In Sudan, the battle for the soul of the church is not only fought with guns. It is also fought with court papers, administrative orders, and calculated division. 

For years, successive authorities in Khartoum have pressured church leaders to comply, encouraged internal conflict, and then moved to seize control of church properties when communities are divided. Those who resist face threats, legal harassment, imprisonment, or worse. 

One church now at the center of this struggle is the Sudanese Church of Christ, Marzouq Branch, established in 1982. For more than four decades, the congregation has served as a place of worship, community, and spiritual refuge for Christians in Khartoum’s Marzouq area.

According to local sources, the government is now moving to sell or transfer control of the property.  

“They do not always come with guns first,” said a local pastor who partners with International Christian Concern (ICC) and asked to remain anonymous. “They come with papers, with promises, and with threats. Then they divide the shepherds so that the sheep become easy to scatter and the land becomes easy to take.” 

Court records and administrative communications over several years reveal repeated government intervention in church governance. Committees appointed or recognized by state authorities have been declared legitimate leadership, while opposing voices have faced procedural dismissals and prolonged legal battles. Some church leaders have been beaten, disappeared, imprisoned, or forced into exile. Churches have also lost land and buildings after leadership disputes. 

“When a church that has stood since 1982 is suddenly told it no longer belongs to the people who prayed and sacrificed for it, the wound goes deeper than the loss of a building,” the pastor said. “It tells every believer that even the house of God is not safe.” 

Increased Vulnerability

The war that erupted in 2023 has intensified the vulnerability of Christian communities. Churches and church-related facilities in Khartoum have suffered destruction and looting, while discriminatory practices have been reported in several areas.  

On Sept. 10, U.N. Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, met with Sudanese church leaders in Khartoum, who detailed damage to places of worship and years of marginalization and interference. 

Even as war continues, churches that survived the fighting face another threat through administrative decisions and court orders. The Marzouq church represents more than bricks and land. It represents decades of Christian witness and sacrifice. 

“We are tired, but we have not surrendered,” the pastor said. “We still believe the church belongs to Christ. What we need now is for our brothers and sisters around the world to stand with us in prayer and in truth.” 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email us. To support ICC’s work around the world, please give to our Where Most Needed Fund.