A young Christian has fled his family after they beat and threatened him. Adnan grew up in a predominately Muslim area of northern Nigeria and loved to study the Quran. When he noticed contradictions between what he had been told about Jesus and what he read in the Quran, his teachers told him to stop asking questions. He then secretly visited a church where Christians welcomed him. He also enjoyed the music and the teaching. Later, he met privately with a pastor who answered his questions, and he placed his faith in Christ.
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Mina always felt a deep sadness when the Islamic call to prayer filled the air. Growing up as a Christian in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, her heart ached for those who didn’t know Jesus Christ. Then, one day in 2010, she felt compelled to do something about it: She decided to love and share the gospel with her Muslim neighbors. One of the first women she approached in the streets of Makassar cried as Mina shared her testimony. Mina, who was still a teenager, held out her hand and asked the woman if she could pray for her. After praying, she invited the woman to study the Bible with her. The woman not only agreed but brought six other women to the Bible study with her. “We would sing and I would read the Bible,” said Mina. “I told my pastor, ‘I think this is what the Lord wants me to do.’” A Growing Love for Muslims Mina’s pastor connected her with a longtime missionary, who taught her the methods that she had used to effectively reach Muslims with the gospel. “The more I learned, the more my love grew for them,” Mina said. The work, however,
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In Matthew 10, Jesus tells his followers not to worry when they are called before authorities to explain their faith. Bassam, a believer living in the Arabian Peninsula, has heeded this admonition many times when confronted by bosses, judges and angry family members. The year 2013 was a turning point in Bassam’s faith. Though he had come to know Jesus Christ eight years earlier, he had kept quiet about it, meeting privately with the man who had led him to Christ and worshiping at the only Christian fellowship in the area when he was able. “He was like most Muslim background believers in our area,” said Surur, a front-line worker. “[They] keep to themselves and do not share their faith.” Then, one day, Bassam came to Surur with an announcement. “I’ve been spiritually sleeping all these years,” he told his mentor, “and I can no longer keep my faith in Christ to myself. I feel strongly compelled to tell everyone about the only true God, Jesus.” That is when Bassam’s walk of suffering began. First, his wife rejected him, telling everyone in her family that she was married to an unclean man. And since Bassam worked for the police, she
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Insights From Cole Richards, VOM President, On Hinduism’s Impact in India The following reflection is written by Cole Richards, President of The Voice of the Martyrs. In this insightful passage, he reflects on the dangers of Hinduism and how it affects our brothers and sisters in India Hinduism is misunderstood in the United States. I am often asked how the same religion that is viewed as a source of positivity in our popular culture can produce such violent persecutors of Christians. The answer is that the seemingly peaceful and tolerant ideas that have been extracted from Hindu belief and popularized in the U.S. since the 1960s do not reflect the religion as practiced by approximately 1 billion people on the Indian subcontinent, the place of its origin and historic majority. At Hinduism’s core is the caste system, which is easily among the most oppressive and restrictive social constructs ever devised. In the West, many admire the concept of karma as the belief that if one does good, one will receive good. And reincarnation is viewed as an attractive idea of unending life. But those concepts are foreign to Hinduism as practiced in India, where the caste system traps each individual at
Read MoreIslamist militias attacked three different villages in eastern Burkina Faso on and shortly after July 19, 2025. “Eleven Christians have been killed, and others have been taken hostage or are missing,” said a front-line worker. He added that many Christians in the area have fled their homes, and one pastor was evacuated to another city to receive medical care after suffering a serious injury. The incidents occurred near the Mali border, where numerous jihadi groups are based. “Please pray for the church in Burkina Faso as they continue to face attacks on nearly a weekly basis,” said the front-line worker.
Read MoreIn a series of raids on July 17, 2025, Nicaraguan national police took Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas and seven other Christians into custody without warning or warrants. The families of those detained have been unable to locate their loved ones. One family member reported that they were being charged with treason and “undermining national integrity.” Vargas had been forced into exile in 2018 after he and his congregation brought food and medicine and offered prayer to students protesting the authoritarian Marxist regime of President Daniel Ortega.
Read MoreA Christian man now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being tortured for his faith. Jonas left Islam and came to faith in Christ many years ago. When someone discovered his conversion and reported it to authorities, Jonas was immediately arrested, imprisoned and tortured repeatedly. When he was released, Jonas fled from the region as soon as he was able to and now lives in Europe.
Read MorePastor Chang Shun of Maizhong Reformed Church was detained on June 29, 2025, on suspicion of “organizing illegal gatherings.” His wife, Li Yunyan, reported that he has faced ongoing persecution by the authorities since 2021, including detentions and fines. She said local authorities forcibly entered their home to arrest her husband in June and also detained several of their house guests for questioning before expelling them from the city. Since her husband’s arrest, Li Yunyan has been harassed and followed, and her two young children fear for their father.
Read MoreRadical Muslims in the West Bank have threatened to kill a Christian convert from Islam and his family, including his four children. After receiving the death threats, the man and his family fled from Bethlehem to hide in a larger city. They request prayer that Israeli authorities will allow them to stay. Another West Bank convert to Christianity was confronted by his parents and his village imam with an ultimatum: Return to Islam within a month or be imprisoned by local Palestinian officials.
Read MoreFront-line workers report there is a need for more workers in the harvest fields of Tunisa, especially for more women. “We need to have more sisters who are willing to work with women here,” he said. Tunisia is home to many people who have fled violence and insecurity in neighboring Libya.
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