Bishop Hassan - coming to faith in Christ

Bishop Hassan Osman James is one of CMS Ireland’s local mission partners living and ministering in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan. This area is one of the contested spaces in Sudan, caught up in intense conflict on a daily basis. Bishop Hassan has chosen to stay with his people, despite the high level of risk. He strongly believes he must stay to serve as God’s hands and feet on the ground in Sudan.

During a brief visit to Ireland in November 2025, he spent some time in the Belfast office giving voice to the stories of pain and loss that do not reach our news feeds here. While with us, Bishop Hassan shared a little of his own story of faith.

Born and raised in a devout Muslim family, Bishop Hassan told us that “My father, Osman, and my mother, Layla – all our family – are Islamic”. As a child he started life in the Nuba mountains but, as conflict intensified, his family fled to Khartoum. It was there, as a 14-year-old boy, that his life took an unexpected turn.

One evening, he heard singing through a microphone. “I said, let me go and hear what these people do.” He found a visiting evangelist preaching from Acts 4:12 declaring “There is no one who can save except the name of Jesus Christ.”

“This word confused me,” he remembers. “In our faith, we enter Jannah by doing good things… But this man said no one can enter except through Christ.”

Drawn back night after night, Hassan listened as the preacher spoke about Lazarus, the rich man, heaven, and judgement. Finally, after hearing Jesus’ words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” he stood and gave his life to Christ. “That day many things became different in my life. I followed Jesus as Lord.”

Unsurprisingly, his father struggled with this decision to become Christian. “He told me, ‘Please don’t say this again.’” For a year their relationship was strained. But when Hassan’s pastor visited the family home, his father admitted, “This is my son, but he is not the same… there is something new.” This moment marked the beginning of healing.

In time, several of Hassan’s siblings also came to faith. “My sister said, ‘I want to be like my brother.’” This desire to follow Christ was received more warmly by his father because he could see how genuine Hassan's faith was – a faith that transformed every area of his life.

Today, his father attends church events regularly. “He comes first and goes last,” Hassan says with quiet hope. “We are still praying for the day he will receive Christ as Lord.”

Through war, displacement, and danger, Bishop Hassan’s trust has not wavered. “The Lord who was with me in the past is the same God who will be with me tomorrow.” His story is a testimony to courage, calling, and the persistent grace of God.