It was a long trip from northern Sudan to Worthington (Minn.) Christian Reformed Church for Rev. Andrew Woja Henry, more than just geographically speaking.
Henry, 42, now serves Worthington CRC as a missionary pastor, conducting multinational church services.
Henry fled Sudan after his mother died and his father was murdered during the civil upheaval there.
Embarking on a perilous journey through Islamic dominated Chad with no passport, no travel papers, disguised as an Arab and penniless, Henry found an evangelical church in the middle of an Islamic city.
With help from the church, Henry traveled on to Nigeria, where he was introduced to the Reformed faith and eventually was ordained in the Tiv church. There he also met his wife, Comfort.
He came to the United States to earn a master’s degree in missiology from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss.
Now he’s helping to plant a church in Worthington. “We reach out to Africans but are not limited to Africans,” he said. “Any international we happen to meet, we witness to them and also Americans.”
Living in the Worthington area are people from Mexico, Laos, Guatemala, Sudan, Ethiopia, and many other countries. “We are not just planting a church but leading people into the church,” said Henry.
