A pastor and other Christians have been jailed indefinitely since early 2026. Pastor Jon has served Christ in Yemen for many years despite repeated threats on his life. In 2012, Islamist militants rushed into his church, and one held a gun to his head. He fully expected to die, but the militants did not kill him that day. (His story was previously shared in VOM’s August 2023 magazine.)
Read MoreA young woman fled rather than participate in a secret society initiation. In Sierra Leone, secret societies practice demonic rituals that include bodily mutilation of members as well as the ritualistic killing of humans to appease local spirits. Lucee lived in a Muslim village where one of these secret societies is active. As her initiation approached, she visited a church and heard the pastor talking about evils done by secret societies.
Read MoreA pastor in a rural and remote part of a Central Asian nation was fined for hosting a church service in his home. The pastor planned and prayed for months before he held his first church meeting and hoped perhaps as many as 30 people would come. To his surprise, around 100 people showed up for the first meeting at his house. “The neighbors weren’t happy with all the activity and contacted local authorities,” said a front-line worker.
Read MoreOn Apr. 7, 2026, a group of Christians was injured while constructing a church building in western Ethiopia near the border with Sudan. A mob of Muslim extremists wielding machetes attacked the Christian men in an attempt to stop the construction of the church. The Christians had been warned not to build in the area but continued to do so, as Christians in that region do not have a place to gather.
Read MoreFive Christians in a majority-Buddhist area of Sri Lanka were beaten and jailed after false allegations against them led to a mob attack. Oshana and her family were conducting a prayer service in their home in November 2025 when an angry crowd arrived, claiming that the church intended to close off a local roadway. When Oshana’s adult sons tried to address the problem, they were overpowered and beaten, and several other church members were injured.
Read MoreAn Eritrean Christian evangelist living in the Middle East has successfully received his residency permit. In January 2025, VOM posted a request to iCommitToPray.com for Ishaq. His residency permit had expired, and he faced potential deportation to Eritrea, where Christians are regularly tortured and imprisoned, some for more than two decades without charge or trial. Readers of the post wrote 150 prayers for Ishaq, and he shared that he is grateful.
Read MoreA young woman rejected by her family for becoming a follower of Christ needs prayer for physical healing and an improved living situation. Michelle’s family are voodoo practitioners. When she refused to participate in rituals, her father rejected her, beat her and said she was no longer his daughter. (Her situation was shared on May 8, 2025, on iCommitToPray.com.) A college student at the time, she was forced to support herself in a country where most young women are reliant on their family for daily needs.
Read MoreA Christian woman reads her Bible while tending sheep to avoid persecution. Jibek is over 60 years old and the only follower of Christ in her family. Her daughters-in-law regularly mock and mistreat her because she left Islam. They have confiscated all her Christian books, including her Bible, and check her phone regularly to delete Bible apps. Jibek lives in a remote mountain area and looks for excuses to visit larger cities where she can attend church services and fellowship with other Christians.
Read MoreNine Christians were arrested after a mob attacked their pastor and destroyed their church. Pastor Aravind and his wife, Anjali, have served among a tribal group in western India for 15 years. Since 2014, police have worked with the Hindu militant group Bajrang Dal to oppose their gospel work, and Aravind has been beaten several times. In October 2025, their church service was interrupted by a mob who beat Aravind severely and destroyed the temporary church structure and the couple’s house.
Read MoreA Muslim woman was beaten for visiting a church but has now placed her faith in Christ. Isata is from a town where her father is an imam and her brother is a local muezzin (someone who calls Muslims to prayer). Despite being raised in a strict Muslim home, she began to have dreams in which Jesus Christ appeared. After having this dream three times, she decided to visit a church, which angered her husband. He felt she had brought shame upon his family and gathered some Muslim men, who tied her up and beat her.
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