{"id":26713,"date":"2026-02-26T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/?p=26713"},"modified":"2026-02-28T22:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T22:00:33","slug":"consultation-on-s-sudan-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2026\/consultation-on-s-sudan-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Consultation takes place on next phase of Church of the Brethren\u2019s South Sudan ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Sharon Brugger Norton<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A consultation on the future of the Church of the Brethren\u2019s mission priority in South Sudan was held recently in Nappanee, Ind., hosted at Union Center Church of the Brethren. Despite heavy snow and flight delays, the participants gathered for a time of sharing and strategic planning. Present were Athanasus Ungang, mission worker in South Sudan; Roger Schrock, Country Advocate Team member for South Sudan; Roy Winter, executive director of Service Ministries; and Sharon Norton, executive ddirector of Global Mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus of the meeting was on building capacity of the Brethren Global Services team, the mission team in South Sudan that is led by Ungang. The team consists of a program manager, a woman’s ministries coordinator, and several church planters and pastors. With the ongoing violence and instability in the country, the need for relief, community development, and holistic ministry has never been greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the consultation, we expressed our deep appreciation to Ungang for his years of service. We acknowledged that as the goals of the mission work there continue to grow, he needs the support of many more people in South Sudan and in the US to carry out and implement the vision for this mission. Now is the time to train others in the ways of the Church of the Brethren, so that ministry can happen beyond his personal capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two main objectives for the consultation were to plan for building a headquarters for Brethren Global Services near the capital city in South Sudan, and to provide training for the pastors and church planters in Church of the Brethren values, practices, and history. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we began making these plans, we grew in our awareness that the staff and unpaid pastors are directly affected by the instability and economic hardship in South Sudan. We asked ourselves the question, what does it mean to provide relief for unknown people when the people you know right in front of you also need relief?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Athanasus Ungang (at right), Church of the Brethren staff in South Sudan, and Sharon Brugger Norton (at left), executive director of Global Mission for the Church of the Brethren, speak at Union Center Church of the Brethren which hosted the consultation on the South Sudan mission. Photo by Traci Rabenstein<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A complicating factor is that the local congregations do not have the funds to pay pastors fulltime salaries. How do we support them while making sure we don’t create dependency? Should we provide grants for their children to go to school, because education is one of the keys to ending the cycle of poverty? When many people are at risk of undernourishment, do we give food aid to our own staff who are affected as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through conversation and prayer, the group decided to focus on providing temporary aid to the people we know who are committed to building the Church of the Brethren in South Sudan, while also giving aid to others as we are able. We know that even with the best of intentions, giving aid often results in dependency. Our strategy is to collaborate with local partners who are focused on developing revenue-generating projects with communities, projects with which our pastors and church planters can participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One creative idea we had to help with theological training was to hire a local person to create artwork that reflects the biblical stories as if they took place in a South Sudanese village. Because many people in South Sudan experience low adult literacy or are illiterate, reading the Bible is not always possible. Electricity is also not widely available outside the capital, so even recordings in local languages are of limited use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ungang returned to South Sudan on Jan. 21 with a long \u201cto do\u201d list and the support and prayers of the Church of the Brethren staff and the Union Center congregation who hosted and blessed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please continue to lift up the people of South Sudan in prayer as they face what looks like another civil war, and specifically pray for Athanasus Ungang and our team in South Sudan.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Global Mission budget funds the South Sudan mission. Grants from the Emergency Disaster Fund provide for relief, community development, and livelihood programing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

— Sharon Brugger Norton is executive director of Global Mission for the Church of the Brethren.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #NewTestamentGiving<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find more Church of the Brethren news:<\/p>\n\n\n