Guide to the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Sudan Mission Records

United Presbyterian Church of North America mission work in the Sudan was divided into two fields: the North Sudan Mission and the South Sudan Mission.

Work in the northern part of the Sudan was directed mainly to the Muslim population and commenced when missionaries from the Evangelical Church of the Egypt Mission came to Omdurman in 1900. Work was later expanded into Khartoum and Khartoum North in 1903 and 1908 respectively. Stations were later opened north of Khartoum at Port Sudan (1915) and Atbara (1947). South of Khartoum, other stations were created at Wad Medani (1938), El Obeid (1947) and Gedaref (1948).

Missionary work in the South Sudan Mission was geared toward the evangelization of specific tribal units. Work among the Shulla people commenced in 1902 with the opening of a station at Doleib Hill, followed by additional stations at Atar (1946) and Malakal and Obel (1948).

Efforts to evangelize the Nuer people began in 1913 with the establishment of stations at Nasir and Wanglel (1947). The station at Abwong, opened in 1945, became the focus of work among the Ngok Dinka tribe. Work among the Anuak centered around the stations at Akobo (1938) and Pokwo (1951). The station at Pibor (1952) became the focus of work among the Murle people.

In both the North and South Sudan Missions the thrust of mission work was evangelical, educational, and medical in nature. Evangelistic work in the North Sudan Mission was strongly influenced by the Evangelical Church of the Egypt Mission with many of the organized congregations being independent and self-supporting.

Educational work, as in the Egypt Mission, involved the establishment of primary, secondary, and various boarding schools that were staffed by Egyptian, Sudanese and UPCNA mission personnel. Like other fields in which the UPCNA was operative, women's work in the Sudan was directed by the Women's General Missionary Society of the UPCNA and included reading, writing and Bible study.

Efforts to evangelize in the South Sudan produced mixed results. In some cases, indigenous churches were organized, notably among the Shulla. Cooperative ventures between the UPCNA, the Church of England and the Reformed Church in America characterized other efforts. In 1952, a "Committee on Cooperation in the South Sudan" (CCSS) was established to act on behalf of the three participating groups that were operative in the South Sudan: the Board of Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America; the Board of Foreign Missions of the UPCNA; and the Women's Board of the Women's General Missionary Society of the UPCNA.

Educational work in the South Sudan involved the establishment of primary and secondary schools as well as a teacher training institution. Bible translation work was also undertaken in some of the mission stations. Medical work, which consisted of both clinical and hospital work,was performed at Doleib Hill, Abwong, Nasir, Wangel, Akobo and Pibor.

The South Sudan mission's name was changed to the Upper Nile in 1955. In 1956, Sudan became an independent republic. Soon after, a program of "Sudanization" was undertaken in the Upper Nile region, and the various Presbyterian congregations organized themselves as the autonomous Church of Christ in the Upper Nile. The newly-formed organization replaced the South Sudan Presbytery.

Mission schools were nationalized in 1957, the language of schooling was changed to Arabic, and the Sudanese government began restricting missionary activity. In 1958, upon union of the United Presbyterian Church of North America and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., work of the denominations' Boards of Foreign Missions was transferred to the new UPCUSA Commission on Ecumenical Mission and relations (COEMAR).

The Sudan mission entered a partnership with the Episcopal Church of Sudan's Bishop Gwynne College in 1960. Missionaries were blamed for Southern Sudan's resistance to official Islamization, and in 1962 the Missionary Societies Act required missionaries to be licensed. The Sudanese government expelled 17 missionaries that December. Missionaries were explicitly forbidden from providing religious instruction to non-Christian students, and Muslim students were required to attend government-sponsored religious training. Missionary work in the Upper Nile shifted focus from education, with greater energy being devoted to translation, medical work, and scholarships for Sudanese students.

The Evangelical Church in the Nile Valley was established in 1964, and the North Sudan Mission began to transfer its properties to the Church. Foreign missionaries were expelled from Sudan in 1964. The summer of 1965 saw attacks on former mission schools and on Sudanese churches, culminating in the destruction of Bishop Gwynne College. The UPCUSA continued to support Sudanese Protestant churches, allocating $68,000 to mission activity in Sudan in 1973.