

Based in South Sudan your role would include:

• Liaising with different stakeholders to track programme activities and progress
• Supporting the team to implement plans on the ground
• Compiling reports for stakeholders and funders
• Gathering stories from multiple contexts and partners to illustrate the impact of ongoing work
• Liaising with CMS and CMS-Africa especially in communications and impact reporting
• Providing administrative support

You must have a mature and living relationship with Jesus, have experience of engaging with marginalised people and of working cross-culturally. You will need experience and training in development and/or community programmes. You will be a team player, able to build relationships quickly across cultures.

Safeguarding

We are committed to the safeguarding and protection of the people we serve, our partners, our volunteers, and our staff. We believe that every child or adult we come into contact with has the right to be protected from all forms of harm and abuse. Our recruitment and selection processes are in line with our Safeguarding Policy and the SCHR Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, which CMS is a member of as part of our commitment to safeguarding.    

Values

Our core values of being pioneering, relational, faithful and evangelistic are integral to everything we do, and we work hard to ensure that every member of staff is valued, supported and encouraged to continually learn and develop their skills.

Ready for the next step? Contact us today.

• Back to current opportunities

The post Project Lead, Africa appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

For decades, violent conflict has tormented parts of eastern Africa. Joan Busolo, CMS manager for Africa, believes peace is possible. But to achieve it, she says, we need to follow Jesus and listen to women.

Interview with Naomi Rose Steinberg

Naomi: Joan, thank you for talking with me about this topic, which is timely given the continuing violence in Sudan, South Sudan and DR Congo. Can I ask, do you think that for the most part women have been left out of peace-making in those contexts?

Joan: Actually, it’s not they are left out of peacemaking; they are often left out of everything, even just making decisions about themselves. So, we have to start there.

Naomi: But it’s women who suffer most during war?

Joan: Yes, even apart from sexual violence which we know occurs…I’ve listened to many stories from women who were pregnant during times of war – imagine a pregnant woman having to run, to hide, to go without food for many days because of what’s going on around her that she never asked for. She may have children looking to her for help. They are the last people who want to see wars. Many of them say it would be easier to have peace and go hungry than to have plenty amid war. Women will be the ones to receive and care for the wounded, they will bear the brunt of those who are angry because they lost the battle. And it’s on that front where their peacemaking begins.

The key players in peace

Naomi: So, women in eastern Africa have a vested interest in bringing about peace – tell me how they can do this from a marginalised position?

Joan: It’s important to understand that many women are peacemaking. They are doing it already. They’re key players in peace. It may look small. It may be ignored. It may look like they are just doing their wifely or motherly duties. But they are peacekeepers.

Women spend 90 per cent of their time with the family, in community. Now that’s crucial. So, what they tell their children when they are fighting, goes beyond just a little fight. It’s a bigger thing. What they say even to their own husbands when there is a dispute with a neighbour or a complaint about one community or another – her voice may come in very quietly, but it can move and change a difficult situation. So, at a grassroots level, they are impacting. They are impacting right from the roots. Truth be told, they prepare the ground for the bigger decisions.

Give women more space!

Our cry in CMS is; give them more space to do that, allow them to come out even more strongly. So, when we run women empowerment programmes in conflict zones, or trauma healing programmes, women are given an opportunity to speak out and to recognise themselves as the peacemakers that they are and can be.

Naomi: Can you tell me about some women peacemakers you know?

Joan: The first person who comes to mind is CMS local partner Regina Lueth in South Sudan. This woman has gone beyond borders. Talk about ministry in hospitals, Regina is there. Talk about counselling, Regina is there. Talk about going to schools to say to young people, you don’t need to carry guns, you can relate and resolve issues by speaking to each other…she is there. She carries a lot. She is an example of how women are accelerating everything we are doing in terms of wanting to make disciples of Jesus in areas of armed conflict.

There is also Annette in DR Congo who leads the Graceful Warriors programme in Goma; their core business is trauma healing especially with children and young people. They also share the gospel and are supporting some Muslim-background believers who are facing persecution.

Those are just two examples of women who are helping bring about peace.

Shifting expectations

Naomi: Do you think more men will start listening to women and respecting their potential as peacemakers? Can the Church play a part in this?

Joan: It’s true that women are the majority in the Church, though there are very few in leadership. However, we recently helped run a consultation about bringing peace in Wau, South Sudan. There were women and men present, church leaders and their wives. We had lots of questions and discussion around how to best end violence and promote peace. I noticed that for the most part the women would just smile and go along with what was being said in the groups. The men were making the presentations; the women stayed seated. I spoke with my colleague Karobia at CMS-Africa and said, “Do you see what I’m seeing?”

So, in the afternoon we separated the women and men and I sat with the women and suddenly they felt freer to open up and share their own thoughts. They had very deep and moving things to say about being a woman in conflict contexts. About how women are often treated as children or viewed as property, more or less. How they are not expected to have a voice. How in church they are expected to be quiet and not challenge.

Naomi: Were those things shared with the men? How did they respond?

Joan: None of them objected or said there was anything untrue in what the women were saying. The men were looking at their wives with love and respect.

We have to understand that culture change is a journey. Bit by bit. We have a saying: “You can take a man out of his village, but you cannot take that village out of the man.”

But with Jesus, we can begin to see the miracle of change. It is only through Jesus that peace can come and so the Church has a vital, leading part to play as peacemakers. And listening to and including women is a big part of this.

Related posts

Get our email newsletter:

SIGN UP

The post Women: refusing to give up on peace appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

In northern Uganda, hundreds of acres of what used to be jungle is now home to around one million refugees spread across a number of refugee camps. Many of these refugees have been here for six or seven years, or even longer. Each of them has a tragic story of leaving South Sudan.

When the war began at the end of 2013, many communities descended into anarchy as different tribes fought each other. Children were drafted in as soldiers, women were raped, men were killed. Over the next few years, many ran for their lives to Uganda.

Betty remembers running from gunfire with her brother and his children. Betty’s brother looked back and was shot down. Betty kept running with his children and they made it to the border, where they were taken to a refugee camp.

Lilias’s niece was shot in front of her. Lilias went home and gathered her four children and they set off on foot towards the border. There was no time to take anything with them.

Hellen’s father was killed in the war in 2014. She found her way to the border by following strangers along the road – she didn’t have any family left.

There are one million more stories like theirs.

Leaving war behind, but carrying its effects

In the refugee camp, people are safe from the war, but their suffering stays with them. “Everyone is traumatised,” says Satimon about people arriving in the camps. Satimon is a facilitator of Bible-based trauma healing first trialled in 2018 as church leaders saw how trauma affected refugees’ daily lives.

At night, gunfire haunted them and they dreamed about the husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and children they had lost. During the day, they feared they would one day be killed by bullets too. This is what it looks like to live with trauma.

Many people also felt justifiably angry towards those who killed their loved ones. Weighed down by their trauma and hatred, people couldn’t live in peace with each other. For adults, in many cases, this leads to domestic violence, alcohol and substance abuse and sometimes suicide. In one camp, they lost six people to suicide, and there have been many more attempts besides.

According to Nimaya Badi Joseph, one of the children’s workers in the camps, children in the refugee camps act up, doing whatever they want, and their parents are unable to control them.

Finding hope in darkness

Betty, who escaped the war with her brother’s children, couldn’t move on from the fact that her brother had been killed. She lived with terrible pain in her heart and became very thin, wasting away through bitterness towards those who had killed him.

One day, someone gave her a small black device, about the size of a phone. This, she discovered, was a digital audio player (DAP), and it played Bible stories such as the story of Joseph being sold into slavery and later forgiving his brothers. Betty was also invited to a trauma healing group, where she could open up and talk about her trauma when she was ready. Through meeting Jesus, spending time in God’s Word, sharing with others and actively working at forgiveness, she has found God’s healing and now has peace in her heart. She has even been able to forgive those who killed her brother, and others can see the difference in her. She has returned to a healthy weight.

Many others like Betty have needed or still need trauma healing. According to CMS local partner Sam Malish, trauma healing is one of the greatest needs in the camps.

Following training with New Hope, Sam began the first trauma healing group in Satimon’s church in one of the refugee camps in 2018. The model is simple – the group meets together weekly and learns one Bible story (that they can later teach others orally), beginning with the story of Joseph.

Each of the stories in the programme focuses on someone in the Bible who faced trauma and looks at how God met that person in their trauma. Sam and other Christian leaders in the camps also distribute DAPs, which play all the same Bible stories. Following growing demand, they have also started playing the recordings through loudspeakers in the camps.

Identifying with the characters through hearing and acting out the Bible stories helps people process what they have been through and meet God in their trauma.

Members of trauma healing groups are also invited to a powerful healing activity where they can write their heartache on paper and commit it to God. The pieces of paper are burned as a symbol of repentance, showing that the old has gone and the new has come. When asked how it feels, Hellen, who committed her life to Jesus through trauma healing, says, “I feel so good. I feel so relieved. I feel as if there’s nothing that is traumatising me now. I am free.”

Is peace possible?

Many refugees seem surprisingly hopeful about the prospect of peace in South Sudan. “It is possible, because we are serving the living God,” says Hellen. Where there used to be tribalism, unforgiveness and enmity in the camp, there is now forgiveness and unity.

Grace, who is involved in children’s ministry, has seen a big change in the children over the years they have been here. Where they used to be badly behaved, disrespecting people and fighting with each other, Grace sees them being respectful, apologising and forgiving each other. She is passionate about raising up a generation of peacemakers who know Jesus. “Peace will be possible when we have a generation that can forgive. The next generation is growing up differently.”

Multiplying healing

Since they began trauma healing in 2018, Sam and the other facilitators have distributed over 1,000 DAPs and mini speakers and taken about 230 people through trauma healing.

Many of these people could go on to lead trauma healing groups themselves, as the programme is designed to train participants as they go through their own trauma healing.

Satimon himself became a facilitator after finding relief from his own trauma through a group. “The programme is multiplying healing in wounded hearts, bringing hope to the people,” he says.

Trauma healing is not a quick fix, and trauma isn’t healed in just a few sessions.

But Sam, the church leaders and the refugees in these camps haven’t given up.

Jesus hasn’t given up. Neither have we.

Related posts

Get our email newsletter:

SIGN UP

The post Tragedy, trauma, transformation appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

Our people in Ukraine see themselves as Ruin Restorers. Here are some firsthand photos of their recent work in villages near Kyiv.

“Can we do this again?” These were the hopeful words of a young girl who attended one of a series of children’s camps held near Kyiv this summer.

The camps were organised by CMS people in mission and others from the Tabernacle of the Living God (TLG) church team in Ukraine. TLG church members have been faithfully ministering in villages near Kyiv since they were able to return after initially evacuating to the west of the country following Russia’s invasion.

The idea behind the kids’ camps was to show children, who have been through heart-breaking tragedy, that Jesus loves and values them.

So far more than 200 children ages 5 to 16 have taken part in games, singing, meals, skits and praying together, with many being surprised how quickly they have bonded with each other and the church team.

“The children were able to feel the presence of God. It is important that they were distracted from the war, felt that they still have a childhood and [had good seeds planted in their hearts],” said one local pastor. Village parents thanked the team profusely for doing something so fun for the children.

Restoring more than buildings

Alison, Valery and Anya, CMS people in mission in Ukraine, agreed that the camps helped local children, many of whom have lost loved ones to violence, cope with their loss and trauma:

“So many children invited God into their lives and many are looking forward to another gathering next summer.”

The Kyiv team see themselves as “ruin restorers” and in addition to helping young people, they are also assisting elderly villagers with basic needs such as planting potatoes, repairing war-damaged houses and paying attention to their struggles in a time of ongoing anxiety. The team also recently helped clear a space for a bomb shelter at a school and delivered food to hungry villagers.

“What does God’s love do here?”

“Hatred and evil have left behind sadness, pain and loss,” said Valery.

“But now what does God’s love do here? Restores life, restores joy and lifts despair, inspires to keep believing and hoping for the best.”

Our ruin restorers in Ukraine thank everyone who has prayed and given so that the gospel can be shared and lives rebuilt from rubble. 

All photos courtesy of Tabernacle of the Living God Church, Ukraine

Related posts

Get our email newsletter:

SIGN UP

The post Frontline photos: Ruin restorers in Ukraine appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).