iCommitToPray

Due to increasing threats from Islamist rebel groups following a military coup in July 2023, Christians in Niger are taking extra precautions during the Christmas season. “It’s very dangerous,” said a Christian leader. “Actually, we are stopping celebrating in the night.” Previously, Christians would hold evening services, and young church members would sing Christmas songs through the streets before celebrating in homes. The Nigerien church leader added that, in the past, their Muslim neighbors would often wish them a happy Christmas.

A mother and her two daughters have been forced from their home because of their Christian faith. Rasha became a follower of Christ in early 2025. She began sharing the gospel with her mother, Laila, and her younger teenage sister, Asman, soon afterwards. They both came to faith in Christ, and the three women committed to a Bible reading plan. In August 2025, Rasha’s father discovered her Bible. He harshly interrogated her, and when Rasha would not renounce her new faith, he beat her.

Despite government restrictions, one pastor in Turkmenistan hopes to register his church soon. Christian worship has been limited to churches in government-sanctioned denominations, but other churches do exist. The pastor said, “Since 2007, no church has been registered in Turkmenistan. We are praying for a miracle!” The church is small but has active outreach events, such as a sports ministry for youth, despite experiencing past pressures and even arrests for its Christian ministry work.

On Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, Pastor Malik Salamat was taking his teenage daughter to school in Gujranwala when assailants gunned him down in front of his home. Immediately rushed to a hospital, he did not survive. Pastor Salamat had previously been attacked for his ministry work in another city and had moved to Gujranwala with his family, hoping to find a safer location.

The Turkish government has made it increasingly difficult for Iranian Christian refugees to remain in the country. Iranians do not need a visa to visit Turkiye, so some Iranian converts to Christianity fled there in recent years seeking refuge. One Iranian Christian family currently living in Turkiye faces the constant threat of being deported back to Iran. In 2017, the couple was arrested in Iran along with their entire house church before fleeing the country. If they were sent back to Iran, they would almost certainly be apprehended upon arrival and their children taken to be raised by strangers.

While flooded rivers and fields have made travel difficult in Pakistan, some Christian teams continue to carry on the important work of distributing Bibles there. Devastating floods have led to the deaths of more than 800 people and forced over 1 million Pakistanis to evacuate their homes and villages. “Please pray for them,” said a front-line worker. “It is very difficult, and they need to know where they can go because of the many flooded areas and also because of ongoing security threats.”