NEWS
FRONTLINE FELLOWSHIP 2018 Edition 1
PO BOX 74 NEWLANDS 7725 CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA
ISSN-1018-151x
MISSION to the NUBA MOUNTAINS the day of rest from Sunday to Friday, the Christians of Sudan, particularly in the South, have resisted this persecution. The Arab government in the North of Sudan has slaughtered, pillaged, arrested, crucified, forcefully Islamised and enslaved thousands of black indigenous people of Sudan, especially Christians. In response to this terrorism, the predominantly Christian South fought back. The Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) resisted Islamic persecution. These malnourished SPLA soldiers have fought under the scorching sun with very few resources, often feeling as though the rest of the world had forgotten them. “Let the peoples praise Thee, O God; let all the peoples praise Thee! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!” Psalm 67:3-4 Sudan in the Bible It was an honour to go to a land that has a rich heritage in the Bible and in missions history. Sudan, known in the Scriptures as Cush, has a lineage of Christianity going back to A.D. 37. In Acts 8, the evangelist Philip was led by God to encounter the treasurer of queen Candace from modern-day Sudan. We read that Philip explained the Scriptures, “preached Jesus to him” and then baptised him. This man from Sudan would go back to his queen with the greatest treasure of all – the message of salvation. There are numerous mentions and prophecies about Sudan, or Cush, in the Bible. 2 Kings 19:1-9, Isaiah 37:1-10, Jeremiah 38:7-13, Nahum 3:9-10, to name a few. Perhaps the most exciting is the promise in Psalm 68:31 “Cush will submit herself to God”.
History of the Sudanese Church From AD 37, the Church in Sudan grew rather rapidly. By AD 580, the whole Nubian kingdom in Sudan adopted Christianity as the official religion. However, within the next century, the Church of Sudan would face opposition from Islamic forces, which they steadily resisted. 600 years later, a more radical Islamic power took control of Egypt and began waves of assaults on the Nubians. In the late nineteenth century, Missionaries from the United Presbyterian Church of America, Sudan Interior Mission and Africa Inland Mission, progressively entered the country. Christianity expanded across the land. Churches, schools, mission stations and hospitals were established. Bibles were translated into local languages. The light of the Gospel shone brightly. Despite the persecution of the Islamic government since 1957, expelling missionaries, seizing Christian schools and changing
23 Years Serving in Sudan Since 1995 Frontline Fellowship has been ministering in war-torn Sudan. Mission teams have delivered hundreds of thousands of Bibles, hymn books, Gospels, Scripture booklets, farming tools and seed to the people of Sudan. Frontline delivered the first complete Bibles in the Moru language, pioneered and trained the first chaplains for the SPLA and set up clinics and mission stations to help the Sudanese. Dr. Peter Hammond also introduced missions such as Samaritans Purse to Sudan, who have done an incredible amount of relief aid and ministry. Since 1996, Frontline Fellowship has been behind enemy lines in the Nuba Mountains - an Island of Christianity in a sea of Islam. Our mission has also advocated for the Christians of Sudan and created awareness which helped lead to the secession of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011. Sadly, due in large part to American foreign policy, South Sudan declared itself a secular state and appointed leaders (Continued on page 2)