{"id":5596,"date":"2026-06-13T17:09:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/east-africa-intimacy-with-christ-prepares-christians-for-persecution\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T17:09:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:09:02","slug":"east-africa-intimacy-with-christ-prepares-christians-for-persecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/east-africa-intimacy-with-christ-prepares-christians-for-persecution\/","title":{"rendered":"EAST AFRICA: Intimacy with Christ Prepares Christians for Persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a Muslim village in East Africa, 47 people confessed belief in Christ. But then Christian persecution came. Radical Muslims went house-to-house, threatening new believers and demanding they return to Islam. All but two of the new Christians renounced their faith.<\/p>\n<p>Brother Paulo, a leader in <a href= \"https:\/\/www.ywamfm.org\/\">YWAM Frontier Missions<\/a> in East Africa, met the two young men who stood firm for Christ. He asked them how they&#8217;d stayed faithful under such intense pressure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The experience I had with Jesus was <em>so strong<\/em> that I <em>cannot<\/em> deny Jesus,&#8221; the younger of the two men told him.<\/p>\n<p>In places like Northern Mozambique, South Sudan, Malawi, Tanzania and other East African countries, Muslim-background believers face persecution from their families and communities. Even those who have grown up in Christian families are likely to face persecution from Muslim communities\u2014especially if they are involved in evangelism or outreach to Muslims.<\/p>\n<p>Brother Paulo will share more stories from our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in East Africa, tell how God called him into missions and describe the endurance of churches in the region amid persecution.<\/p>\n<p>He will also share how believers prepare to face persecution and how Christians in free nations like the United States can pray for our brothers and sisters in East Africa.<\/p>\n<p>The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China and Iran, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0<a href= \"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/vom-app\/id432550884\"><strong>iOS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.persecution.VomPrayerCalendar&#038;pli=1\"><strong>Android<\/strong><\/a> device today.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vomradio.net\/episodes\/detail\/east-africa-intimacy-with-christ-prepares-christians-for-persecution\" target=\"_blank\">Listen to this episode on VOMRadio.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a Muslim village in East Africa, 47 people confessed belief in Christ. But then Christian persecution came. Radical Muslims went house-to-house, threatening new believers and demanding they return to Islam. All but two of the new Christians renounced their faith. Brother Paulo, a leader in YWAM Frontier Missions in East Africa, met the two young men who stood firm for Christ. He asked them how they&#8217;d stayed faithful under such intense pressure. &#8220;The experience I had with Jesus was so strong that I cannot deny Jesus,&#8221; the younger of the two men told him. In places like Northern Mozambique, South Sudan, Malawi, Tanzania and other East African countries, Muslim-background believers face persecution from their families and communities. Even those who have grown up in Christian families are likely to face persecution from Muslim communities\u2014especially if they are involved in evangelism or outreach to Muslims. Brother Paulo will share more stories from our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in East Africa, tell how God called him into missions and describe the endurance of churches in the region amid persecution. He will also share how believers prepare to face persecution and how Christians in free nations like the United States can pray for our brothers and sisters in East Africa. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China and Iran, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0iOS\u00a0or\u00a0Android device today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vom-radio","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EAST AFRICA: Intimacy with Christ Prepares Christians for Persecution - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/east-africa-intimacy-with-christ-prepares-christians-for-persecution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EAST AFRICA: Intimacy with Christ Prepares Christians for Persecution - Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a Muslim village in East Africa, 47 people confessed belief in Christ. But then Christian persecution came. Radical Muslims went house-to-house, threatening new believers and demanding they return to Islam. All but two of the new Christians renounced their faith. Brother Paulo, a leader in YWAM Frontier Missions in East Africa, met the two young men who stood firm for Christ. He asked them how they&#039;d stayed faithful under such intense pressure. &quot;The experience I had with Jesus was so strong that I cannot deny Jesus,&quot; the younger of the two men told him. In places like Northern Mozambique, South Sudan, Malawi, Tanzania and other East African countries, Muslim-background believers face persecution from their families and communities. Even those who have grown up in Christian families are likely to face persecution from Muslim communities\u2014especially if they are involved in evangelism or outreach to Muslims. Brother Paulo will share more stories from our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in East Africa, tell how God called him into missions and describe the endurance of churches in the region amid persecution. He will also share how believers prepare to face persecution and how Christians in free nations like the United States can pray for our brothers and sisters in East Africa. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China and Iran, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. 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