A Tajik follower of Christ named Nurbol is requesting prayer after his wife suddenly abandoned him. She took their two young children and most of their possessions and fled while Nurbol was away. Both Nurbol and his wife grew up as Muslims, but Nurbol came to faith in Christ recently. A front-line worker says he has been very bold in sharing Christ with others and was fired from his job for his faith. His wife seemed interested in Christianity, but after she left him, she said, “You reject Jesus, and I will come back. But if you don’t, I won’t.” He responded, “I am not leaving Christ.”
Read MoreThang has been a follower of Christ for more than 35 years. His extended family rejected him when they learned of his conversion, and he spent almost 10 years in prison suffering forced labor, poor rations and regular beatings for his ongoing testimony about Christ. Thang is regularly harassed, and he has been blacklisted by the government.
Read MoreAlimata’s husband, Yacouba, was the assistant pastor at a church in Kounla. On August 25, 2024, Islamic terrorists came to their house looking for Christian men. They forced Yacouba and another man, bound and blindfolded, into the church at gunpoint. As militants hunted more Christians, Alimata and other women fled with their children. As they ran, they heard gunshots. “I knew that they had killed my husband,” Alimata said. While hiding, a woman named Fadima also heard the gunshots that killed her husband and 27 more men inside the church. “Please pray for me as I am in trauma,” she said.
Read MoreOn November 3, 2024, shortly after worship services and during the Sunday school hour at an Istanbul church, someone rang the bell. A member opened the door, and two unknown men asked to come inside. She told them it was not possible at the moment. Local police officers who were guarding the church then intervened and took the men away. The pastor had previously faced death threats, prompting police to watch the church.
Read MoreAshok and his wife, Nila, have spent 25 years reaching out to the small and isolated community of Himachal Pradesh, India, which is overwhelmingly Hindu. Pastor Pravin, who was among the first Christians in this area, leads a rural church there. This church faces the daily challenge of reaching villages that are ruled by chiefs associated with Hindu nationalist groups, which oppose any kind of Christian activities in the village. Through personal evangelism and Bible study, however, they are seeing hearts change.
Read MoreFadimatou, 18, grew up in a Muslim home. A college roommate shared the gospel with her, and she became a follower of Christ. Her grandfather, however, is upset about her conversion and has threatened to stop paying her tuition. If she must return home, Fadimatou fears she will be forced to marry a Muslim man. She requests prayer for protection and provision so she can continue her education. Another convert, Moussa, was born into a Muslim family in Cameroon to a father who had three wives and 26 children. When Moussa came to faith in Christ in 2020, some of his brothers blindfolded him and beat him.
Read MoreMuhammad Kace is an evangelist in an Indonesian prison for charges of blaspheming Islam on his YouTube channel. Kace’s lawyers succeeded in getting his 12-year sentence reduced to eight years and are appealing to further reduce the sentence. Despite suffering and being imprisoned for his faith, Kace has been supported by local pastors and by the global body of Christ, enabling his family to rent a home near the prison and providing Kace with essential medication and food during his imprisonment. In a video call with front-line workers, Kace praised God and shared about his ministry in prison to the guards and others he interacts with.
Read MoreSince a coup last summer that created chaos across Bangladesh and increased violence against Christians, an Islamic extremist group called Hefazat-e-Islam has been rising in power. Several Christian leaders from different parts of Bangladesh reported that they received threatening letters from Hefazat leaders, warning them that any celebration of Christmas this year “will be the last celebration they do in this life.”
Read MoreAriane visited several voodoo practitioners in her area, but no one could heal her of her intense stomach pain. Someone suggested she go to a Christian hospital in Togo. A nurse there urged her to give her life to Christ, and she became a Christian. She was then healed of her stomach pain. When she returned home, her voodooist husband rejected her and kicked her out of her home. Later, he threatened to kill her with a machete. But she regularly prayed for him, and he eventually let her return home. He even asked her to pray for some struggles he faced which she believed were brought on by witchcraft.
Read MoreOn Sunday, December 1, 2024, the Syrian city of Aleppo was suddenly attacked and captured by Islamist militias. One week later, the rebel groups succeeded in taking over the capital city, Damascus, when the Syrian government and military collapsed and its leader, Bashar al-Assad, fled. The jihadist groups have been fighting the Syrian government for more than a decade, and Christians are concerned that they may soon become targets. “The situation is still unclear,” said a front-line worker, who added that, so far, Christians and churches have not been specifically threatened, and some have even held services.
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