A Pakistani evangelist was arrested in a remote part of the country and tortured. “He returned to us today not just physically broken but mentally and emotionally scarred, bearing the burden of trauma that words can scarcely express,” said a senior front-line worker. The evangelist had visited a remote part of Kashmir to meet someone who wanted to talk about Christ. But when the two sat down for tea, security officers suddenly appeared and rushed the evangelist to interrogation.
Read MoreBetween April and July 2024, militants with the radical Islamist group Boko Haram attacked villages of the predominately Christian Hdi tribe in far northern Cameroon 11 different times. During their raids, the jihadis murdered villagers and abducted young people to serve as child soldiers or child brides. As many of the Hdi children who survived were traumatized, some of them received holistic spiritual care designed to help heal their emotional wounds. Afterward, one child told a front-line worker, “This is the first time this year that I have slept more than four hours uninterrupted.
Read MoreThe congregation led by Pastor Xuong outgrew their meeting space in a member’s home and looked for an opportunity to build a church. One of the deacons offered his land, and members raised money for the new building. For a year after the building was completed, officials routinely threatened to tear it down. One night in September 2021, Pastor Xuong was called to the church, only to find the building completely destroyed. Though angry, disheartened and unsure how members would finance a new building, Pastor Xuong began searching for a new location.
Read MoreThe Sundanese are one of the largest unreached minority groups in the world and have been resistant to the gospel. However, when three Muslim-background Sundanese brothers – Joyo, Setiaban and Wira – came to faith in Jesus Christ, they also became passionate evangelists. Their evangelistic success in their village eventually led to persecution. When the news of dozens of Christian conversions began to spread, one of the Islamic social organizations in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah, rallied members to stop the brothers and the spread of Christianity in their village.
Read MoreMaelle was only five years old when she was sent to a wealthier family’s home to care for their infant child. While working there, Maelle attended church for the first time. Raised in a Muslim home, she placed her trust in Christ when she heard that “Jesus loves the little children.” She said she felt that “Jesus loves [her] more than [her] family,” who had abandoned her. Two years later, she was sent back to her family, but when they learned that she had come to know Christ, they were upset and prevented her from attending church.
Read MoreChristians form a fraction of the population in the Muslim-majority nations of Central Asia, and followers of Christ in these lands often face severe restrictions on their worship and outreach activities. Broadcasting through the internet is a strategy some Central Asian Christians are employing to share the gospel message with their countrymen. However, utilizing digital media also comes with risk. One Central Asian Christian created a series of videos that directly challenge Islamic beliefs and uploaded them to YouTube. Soon, he received death threats from offended Muslims. “His videos are very confrontational,” said a front-line worker.
Read MoreChristians compose 33% of Lebanon’s population, the largest percentage of Christians in any Middle Eastern country, which has made Lebanon a place of refuge for many persecuted Christians from throughout the region. But the ongoing conflict in the region has created a dangerous environment for front-line workers there. “Bombing is happening on a daily basis in Lebanon,” said one front-line worker. “And one happened very close to one of our workers as he went to meet with some persecution survivors.”
Read MorePastor Benedict purchased land and in March 2023 began constructing a building for the church he had planted in the area. However, the chief monk of the local Buddhist temple opposed this work, which halted for a few months. When Benedict resumed construction in May 2023, the monk again opposed the work and informed the police, leading to the arrest of Benedict and six other Christians. They spent four days in jail, where they began a prison ministry.
Read MoreOn August 25, 2024, Islamic extremists killed 28 Christians and injured several others after opening fire on a Sunday night church service. Some who fled the attack are still missing. Later in the same week, extremists attacked an area outside the town of Kaya and killed at least 400 people. Then, during the last week of September, Islamists attacked a church located near the border of Burkina Faso and Niger.
Read MoreCai and Hien, whose story was published in the October 2024 issue of The Voice of the Martyrs magazine, have endured several years of persecution since placing their faith in Jesus in 2021. The persecution includes imprisonment, shunning by their community, denial of public services like electricity and water, and refusal to admit their children to school. In the early morning of November 5, 2024, after continuous threats, Cai and Hien’s house was set aflame, destroying their home and all their possessions.
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