On Sunday, April 3, 2022, militants from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church attacked a Protestant church in western Ethiopia, the second time in less than a month a Protestant church in that area had been attacked. The attackers injured many Christians and burned buildings. One church leader said, “We were hurt because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We are ready to accept any trial and persecution that comes to us because of our faith.” VOM helped this congregation rebuild as they continue to witness for Christ in their community.
Read MorePray for one Christian woman who has been instrumental in sharing the gospel with a highly restricted minority group. Though she has never received formal training, and despite the physical demands on her frail body, she has been a faithful witness to advance God’s kingdom to this people group.
Read MoreA front-line worker in Colombia reported that he has lost contact with several pastors in the Sucre area in recent months. The state of Sucre is one of Colombia’s “red zones,” where Marxist guerrillas and paramilitaries exercise violent control over large areas. These groups have recently imposed new restrictions against Christians and churches.
Read MorePastor Amadin leads a church in a Muslim community in northern Benin. Three Islamic extremists visited his house while he was away and his children were in school. The men attacked his wife with acid, pouring it into her eyes and forcing her to drink it. When neighbors heard her screaming, they rushed to the house, and the attackers fled.
Read MoreWhen Raissa was a teen, she was kidnapped and raped by a group of Muslim men who wanted to punish her father, a Christian pastor. For years, Raissa felt trapped in her home, unable to leave without being taunted, threatened and retraumatized by her attackers, who had faced no consequences. Raissa asked for help relocating to a larger city where she could be free of her attackers and pursue education and a career.
Read MoreNorth Korean defectors in South Korea are participating in a dance therapy class focused on the Bible to know the word of God and guide them in overcoming trauma. One student looking for a place to learn about traditional Korean dance discovered this dance therapy group, and she is now learning about a personal relationship with Christ through it.
Read MoreOn Friday, June 16, shortly before midnight, Islamic militants believed to be part of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked a boarding school in the western Ugandan town of Mpondwe, located on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The militants killed 37 students with machetes and through arson of dormitories. They also killed four adults and abducted six students, forcing them across the border into the DRC where the ADF is based.
Read MoreAfter a June 28 incident in Sweden in which pages from the Quran were publicly burned, protests have swept across Pakistan. The prime minister urged the organization of large rallies and convened a joint parliamentary session on July 7 to protest the burning. During these rallies, angry protesters desecrated crosses and insulted Christianity. Christians across the country are bracing for attacks.
Read MoreNyok has taught for 14 years, serving the last six years as director of her village’s elementary school. A jealous coworker cursed Nyok, and she began to experience pain. When she prayed to accept Christ, the pain disappeared. Word spread at school that she was a Christian, and Nyok was warned by her administrators, the district education director and the Ministry of Education that, because her job is a government position, she could not follow a “western” religion. Nyok shared her testimony and refused to renounce her faith in Christ.
Read MoreHamidou felt the call of God to spread the gospel. So he left the safety of his home in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, to take the gospel to the northern part of his nation. Though radical Islamists are active in that region, he moved there with his family and planted a church.
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