Photo credit: Baptist Press
South Sudanese attending All Nations Worship Church, a ministry of Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo, know the pain of those displaced by the war in Sudan, which has created the greatest humanitarian crisis globally.
Baptist Press reports that Paramount Missions Pastor David Preston, who copastors All Nations with Paramount Missionary in Residence Danial Habre, heard the families’ stories long before he heard of Empower One, a Gospel humanitarian outreach aided by Southern Baptist Send Relief to help those fleeing the war.
He said, “Through my ESL (English as a Second Language outreach) I just remember … South Sudan becoming a country on its own (in 2011), just the war and the torture, it has really never ceased. A lot of them have had family in that area that area from South Sudan or just across the border, some in Sudan. They’re feeling that weight because of family still in the area, or close relatives that have dealt with it directly.”
Preston met Matt Jones, Empower One’s director of biblical education and pastoral care, who told him of a connection with Send Relief that would allow him to provide aid directly to the location he had in mind, impacting those at the centre of the Sudanese families’ concern.
“We sent some money to do some food relief. Went through Send Relief, and yet Matt was also to guide that. I’m so thankful for that connection and I’m thankful for what we’re doing.”
Empower One got a $100,000 grant from Send Relief in December 2024 in support of a proposed $336,000 project to support households in several South Sudanese refugee camps for six months, according to Zach Potts, Empower One’s South Sudan liaison.
With the grant, Empower One will support 1,460 households in February. They will provide sorghum, beans and mosquito nets to help families rebuild their lives.
Empower One encourages churches to support outreaches to Sudanese refugees, either through Send Relief or directly through Empower One.
Potts feels due to the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, the world seems to have forgotten the war in Sudan
