Yei is one of the most influential cities in South Sudan. It connects South Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic through cross-border trade. It is located 81 miles southwest of Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, and is a great example of the repopulation of a country that is coming back to life.
The smiles of the people in the markets and on the streets are a visual reminder that the future is bright in Yei. The curiosity surrounding where hope comes from is alive and well. Questions about the Gospel are easily asked and answered among people who are searching for the true meaning of life. It is obvious that God has been working in this growing mission field.
The opportunity to join God where He is already at work is why Empower One has purchased land in Yei. The Empower One team of church planters in this town are planting one of the 15 Empower One Flagship Church Multiplication Centers on a stretch of land that is almost completely untouched.
The land is currently equipped with a bore hole and a water pump that is being used by families living in the huts that surround the land. Providing clean water to a people who do not yet have it continues to be a great way to begin conversations about Jesus.
Jesus modeled how to transform a conversation about water into a Gospel conversation when he met the woman at the well in John 4:1-30 (ESV). His words, in John 4:13-14 (ESV), “Everyone who drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life”, molded a water well conversation into a gospel conversation.
The woman responds to Jesus by saying in John 4:15 (ESV), “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” This request for a very practical need opens the door for Jesus to deal directly with her sin. Jesus knew every detail of her life and the many ways she had lived outside the law of Moses, but rather than condemning the woman, Jesus offers a solution to her sin by revealing that He is the Messiah. He is the eternal solution to her life problems.
While we are not omniscient like Jesus and are not able to know the details of everyone’s life, we can seek opportunities to become good listeners that ask strategic questions that open the doors for Gospel conversations. Providing clean water in Yei earns the right for an Empower One church planter to do just that. They can share the hope of the Gospel in a very real way by showing what happens when dirty water becomes clean water.
This approach to Gospel conversations provides the opportunity to see lives transformed and the Gospel proclaimed exactly like what we see the Samaritan woman doing in John 4:28-30 when she says, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” At Empower One, we want everyone to be asking questions about Christ. Providing clean water for a people dying every day because of unclean water does just that.
For more information about Empower One making a difference in Yei, South Sudan, contact me at 940/268-6792 or chad@empower-one.org. We are making a difference using clean water to share the Gospel.
