Pastor Saturnino Cypriano was a Sudanese refugee in Egypt. He attended Cell Pastor Training at Maadi Community Church way back in 2004. He graduated with a Diploma from the Petrescue Bible Institute (formerly known as the Victory Bible Institute) in Cairo and was later ordained by the African Inland Church in Sudan.
I reconnected with Saturnino in April 2011 when he called me out of the blue from Sudan to share his joy at what he had experienced in his ministry and I want to share some excerpts here:
“Pastor, as I have share with you briefly in our telephone conversation in what God has been doing through us in South Sudan especially in the prisons and hospitals. Hundred of people were saved and accepted our Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior and were born again.
We have trained 27 prisoners as cell pastors to lead small groups in Juba Central Jail and another 20 in Torit and many prisoners are being reached through these groups. After the training, the number of believers had risen so high – this was reported to The African Inland Church Bishop and the Sudan Council of Churches and as a result a prison church has been planted – known as New Life Community Church (NLCC).
I have personally witnessed with my own eyes the great need of my dear people of South Sudan during our three and half months evangelism trip. They are really thirsty and hungry for God’s word and are ready to receive it at any cost. You could not believe some among them were sentenced to death but within the process of the training, through daily prayers, two were able to be released by the parents of the deceased. All of them accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and Redeemer and were saved.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners!”
How wonderful is that!
Life is very tough in Southern Sudan, much tougher than many of us in the ‘developed world’ can possibly imagine, yet the Lord is moving in powerful and miraculous ways in Sudan and through the lives and ministries of pastors and other christian leaders there. The scenes in the above pictures fill me with joy and gratitude that the Lord is moving so powerfully in Africa, and that through the simple and practical application of small groups – led by our courageous brothers and sisters with such passion and determination – He is winning Africa for the Kingdom!
Pastor Saturnino’s vision is to plant cell churches in both Juba and Torit states. He is well connected with local and regional church organisations and we hope to provide more support for him through CCI’s other African team members (Elijah our Field Director in Nigeria, Helen and Papiti in Sudan and Fredrick in Egypt) as well as our worldwide network of supporters and friends.
Get Involved
We at CCI invite you to partner with Saturnino in whatever way you feel called, so that the work in the African harvest fields can continue.
Pray
- For God’s Holy Spirit to sweep through Southern Sudan with a transforming revival of His church.
- For the success of the Small Groups training programmes that have been started.
- For Pastor Saturnino’s prison ministry.
- For God’s provision of resources – prayer, people, equipment and buildings – for all the churches of Sudan.
Invest
Please prayerfully consider making a donation to support Pastor Saturnino and his ministry in Sudan.
If just 10 people commit to $10 a week ($520 in a year) that would be a fantastic annual investment of $5,200. Your gifts will provide some small support for Pastor Saturnino and the members of his team, who are all volunteers, as they continue reaching out to the lost in Sudan.
