Our Land Cruiser bounced along the dusty, rutted road as we travelled deeper into the South Sudanese countryside. Savannah plains stretched as far as we could see, broken only by acacia trees and the occasional grass-thatched roof of a mud hut. The heat was intense, the dust got everywhere, and the flies were relentless.
As we approached the village of Waralel, we began to hear singing.
A few moments later, we turned the final corner and found hundreds of people dancing, clapping, singing and jumping for joy. The atmosphere was electric. Women were ululating, children were running through the crowd, and people reached out to shake our hands and lead us towards the church.
School for the community’s children, run by In Deed and Truth
We had come to see the transformation taking place through the local church, and as people shared their stories, it became clear that something truly remarkable was happening.
Changed lives, changing communities
One of the men we met was called Wut. For years, Wut had been the witch doctor for the community. When people became sick, he would sacrifice chickens or animals in the hope that the spirits might ease their suffering. It never brought healing, but it did create fear.
Today, Wut is an active member of the church and serves as a Community Health Evangelist. Instead of spreading fear, he visits his neighbours and shares simple, practical health knowledge alongside the hope of the Gospel. His life has been transformed, and now he is helping to transform others.
The children then proudly showed us the blackboards they use during the week.
This is not a school building constructed by an outside organisation. The school is entirely run by the community. Local people who attended high school now teach the children, and the community pays them with grain and the occasional chicken.
In Deed and Truth (IDAT) Ministries provided the blackboards, but everything else has come from the community itself. That matters, because when people build something together, they own it, value it and protect it.
Local people leading local solutions
Then some of the mothers shared about the difference clean water has made.
In 2021, the community decided that safe drinking water was their highest priority. Previously, women were walking for up to four hours each way to collect water, often in temperatures reaching 45 degrees, carrying heavy jerry cans on their heads.
Waralel community and CHE partners celebrating the opening of their borehole.
Rather than waiting for someone else to solve the problem, the church mobilised the community. Families sold grain and livestock and pooled what they could raise. Combined with support from IDAT Ministries, their contribution allowed a shallow borehole to be drilled. And when the truck carrying drilling equipment got stuck, the community proved their commitment by carrying the equipment for several hours on their shoulders.
As a result, the 800 residents of Waralel now have access to crystal-clear water close to home.
The borehole has reduced the risk of diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid, while also giving women back hours of their day. Children can attend school more regularly, families can grow more food, and women have more time for their households and community life.
Waralel men carrying pipes for hours to build a village bore for safe water.
IDAT Ministries have trained 80 volunteer Community Health Evangelists from Waralel, who gather each week at the church to learn practical lessons about health, faith and community development. These lessons are story-based, so no printed materials are needed. The volunteers then spend the week visiting their neighbours and passing the lessons on.
The church also organises acts of service, including clearing roads, repairing homes for the disabled, and growing crops for vulnerable families.
Why the local church makes lasting change possible
This is what makes church-based community development so powerful.
The people leading the work are local. They understand the language, culture and challenges of their own community. They are chosen and trusted by the people around them, which creates genuine participation and strong local ownership.
The model is also highly cost-effective because it is volunteer-based. Instead of employing large outside teams, local people are equipped to reach their own neighbours.
Most importantly, the church is permanent. NGOs often come and go as funding changes, but the local church remains, continuing to pass on knowledge, strengthen families and mobilise people to solve their own problems.
There will always be a place for outside support. In this case, IDAT Ministries with support from Tearfund provide training, technical expertise, encouragement and resources that communities may not otherwise access.
But true transformation is strongest when it is led from within.
Church-based community development does not create dependence. It builds confidence, resilience and the ability for communities to keep moving forward long after outside support has reduced.
Standing in Waralel, surrounded by singing, dancing and stories of lives changed, I was reminded again why the local church is God’s chosen agent for lasting transformation in the world.
Stonger together
In Deed and Truth explains how partnership works:
Tearfund provides us with funding and technical support that strengthens our monitoring and evaluation, improves our systems, and helps us grow Church and Community in South Sudan in a sustainable and accountable way.
About the Author
Jono Macleod is a Kiwi doctor who spent eight years living in South Sudan with his family, where they volunteered for In Deed And Truth Ministries (IDAT). The Macleods have recently returned to New Zealand, but Jono continues to work remotely supporting the IDAT Community Health Empowerment Programme.
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