Field Partner: David Lual

Meet Pastor David

When you’re 7’ 2” and oversee 15 churches with a total of 4,000 members, it would be easy to become prideful. But Pastor David Lual may be one of the most humble leaders in South Sudan — and he doesn’t believe in taking the easy route

Born and raised in South Sudan, Pastor David dreams of the day his community, with a growing Islamic population, will come to know Jesus. He started small, 10 years ago, when he met with fellow Christians in a home.

Today that home church has grown into a network of 15 churches.

The key to Pastor David’s rapid church growth?

It’s simple, but not easy: Obedience.

“The vision God has given us for the ministry is to fulfill the Great Commission,” Pastor David told us. “And the Great Commission is about making disciples and multiplying disciples. So, that is what we are doing.”

You won’t hear a formula for making disciples from Pastor David. No quick fixes, no book recommendations, no to-do lists. You’ll just hear scripture and stories of obedience.

Honesty, said Pastor David, is the beginning of a healthy church. “It’s preaching the truth to believers in the beginning, and then maintaining that truth — because it is the truth that changes people.”

Pastor David with Steve and Scott

Pastor David with John

Pastor David with Known Partners, Ecclesia Ministries

The harvest is plentiful.

After the Great Commission, the scripture he says that best gets to the heartbeat of his ministry is Matthew 9:37-38:

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The harvest is growing in South Sudan. War across the region has displaced many, including Muslims, “bringing them to our doorstep,” said Pastor David. Pastor David dreams of the day his community will come to know Jesus.

He sees the refugee crisis in his country as an opportunity for the Church to love like Jesus.

“They are refugees and they have a lot of needs. So that is where we can show our love to them and the love of God to them.”

100,000 healthy disciples

The plentiful harvest doesn’t intimidate Pastor David, instead, it encourages him to pray for God to keep moving. In the next 10 years, his church dreams of planting 15-30 more churches with a total of 100,000 healthy disciples.

His church set a vision so big that they knew they couldn’t accomplish it in their own power. So they pray for laborers and they share the truth of the gospel.

The 15 churches Pastor David oversees currently don’t have enough trained leaders to support their growth. That’s why Pastor David shared that the best way you can support his ministry is to pray for and pay for mentors to spend time with him and his church leaders. “No one is all-knowing,” he told us. “Everyone needs a mentor.”

Joining God’s movement in South Sudan.

God is moving in South Sudan. By supporting Known, you’re joining God’s movement and making it possible for us to provide the 1:1 coaching and mentoring that Pastor David and his churches need. You’re also backing the development of contextualized resources. Books and workshops are easily accessible to most of us. That’s not the case for pastors like David. Your support also helps us co-create strategies with Pastor David so, together, we can plant more churches and see his dream of 100,000 people come to know Jesus in the next decade.

God designed His Church to work together. To partner with local leaders. And to grow healthy, multiplying churches. Join us today to make the name of Jesus known — from our neighborhoods to the ends of the earth.

Pray with Pastor David as they:

Establish new churches in unreached or underserved areas.
Promote healthy church growth and development through leadership training.
Combine local resources to support the needs of those impacted in times of crisis to practically demonstrate the love of Christ, promote harmony among one another, and share the gospel.
Reach their communities, the influx of refugees, and unreached nomadic people groups with the truth of the gospel.