Ethiopia

When Momina’s family rejected her because of her faith, the body of Christ took her in. After the death of her husband, Momina was the sole provider for their young son, Mohammed. She met two Christian women who shared the gospel with her, and through their persistent witness, she came to faith in Christ. Soon after, the Muslim woman whom Momina lived with kicked her out of the house; her Muslim family members tried to kidnap Mohammed; and they refused to help Momina when she was hospitalized for a serious illness in 2024.

Kitessa was a dedicated church leader murdered by armed militants, leaving behind his wife, Melke, and five children. Because of his passionate evangelism, Kitessa was warned he would be killed if he did not stop preaching the gospel. Still, he remained committed to sharing the gospel and leading a church in his community. On Aug. 25, 2024, Kitessa was returning home after preaching a Sunday service when armed militants opened fire on him. Kitessa’s wife, Melke, was within earshot of the gunfire and quickly tried to reach her husband by phone.

While Ethiopia is a majority-Christian nation, Islam is a growing force. Muslims now compose nearly 40 percent of the population, and Islamic extremists actively persecute Christians, sometimes violently, especially in areas close to the Somali and Sudanese borders. Sometimes the extremists destroy churches, and they recently set fire to one in Homosha, located in the far western part of the country near the border with Sudan. “Now the Christians in that area don’t have a place to meet for worship,” said a front-line worker.

Abdu grew up wanting to be an Islamic scholar, so he attended schools focusing solely on the Quran. After studying the Quran for 15 years, he became an Islamic teacher. But in 2022, he met an old friend who had become a follower of Christ. The friend shared the gospel with Abdu on numerous occasions, and Abdu began to question his beliefs. Eventually, Abdu put his faith in Christ. His enthusiasm for teaching the Quran waned, and local Islamic leaders noticed.

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.

Though Ethiopia is a majority-Christian nation, many Ethiopians lack access to Bibles in their native languages. VOM is working with front-line ministers to give Bibles to every Ethiopian Christian, including Bibles in native languages such as Amharic, Omoro and Tigrinya.

In September 2022, Muslim extremists attacked the Bokore Full Gospel church in southeastern Ethiopia. Islamists set it on fire, destroying the building and everything inside; fortunately, no church members were hurt during the attack.

Two years ago, extremist Muslims launched attacks on Christians in the community where Isayas lives. They torched Christians’ crops, homes and possessions and destroyed the church where Isayas and others worshiped Christ. The Christians fled the area but later returned and bought land on which to rebuild their church.

On December 23, 2020, armed groups attacked several villages in western Ethiopia, killing 42 Christians and two pastors.