Christian Life Publishers, formerly ECSS Life Publishers, is currently the only Christian publishing house in South Sudan. Founded by the Renk diocese of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS), Christian Life Publishers offers quality services and resources to meet the spiritual and intellectual needs of people in South Sudan and beyond.
Its mission is to contribute to the prosperity of South Sudan by producing print and digital publications that highlight relevant stories of local interest, while offering guidance that uplifts, enriches, educates and inspires.
Although the opening of the physical offices of Christian Life Publishers is quite recent, August 2023, the seeds of Christian Life Publishers have been sown for a long time, starting with the training of authors.
From a Writers’ Workshops with MAI to a Publishing House
In 2013, 18 South Sudanese writers came together for their first training, delivered by MAI-Africa (Media Associates International) trainers Lawrence Darmani from Ghana and Barine Kirimi (PhD) from Kenya. They worked on four potential books with a powerful message of spiritual truth and hope for Christian and general readers. The following year, 2014, the workshop had to be moved to Nairobi due to continued fighting. The writers continued to work on the manuscripts that became the first books written locally by the new nation, amid the civil war. One such book was Prayers for South Sudan, published in 2015.
2019 was marked by a three-day writing workshop in Juba, South Sudan, organized by Archbishop Joseph Garang Atem, former bishop of Renk and Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Malakal, and led by MAI-Africa trustees Dr. Barine Kirimi and Rose Inziani Birenge from Kenya.
In June 2022, a group of 15 participants gathered in Juba for the publishing process training and orientation program, in preparation for the publishing house’s establishment. The two-day training focused on the identity, vision, mission, core values, purpose, completed projects and new and upcoming projects of the Christian Life Publishers. It also introduced participants, made up of staff and governance team members as well as friends of the publishing house, to the understanding of publishing and the publishing process, including acquisitions, contracts, manuscript development, art direction, pre-press production, digital printing and distribution, as well as book marketing.
In a society scarred by years of civil war, Archbishop Joseph Garang sees locally written books as key to “nation-building” and a means of implanting Christian values. The book Days of Light in Darkness for instance, shares the stories of resilience, faith and hope in God, told through the experiences of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan during times of conflict. This book highlights the Church’s role in these challenging times and the experiences of Church leaders serving their communities amid adversity.
The Projects
Christian Life Publishers is now based in Juba, but the vision is to expand. “We have ten states in South Sudan, and many universities. So, we are looking to open some offices for Life Publishers in many different states. But not now. Step by step,” says Archbishop Joseph Garang.
The main challenge for the publishing house is the lack of editors. For the moment, the publications are in Dinka and English, with plans to add Arabic soon. One of the most important projects in the Dinka language was the Bible translation project. The Dinka people are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a large overseas diaspora population. Dinka Christians were eager to have Scripture in their language so they can grow spiritually and reach out to others.
The Wycliffe Bible Translators has been working with a local team to produce the entire Bible in the Dinka Cam language. Archbishop Joseph Garang was one of those first people to do the translation for the Dinka Bible before he went for further studies to the US and come back to open the Renk Theological Seminary. The Dinka Bible is now finished but not yet launched.
Challenges and Projects
Dr. Zechariah Manyok Biar PhD, Diocesan Bishop of Wanglei Diocese in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, author and editor at Christian Life Publishers shares that their current challenges are printers and binders.“We have secured a printer, but the binder is still coming. When we begin to receive many books to be published, our small printer will be a major challenge. We pray to have a more giant printer and binder as soon as possible,” he says.
Current projects include translating the ECSS handbook from English into Dinka, publishing Forgiveness by Archbishop Joseph Garang Atem, and Women and Religious Roles: Exploring the Growing Roles of Women in the Episcopal Church of South Sudanby Zechariah Manyok Biar, PhD.
As a final word, Archbishop Joseph Garang Atem adds: “We need to be known all in Africa, even abroad. Because we’re going to serve people of God and other people to know Jesus so that they can be saved. That is our dream. And we are happy to invite many different editors, writers, publishers to come and help us, to see what we’re lacking, so that we can fill that gap.”
Please join us in praying for Christian Life Publishers, that God will provide for their needs, including a larger printer, and that they will be able to fulfil their publishing plans.
To connect with Christian Life Publisher, contact them through their website www.christianlifepublishersss.com or connect with their Managing Director, Ajak John on his Africa Speaks Community profile.
