As part of an ongoing commitment to bringing Rooted in Jesus to all of the dioceses of the Internal Province, three Rooted in Jesus conferences were held in January and February:

1. An Introductory conference in the Diocese of Gogrial, hosted by Bishop Abraham Ngor Mangong and held in Kuajok Cathedral
   
2. An Introductory conference in the Area Diocese of Tonj East, hosted by Bishop’s Commissary Revd Peter Aleu Kok and held in Romic Church
   
3. A hybrid Follow-up conference, with some Introductory elements for new leaders, in the Diocese of Nyamlel, hosted by Bishop Peter Garang Akuei and held in Nyamlel Cathedral

The conference locations in the Northern Province relative to the capital, Juba

Team Leader Barry Blackford reports:

‘The bishops had sent out invitations to church pastors and evangelists, leaders of the Mothers Union, Sunday School and youth groups as well as the students from the ECSS Colleges in Gogrial and Nyamlel. Across the 3 conferences we commissioned 331 new leaders as well as recommissioning 27 existing leaders in Nyamlel.

The teaching was provided by two visitors from the UK, Revd Barry Blackford and Revd David Wood, working alongside two experienced South Sudanese Rooted in Jesus Coordinators, Ven Yosefate Datiro Minaye from Nzara and Revd John Akok Akok from Aweil. The final team member was Revd Joseph Uyu, the Internal Province’s Adult Discipleship Programme Coordinator, who joined us in Gogrial.

Rooted in Jesus Coordinators were commissioned in each Diocese: Revd Albino Akeen Akoon in Gogrial; Revd Peter Aleu Kok in Tonj East; and Revd William Tong Atak in Nyamlel. The Rooted in Jesus group leaders’ books were all printed to a high standard in South Sudan in the primary language of Dinka Rek.

History

‘South Sudan is the newest nation in the world, having become independent from Sudan in 2011 after decades of fighting. Since independence, the country has suffered from a protracted civil war, a major famine and, more recently, severe flooding and the effect this has on the food supply. Whilst the security situation has improved there are still inter-tribal conflicts with over one hundred deaths in Warrap state alone, which includes Gogrial and Tonj Dioceses, in the first five weeks of 2024. The problem has been exacerbated by the influx of a large number of displaced persons fleeing the Sudanese civil war, adding to those internally displaced by the flooding.

The Episcopal Church is a relative newcomer to the Greater Bahr el Ghazal area, but has experienced rapid growth, especially since independence. Under the leadership of Archbishop Moses Deng Bol it has grown from a single diocese to seven dioceses, with another five Area Dioceses which will in the future become dioceses in their own right. Archbishop Moses is a visionary leader who has long recognised the need to create disciples rather than just converts. A few years ago, he decided that Rooted in Jesus would be the main programme for developing individuals in their faith and for evangelism – an approach which is strongly supported by his bishops.

The Conferences

‘On the way in from the airport to Kuajok Cathedral, Bishop Abraham had said that the people of Gogrial Diocese were really excited by our visit as it was the first time that somebody from Europe had come to teach and encourage them since the establishment of the Diocese. Nothing quite prepared us for the demonstration of that excitement and the welcome that we were going to receive. We were still nearly about a kilometre from the Cathedral when we saw a procession coming down the road. This was the welcome party led by the most colourful processional cross that any of us had seen. It was not possible to continue in our vehicle and so we walked at the head of the procession for the remainder of the distance to the Cathedral where we were welcomed and spent time in worship. Despite some attendees not being able to make the journey due to the tribal troubles that were occurring across Gogrial Diocese, the joy and the desire to learn more about following Jesus and how to share their faith were far greater than we had seen before. This joy and desire was reflected in Tonj East and in Nyamlel, where the welcomes were just as warm and enthusiastic, albeit without the procession!

Delegates at Kuajok Cathedral, Diocese of Gogrial

The 4-day Introductory Conferences in Gogrial and Tonj East followed the same pattern. For the first three mornings we started with Worship followed by Teaching through the use of plenary sessions, illustrative demonstrations, discussions and times of prayer. We concluded the morning with a Group activity. On the first morning, after a light-hearted demonstration of how not to lead a group, the team led the groups to demonstrate this new approach to teaching that some of the pastors initially found difficult to adjust to. On the following two mornings, attendees were selected by the bishop or his commissary to lead the small groups of ten to twelve members. The final morning concluded with a Commissioning service after the Teaching session. In the afternoons there were Workshops on leadership, pastoral care and prayer and these were followed by a Ministry time of Bible reflection and prayer.

The 3-day Follow-up Conference in Nyamlel followed the same basic format as the Introductory conferences. The Introductory Conference had been held in November 2022 and a mango tree had been planted to commemorate the introduction of Rooted in Jesus and a reminder that if we are rooted in Jesus then we will grow and bear fruit. Yosafate, David and Barry went to inspect the tree with Bishop Peter.

Conference delegates after the Commissioning in Romic, Diocese of Tonj

Reflection

‘The enthusiasm of the participants and the vision of the bishops left the team feeling very encouraged that the Rooted in Jesus training was so enthusiastically received and plans made to implement Rooted in Jesus groups in the parishes. It was reported back to us that the weekend after we left Nyamlel saw the launch of nine new Rooted in Jesus groups.

These three dioceses are all, essentially, missionary dioceses with very little by way of resources but they all have one great resource which more than overcomes any deficit: the people. Their love of God, warmness of heart and generosity towards others was the greatest resource one could ask for. Speaking of their generosity, in Tonj East they had clubbed together to buy the team a farewell present: a goat and two chickens!

The team were very grateful for all those who had willingly given their time to help make these conferences such a success and we all came away feeling that we had a bit of our hearts behind and that part of each of the dioceses will be in our hearts. We would also like to thank those who had been praying for us, especially when we had a few problems along the way.’

The Rooted in Jesus tree and the gift of a goat and chickens in the Diocese of Nyamlel

Barry’s UK colleague Revd David Wood was interviewed on Cumbria Crack radio on his return, available on their website here.

Feedback

We have been encouraged by the responses to the conferences, both from participants at the time and from the host dioceses afterwards. Please join with us in continuing to pray for them.

May I take this golden opportunity to thank Rooted in Jesus as a Christian organisation for reaching places which have never been reached in the world. No missionaries have ever come to this place therefore people are thirsty for the gospel. The Bible says a sick person is the one who needs the doctor. Rooted in Jesus is the doctor!

Bishop Peter Yuol, Diocese of Tonj

We really thank and appreciate your support and commitment of sending your Rooted in Jesus team to come and facilitate the conference in our Diocese. The conference was so colourful and many Christians who attended the conference got transformed.

Revd Albion Akeen, Diocesan Coordinator, Diocese of Gogrial

We had a wonderful conference and many of our Christians enjoyed the training as well. We were very much impressed for the work done by your team. We thank God for this partnership between the leadership of Rooted In Jesus and the Diocese of Nyamlel

 Bishop Peter Garang, Diocese of Nyamlel

We are grateful to the Relay Trust who provided a grant to each diocese to help with the conference costs, and to all those who prayed daily for the team while they were there. South Sudan is not an easy place in which to work!

Rooted in Jesus is published and supported by The Mathetes Trust. For more information about Rooted in Jesus visit our website.