[2] John Yambasu was born in Bo in southern Sierra Leone and received his secondary education at the Moyamba Boys Secondary school (MBSS) one of the United Methodist (UMC) mission schools in Sierra Leone West Africa.

I want to begin building a new relationship with my bishop, whom I am succeeding, and then the two of us will work together to make sure that the whole church is reconciled.”[3] He became one of Sierra Leone's "most illustrious religious personalities.

He also implored, “President Julius Maada Bio, you diligently served well in the Army where you left an indelible mark.

Now as a democratic leader, you must reflect your true color to end impunity and fight corruption for a better society.”[5] Globally, the UMC struggled for many years to reconcile conflicts over gender, race, sexuality, language, and colonialism.

The most heated conflicts were expressed around LGBTQ inclusion and further amplified approaching the denomination's General Conference each four years.

Red and yellow, black and white, poor and rich, haves and have-nots, gay or straight, bisexual or homosexual, polygamists, we all need to engage one another.

We need to torment God with our prayers and give us sleepless nights until we can look at each other in the face and say, ‘We are brothers and we are sisters.’” He concluded with a challenge to the whole church “to dismantle the demons of all sorts of inequalities in our world.

[6] Following his leadership, a small group negotiated with the help of a professional mediator through the remainder of the year, finally agreeing unanimously on a proposal to resolve the major conflicts by restructuring the church through separation.

[8] The agreement would allow each part of the Church to remain true to its theological understanding, while recognizing the dignity, equality, integrity, and respect of every person.

Africa University announced the establishment of an endowment for scholarships in memory of Bishop Yambasu, to support at least one student each year in the area of peace, leadership and governance.

[9] On August 16, 2020, while Bishop Yambasu was traveling to preach at the funeral of a retired colleague, an oncoming vehicle collided head-on, killing him and severely injuring his driver.

[4] The other driver, Mohamed Allie Saw, was a mechanic taking a Toyota Land Cruiser to be serviced in a garage across town, according to police reports.

Saw was not injured and fled the scene, but members of the Toyota owner's family brought him to police later and he was charged with several offenses.