Lutherans in
Sudan By Hipi Elisa
T
H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 22
he Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan (ELCS) was established in November 1993 by Mr. Andrew Mbugo Elisa. He was later trained at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ordained on August 29, 1999. Pastor Elisa is now the ELCS president. From its beginning, the aim of the ELCS has been to preach the true Word of God, to help people, and to evangelize. The ELCS headquarters moved to Khartoum (in northeastern Sudan) shortly after it was founded, since civil war in Sudan made it unsafe to remain in the homes near Juba (in southern Sudan).The church started in Khartoum with people praying every Friday in our home.Then, in 1996, we rented a building in Khartoum that became a prayer center. Sunday services were held from 10:00 a.m. to noon with about twenty-five members attending.
I was six years old at that time and my sisters, Naku and Zereda, were four years old and two years old. In 1997, my sister Zereda was one of the first children baptized in the ELCS, and I was a Sunday School member. I began to grow in Lutheran faith and knowledge. I discovered that Martin Luther’s teaching is the right and true teaching. I learned this by reading the Bible and the Small Catechism. I was happy when my father was ordained in
