by Brad Phillips
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Col 2:6-7)
It has been suggested that every organization needs to identify its “brand,”– something unique that distinguishes it from all the others.
As a Christian organization, we are not primarily in the business of “marketing a brand,” but it is good to identify the unique hole in the charitable space (or niche) that we aim to fill.
So what is it that distinguishes Persecution Project from other Christian charitable organizations?
At our core has always been a love for the persecuted church, and a desire to serve the most forgotten, marginalized and persecuted communities in Africa.
The practical side of how that looks for us has developed and changed over the years. Things that might have been important 30 years ago have been eclipsed by time, relationships, and events, but the core of who we are today is the same as when we began.
For almost 30 years, we have maintained our focus on one region of the world: the two Sudans.
From my first visit to Sudan in 1998, we began to develop a relationship with one of the most marginalized, forgotten, and persecuted communities of Christians in the world: the Nuba people.
While we have worked in many parts of both Sudan and South Sudan, it has been the Nuba Christian community where we have developed the strongest ties. The Nuba mountains is a region in northern Sudan geographically the approximate size of the state of Georgia or the countries of Rwanda and Burundi combined.
The first modern convert to Christianity was recorded in 1917 in the town of Heiban in South Kordofan’s Nuba mountains. Today, there are more than 3.5 million ethnic Nubans who identify as Christian.
The Nuba Christian community is the largest community of believers in the officially Islamic Sudan. For this reason, they have been subject to the worst incidents of persecution, terror, and genocide by the forces of radical Islam for more than 50 years.
As we know, many worthy charities have a presence throughout the world. Some tend to “crisis hope” and serve the most pressing needs: an earthquake in Venezuela, a hurricane in Puerto Rico, or a tsunami in Indonesia. This is all good and important work.
But Persecution Project has “camped” in one community for nearly 30 years. This relationship with the Nuba people has changed me and my organization. As we have accepted the privilege of fellowship with this persecuted community, the courage and faithfulness of the Nuba people has given back in their example of love and faithfulness.
During my first visit to the Nuba in 1998, the region had been under systematic bombardment with only brief interruptions. Most impressive to me was the joy of the people in spite of great hardship and suffering.
Two years later, one of the worst attacks in modern Nuba history took place. A well-known Christian school in Kauda was targeted and bombed. Dozens of children and teachers lost their lives. Many dozens of others were wounded and maimed by this intentional act of terror.
During this attack, a young primary school student named Kuti was separated from his classmates, including two of his brothers. He fled to the rocks and hid there for days before he was found by a relative. Kuti was severely traumatized and unable to speak. He didn’t speak for more than one year until a relative brought him out of Sudan to allow him to heal and continue his schooling in Kenya.
Years later, I was introduced to Kuti and hired him to manage some of our projects in Nuba.
Today, 15 years later, he continues to serve the ministry of Persecution Project. Kuti was instrumental in developing and directing our Trauma Healing program, which is helping rebuild broken Nuba lives with a biblical approach to addressing the mental, emotional, and spiritual effects of trauma.
The people God brings into our lives changes who we are. This has certainly been true for me. I used to exhort our friends and partners to “use your community to serve their community.” But now, I have come to realize “their” community is my community. Kuti’s community is my community. It is our community.
After a near 30 years of working in one community, I realize there is no “them” and “us.” It’s just us.
Some of those reading these words have been partnering with us from the beginning– more than 29 years ago! Some of you are more recent supporters. But when anyone supports Persecution Project, they become part of this same community and shared history.
We couldn’t do this without you. Thank you for making our community your community as well.
OUR COMMUNITY
