After serving in South Sudan more than 20 years and having an intense desire to see the Sudanese people reached with the gospel, missionaries Peter and Shauna Swann went in pursuit of God’s will.
At one point they had to return to the United States because of health issues, but the couple realized they could continue to encourage and equip others to become effective missionaries in South Sudan by using lessons and skills they learned through the years. God opened the door for a new ministry to “take flight” as Peter became a pilot.
A heritage of serving
The son of missionaries Roger and Beverly Swann, he grew up in Tanzania where his parents served with the International Mission Board. He earned a master of divinity degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, California (now Gateway Seminary in Ontario, California), and has a PhD in missiology from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California.
Before moving to South Sudan to serve as missionaries, the Swanns helped plant a church in San Francisco, and while in South Sudan Peter led a Bible school for local church leaders and Shauna worked as a nurse and teacher.
Pursuit53
Their experiences placed an intense burden on their hearts to reach that area with the gospel, resulting in the development of a ministry they called Pursuit53 — a strategic effort to train evangelists and equip missionaries.
“We are called to disciple church leaders in South Sudan and mobilize them as missionaries to their own people,” Peter explained. “Pursuit 53 has the privilege of discipling South Sudanese church leaders who disciple other South Sudanese church leaders. They move throughout their local area, sharing the gospel and planting churches.
“After a couple years of discipleship, these church leaders begin to move out as missionaries to other parts of South Sudan.
“We have been blessed with two small airplanes that fly these indigenous missionaries out,” Peter continued, “focused especially on unreached people groups. It is pure joy seeing the gospel reach the unreached tribes through our South Sudanese brothers and sisters, who labor so faithfully in rugged conditions for God’s glory.”
Peter noted the name for the organization, Pursuit 53, was chosen for several reasons, the primary being the pursuit of God’s glory in South Sudan. In addition, it is based on the year 1853, when Swann’s missionary hero Hudson Taylor set off for China; it also has roots in Isaiah 53.
Using both oral and writing tracks, the Swanns train indigenous church leaders, with the training taking place wherever an opportunity presents itself — local churches, homes or even under trees.
An idea is born
“Many years ago I was discipling some of the church leaders under a mango tree,” Peter recalled. “They began to become very troubled, concerned that they had no way to live out Acts 1:8. They said they could be witnesses in their Jerusalem [hometown] and Judea [surrounding area], but had no way to reach their Samaria [the rest of South Sudan] or the ends of the earth [across international borders].
“They committed to go if God would miraculously provide an airplane, as it seemed to be the only way.”
After much prayer, Peter noted, God provided “not only one but two airplanes. It has been amazing watching God send His servants out from their mud huts to other unreached tribes.”
“In the process, we’ve had the incredible privilege of seeing those whom we’ve discipled then disciple others as the church has been raised up and begun to send out missionaries. Along the way, we’ve seen God at work with great love and great power. There are so many stories of Him doing what only He can do to heal, transform and save.”
‘Tremendous impact’
Brett Frazier, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Columbia, Mississippi and a family friend, said he has seen the tremendous impact the Swanns’ ministry is having on taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.
“Peter Swann is one of the most humble and brilliant men of God I have ever met,” Frazier said. “In today’s world, very few missionaries possess the resilience to endure long-term in such remote and challenging locations. The Swanns’ commitment to remain has profoundly impacted countless lives in South Sudan.
“The Lord has profoundly used Peter and Shauna Swann to spread the transformative message of the gospel in some of the most remote and underserved regions of the earth,” Frazier continued. “Their unwavering faithfulness amidst countless hardships serves as a testament to their dedication and conviction.
“One of the most astonishing modern missionary stories unfolds as people fervently pray[ed] for an airplane,” he said. “Miraculously, the Lord revealed to Peter that he would pilot this very plane — a narrative that continues to inspire and uplift others in the mission community.”
Looking for airplanes
Frazier noted that when the “desperate search” began for a plane, flying one in from the U.S. was not an option.
“Remarkably, they discovered the perfect aircraft right in Tanzania, the same land where Peter was raised,” Frazier recalled. “His deep understanding of the local language and terrain not only facilitated the acquisition of the plane but also opened doors for seamless transportation across national borders.”
In a region where aviation is crucial because dirt roads are challenging and sometimes unsafe or potentially cut off during rainy season, the ability to help transport missionaries in addition to bringing supplies and equipment has provided much-needed relief in ongoing efforts to reach South Sudan with the gospel.
“It’s a bit difficult to quantify the impact in numbers,” Swann admitted. “We generally say that hundreds have received discipleship and thousands have been touched in one way or another.
“South Sudan is the world’s newest nation,” he noted. “Most people live in mud huts and have little access to the outside world. It is hot and rugged, but an incredible nation, a beautiful place with people whom we deeply love. Their hearts are wonderfully responsive to God, and it is amazing watching God send them out as His missionaries.
“With so many unreached tribes in the region, some with no believers at all, we thank God for sending out the South Sudanese as His missionaries to the unreached.”
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