On Monday, 13 January 2025, 80 new believers were baptized in the Nile River in South Sudan, the same Nile River where the baby Moses was drawn up out of the water and saved for a greater purpose. 

“South Sudan is a new nation that got its independence in 2011. It has been making headlines for bad news, but now is time to spread the Good News,” states John Yual, Nazarene missionary to South Sudan.

These new believers are from the New Life Church of the Nazarene in Juba South, South Sudan, who were saved under the teaching and preaching of Pastor Paul Abaan. This church is only six months old, and it already has 89 new converts to the faith who have been baptized.

Despite hardships and unimaginable conditions, on 8 January 2025, an additional 25 new believers were baptized at a South Sudanese refugee camp in Uganda. 

Yual thanked God for the hard work of local pastors and missionaries working in challenging situations.

“My vision and payer have been to have vibrant churches,” Yual said. “But unfortunately, the war broke out again in 2013. I trust God to make the Church of the Nazarene one of the largest denominations in South Sudan.” 

The Africa Region asks for continued prayer for these new believers and the church in South Sudan.

--Church of the Nazarene Africa Region