What may be considered a standard for church pastors in much of the world -- a solid, basic theological education at a recognized seminary, and regular extension courses to stay current and refresh skills -- can be a daunting challenge in parts of the wor
What may be considered a standard for church pastors in much of the world—a solid, basic theological education at a recognized seminary, and regular extension courses to stay current and refresh skills—can be a daunting challenge in parts of the world where there has been civil war for 20 years. In Southern Sudan there are virtually no roads, and no gasoline (petrol) stations. There is no postal system; there are no telephones and no banks. In fact, there is no infrastructure in the country.
For advanced theological training, Seventh-day Adventist Sudanese pastors must head south to Uganda. Those who make it to Uganda for training spend up to a week traveling there, first on foot, then by boat on the Nile, and finally by hitching a ride on a passing vehicle.
Twenty-eight Seventh-day Adventist pastors, evangelists and Global Mission volunteers from Southern Sudan spend up to two months each year studying various subjects in a curriculum set by Middle East University, located some 1,500 miles north in Beirut, Lebanon.
The participating ministers are engaged in pastoral, educational and evangelistic work among the many tribes in both war-torn South Sudan and the refugee camps in Uganda. Among themselves, they converse with each other in nine native languages. On the social level they speak Arabic, while the language of the lecture halls is English.
The rapid growth of the Adventist Church among Sudanese people during the last 20 years has really been a lay movement, supported by very few educated ministers. The destructive, prolonged civil wars make it impossible for the two groups of workers in Sudan to meet in the same place. Similar programs for pastors and evangelists from the Muslim part of Sudan are conducted in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city.
During a recent series of seminars, Dr. Børge Schantz, an external professor at Adventist-owned Loma Linda University, in California, and a former missionary in Africa, spent two weeks lecturing students on Christian beliefs.
“These students from South Sudan in their evangelistic and pastoral work are successful in winning persons from the mainly African traditional religions,” Schantz told ANN. “Each student had as a special assignment to prepare a brief 10-minute discourse on one of the 28 points in Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. Interestingly a class with [only] 28 students could cover 28 points during the study period, ” he added.
Schantz reported that students were assigned the task of explaining Bible doctrines via “sermonettes,” or short preaching messages, and had to place these doctrines in a context their audience could understand.
“The more than five hours [spent] listening to the sermonettes was interesting. Many new aspects of how to present the fundamental beliefs were revealed,” he said. The speakers used “fascinating illustrations from African life and myths. ... The main impression that we were left with was that a direct reading and proclamation of the Bible story was closer to their culture than ours.”
A similar requirement to express doctrines in a context listeners could understand was a challenge for Adventist ministers working in the north of Sudan, he added.
Student reaction to the presentations was positive. One student, Amoli Thomas, said “The courses offered by Middle East University strengthened my faith and improved my ministry in regard to finding witnessing approaches not only to Christians but also followers of non-Christian religions.”
Noel Aligo said he “gained more knowledge about cultural beliefs in relation to Christian beliefs.” And Benjamin Luke reported “... the classes have developed strong knowledge of my faith and why I need to preach it to others.”
Church leaders endorsed the program, noting the constraints they face: “Operating a program in a distant country obviously has its challenges, but through the combined efforts of all parties, including a group of students keen to learn, we believe we are providing a program of high quality,” said Pastor Beat Odermatt, president of the Adventist Church in South Sudan.