Updated Country Profile - South Sudan

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for South Sudan. South Sudan is one of only a few African nations where the Church no longer has an official Church presence. Although there were thousands of prospective members who requested baptism in the late 2000s, very few of these individuals have since joined the Church. The Church closed the Juba Branch in the mid-2010s due to the civil war. A peace deal was recently reached between the government and rebel forces, although it is unclear whether this agreement will result in long-term stability and peace. South Sudanese-specific outreach occurs in Salt Lake City, Utah at present and there is at least one ward in Kampala, Uganda that is predominantly South Sudanese. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

South Sudan presents valuable opportunities for future growth in the Church given a highly receptive population with several groups of prospective Latter-day Saints who appear to continue to await baptism. However, civil war, low living standards, and political instability all pose nearly insurmountable barriers to the Church’s use of foreign full-time missionaries unless conditions markedly improve. The lack of a Church presence in South Sudan today despite the operation of a branch between late 2009 and the mid-2010s underscores the Church’s struggles to develop greater self-sufficiency in local leadership that is capable to maintain the operation of basic congregations without the close support of foreign missionary manpower and leadership oversight. During the 2010s, other Christian denominations have achieved significant headway and growth through the use of local manpower and resources, whereas The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ceased its official operations. The lesson learned from the Church’s brief operation in South Sudan is the need to find creative and effective methods to support local leaders who have minimal leadership experience in the Church and who may not be able to be met in person by mission or area leaders for considerable time due to safety concerns for foreigners. Use of technologies such as videoconferencing may be helpful to overcome these challenges in the largest cities such as Juba. Flexible strategies that foster organic growth and self-sufficiency in the Church are greatly needed in countries such as South Sudan which may remain unreached by traditional Latter-day Saint missionary paradigms for years or decades.