Violence toward Christians as Christmas draws near

Indonesia (MNN) — In Indonesia, Christmas is celebrated through the whole month of December. On December 5th a group of six young Christians began singing Christmas carols and playing their guitar outside their Indonesian Christian Church in Poso City when they were shot at.

Two armed men riding a motorcycle, carrying a military-style pistol, fired six shots at the group. Four of the bullets whizzed past but the other two hit and injured two of the six people. Both are expected to recover. Two of the youths were Pentecostals and four were from the Reformed Church.

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs says even though the government plans to deploy more military and police to try and curb this type of violence there is a growing concern among the Muslim people over the increased number of conversions to Christianity. There are reports that the church in Indonesia is growing as Muslims are being reached with the Gospel and accepting salvation. This makes the Muslim leadership nervous. The Muslims continue to struggle to live with others of different religions.
Nettleton asks that we pray for the safety of these Christians in Indonesia It is a dangerous time of the year as they celebrate Christ coming to earth. Muslims wanting to make a political statement often choose this time of year to do it. VOM also prays that God will keep these Christians bold in their witness in spite of the violence against them.