But in prisons, the dynamic changes. An incarcerated extremist becomes, quite literally, a captive audience for the Gospel.

Greg Von Tobel, President of Prisoners for Christ (PFC), says, “When we talk about third-world prisons, there are a lot of terrorist groups that have found themselves in prison.

“What better opportunity to share the love of Christ with some of the hardest of hearts that are bent on evil and having them come to know Lord, getting released, going back to their communities and sharing the love of Christ?”

Photo courtesy of Colin Carey via Unsplash

PFC helps believers behind bars start churches in prisons across the developing world. For terrorists, these church gatherings are often the first place they hear about Jesus.

Don Szolomayer, PFC’s Director of International Affairs, explains that many inmates enter prison churches simply out of curiosity. “And it says, ‘This is a safe place. This is a place you can come, you can ask questions, you can learn, you can grow.’”

Still, sharing the Gospel is only the beginning. Von Tobel stresses the importance of building up new believers in the faith during their incarceration.

“We have to have the discipleship piece – feeding and growing inmates that are babes in the Word of God, and watching them and growing them into great warriors for the cause of Christ.”

Pray for extremists in prison to turn to Christ, and become warriors for God’s mercy and truth!

Pray also for believers who lead these prison churches — that God would equip them with wisdom, courage, and perseverance as they disciple new Christians behind bars.

Header photo image generated by AI.

Christian communities continue to suffer raids, sexual violence, killings at roadblocks, and kidnappings. Recent victims include two teenagers and a nine-month-old baby.

Jihadist groups like Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), and Lakurawa also pose an ongoing threat.

“In the void of ethical leadership, there’s always going to be these bad actors that try to swoop in and gain access to the resources,” Unknown Nations’ Greg Kelley says.

“Then you’ve got the agenda of Islam, which is to take over the entirety of that country.”

Believers aren’t the only ones who suffer. Fulani herdsmen, although Islamist, also attack properties owned by Muslims.

“It’s not like every Muslim in Nigeria is applauding what’s going on. They’re just as dissatisfied and frustrated as the Christians are, but it opens their heart,” Kelley says.

“Their worldview is challenged, and they’re open to the Gospel.”

The Fulani were among Nigeria’s first converts to Islam, and this religious system is central to their identity. Yet hope remains for this people group. “We’re seeing God move in very unique ways,” Kelley says.

“He’s saving people who come from these aggressors and using them as missionaries. There are 300 Fulani leaders that are going to be trained in the next few weeks.”

Ask the Lord to put His words into the mouths of Fulani Gospel workers.

“The most passionate and enthusiastic laborers are coming out of the three largest Muslim people groups,” Kelley says.

“When you’ve come out of that darkness, you understand the significance of it (salvation) way more than someone who came from a majority [Christian] people group.”

Header image is an AI-generated photo depicting Fulani herdsmen created using GenCraft.

Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says the move highlights the plight of Nigerian Christians. “This is one subcommittee of the U.S. House basically saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to shine a light on what’s happening in Nigeria, and we would like the President to sanction the government of Nigeria to try to encourage them to take steps on religious freedom and on protecting the Christian minority, especially in northern Nigeria.’”

(Photo courtesy Voice of the Martyrs USA)

Lawmakers hope this move will push Nigeria to take stronger action in protecting religious minorities.

For years, extremist groups like Boko Haram, Fulani militants, and ISWAP have targeted Christians in Nigeria. A 2024 report from the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa found that Nigeria was responsible for 90% of all Christian deaths worldwide each year.

Between October 2019 and September 2023, the report recorded at least 55,910 people killed by terrorist groups active in the country.

Nettleton says, “The sad thing to me is that these attacks have become so common that they almost don’t make the news anymore.”

Despite the ongoing violence, Nigeria was removed from the U.S. State Department’s Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list in November 2021, a designation that allows for direct sanctions. While the U.S. administration has not yet reinstated Nigeria on the CPC list, Congress is urging sanctions regardless.

“The reality is the Nigerian government hasn’t taken steps to protect persecuted Christians in the North, and so I think they do deserve to be painted as complicit in what is happening there,” says Nettleton.

“The national government of Nigeria, even though in their constitution they promise religious freedom, they don’t actually defend the rights of religious minorities in the North in a way that protects them from these attacks.”

As Congress pushes for action, Nettleton urges Christians worldwide to respond. “We need to know what’s happening with them so that we’re aware; so that we can pray effectively and pray knowledgeably for them.”

Nettleton also encourages, “One of the things Christ calls us to do is to forgive and even to pray for those who are persecuting us. So pray that our Nigerian brothers and sisters, even through the grief and the loss and the suffering they have endured, will still be able to have soft hearts towards their persecutors.”

Header photo courtesy of The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada.

This exit drops ECOWAS’s membership to 12 countries and highlights growing frustrations in the critical regional bloc.

For Christians in Burkina Faso, this change could make an already dangerous situation worse. Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach (CWO) explains, “ECOWAS has been a thing that’s supposed to be helping the 15 countries work together and help economically, but also with peacekeeping.”

Students at the Village of Opportunity (VOO) with CWO in Burkina Faso. (Photo courtesy of CWO)

Over the past several years, Muslim extremists in Burkina Faso have been destroying churches and killing or kidnapping believers. Now, without ECOWAS, there’s concern that Burkina Faso will struggle even more to fight these extremist groups.

The country already feels the impact economically. Yoder says, “What they’re seeing is it’s caused prices to go up for food and necessities, anything.”

Yet, CWO persists in offering skills training for young women and medical care in Burkina Faso — all in the name of Jesus.

“Ministry continues on,” affirms Yoder. “It does put a strain on the funds, but our staff there are very frugal and they do whatever they can to stretch the dollars. They buy in bulk and do whatever they can. So we are grateful for what God’s provided for us, and we try to do our best with what we have.”

Pray for God’s continued provision.

Learn more about CWO’s ministry in Burkina Faso.

Header photo: The UN Security Council attends a UN ECOWAS meeting, 2017. (Photo by UK Mission to the UN New York/Lorey Campese, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59944675)

(Image courtesy of SAT-7 USA)

Meanwhile, parents in Lebanon are concerned their children could be radicalized by extremist groups like Hezbollah, which are eager for new recruits.

Joe Willey with SAT-7 USA says, “When there is instability there, and whether a government is toppled, whether there are natural disasters, whether there is conflict between other nations, there are voids. And into that void, something will go.

“That concern of any parent, whether it’s in the US or around the world, is, ‘Are my children safe?… Will my children survive?'”

Even beyond Lebanon’s borders, the threat of radicalization is felt globally.

Germany is still reeling after a Syrian refugee sped a car through pedestrians at a Christmas market, killing five people and injuring over 200.

In the United States, a car-ramming terror attack targeted New Year’s revelers on a packed New Orleans street. At least 15 people died and dozens were injured. The attacker, a US citizen and army veteran, was potentially radicalized and had an ISIS flag in his possession.

Radicalization can happen suddenly or slowly over time, starting at a young age. Hezbollah’s recruitment tactics in Lebanon even include summer camps for kids, targeting children as young as six years old, according to The UN Refugee Agency.

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA)

For parents in Lebanon seeking safe entertainment options, SAT-7’s satellite television program, SAT-7 KIDS, offers Gospel-focused entertainment for children.

Willey explains, “Not only do Christian families and Christian children watch it, but we also have messages — and we’ve had many — from parents of children of other faiths who say, ‘I can put SAT-7 KIDS on and I can be confident that my children are going to hear something that’s good.’

“‘They’re not going to hear something that could radicalize them. They’re not going to hear something that I don’t want them to hear. They’re family values.’ And of course, what we know is they’re speaking about biblical values.”

Pray for children in Lebanon to put their trust in Jesus Christ rather than the false promises of extremist groups. Ask God to give parents wisdom, that they may also follow Jesus and point their kids to biblical truth.

“We certainly at SAT-7 have a mission to really minister to children because these children that are living and have lived in war zones have lived in such chaos,” Willey says. “They are being shaped – and they will either be shaped by that violence, or they can be shaped by the Gospel.”

Learn more about SAT-7 KIDS.

Header photo: Hezbollah fighters train in southern Lebanon, May 2023. (Photo courtesy of Tasnim News Agency/Wikimedia Commons)

Israeli officials say these targeted strikes are intended to keep military equipment out of the hands of the rebel extremists.

Rebels unfurl Syrian revolution flag inside Hafez al-Assad mausoleum, December 2024. (Photo by getty images – telegram, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156639771)

“Israel looks at this as a prime opportunity to secure its future,” Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) explains. “Now, without having to get in a brutal, drawn-out combat, Israel is clearing out anything that could remain on the Syrian side as a threat.”

Israel is still fighting on multiple fronts with Hezbollah and Hamas, and the people of Israel have known over 400 days of war. So how does this war-weary nation have the capacity to engage in Syria as well?

Mock offers some perspective: “Actually, this is a time in which Israel is able to engage all three fronts because there is not a specific front that is an overwhelming force. Russia has withdrawn, for the most part, from that region and is not able to be the defender of the prior [Assad] government.”

Recently, Mock reached out to SGA-supported churches in Israel. Despite the regional tensions, he reports faithful Israeli believers are persisting in ministry.

“There’s always this constant cloud of fear of what’s going to happen,” says Mock. “Are there rockets coming from the north? Are there rockets coming from the south? Are there rockets coming from Yemen? Are the rockets coming from Syria or even Iran? There’s this constant tension that exists.

“But in the middle of it, there’s a tremendous amount of peace knowing that God continues to be at work.”

Steeple in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo courtesy of Jonny Gios/Unsplash)

This Christmas, pray Israelis and Syrians know true, lasting peace that comes from Jesus.

Mock says, “Sometimes we lose track of hearing that old Christmas passage, I believe, from Luke 2:14 where we’re talking about ‘peace on earth among men,’ and we just stop it there. We think that God’s effort has to do with the establishment of world peace.

“But they forget ‘…with whom I am well pleased,’ which is the remainder of the verse. We’re reminded that only those who are walking right with Jesus Christ by faith are those in whom God is well pleased — for in His Son, He is well pleased.

“So in this, peace comes when the Gospel comes! Peace comes when the Gospel is in the hearts of men and women!”

From Israeli believers, Mock shares, “When they ask us to pray, they ask not for their safety, not for the safety of their country, but they said, ‘Pray that we would be zealous to declare the Gospel, not taking our eyes off of Christ.’”

Learn more about SGA supporting ministry in Israel.

Header photo: Russia has naval military bases on the Syrian coast where Israel recently attacked. (Photo by Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115294558)

Recently, a group of anti-Christian activists threatened Shukar saying if he didn’t stop teaching the Adult Literacy Class, they would kill his son.

Regan Miller with Mission India says, “In response, Shukar went ahead and filed a complaint with the police. But before anything could come of that, the activists actually showed up at Shukar’s house and his son was asleep.

“Ten people took this 20-year-old son out of the village and beat him to death. They actually brought him back into the village afterward and put his body on display.”

(Representative photo, courtesy of Mission India)

It is a parent’s worst nightmare. Devastatingly, this extreme persecution is a reality for many believers with Christian persecution in India on the rise.

Miller says, “Our partners in India know that when they choose to share the Gospel and are compelled to live for Jesus, they’re taking a huge risk.”

Mission India is supporting Shukar and his family as they grieve. Pray that Shukar and his family would know the Holy Spirit’s comfort. Ask God to gird up Shukar’s faith, that he would be a steadfast example for Christ in persecution.

The ministry also asks Christians to pray for the mob of extremists who killed Shukar’s son. Miller says, “We’ve seen miraculous situations where the worst persecutors that you would never expect to follow Jesus end up coming to faith in Christ because the Holy Spirit works a miracle in their hearts.”

Mission India’s Adult Literacy Classes both share the Gospel and give adult students lifelong skills to enrich their lives. “Teachers like Shukar end up praying over the students [and] discipling them. It’s so much more than education,” says Miller.

(Photo courtesy of Mission India)

“So a lot of times by the end of the class, graduates not only have a fifth-grade level of education, they know how to save money, they have become entrepreneurs, they know how to take care of their health, and they know who Jesus is and a lot of them choose to follow Him.”

Ask the Lord to strengthen the faith of Adult Literacy Class teachers who may face persecution. Pray they would be faithful witnesses for Jesus.

Mission India is releasing a 7-day devotional highlighting Christian persecution in India. It’s all leading up to the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on November 3.

Sign up here for Mission India’s IDOP devotional and learn more about praying for persecuted believers like Shukar.

Representative header photo of a church in India, courtesy of Mission India.

David Durance with TeachBeyond says, “Our concern is for this next generation. How is this next generation going to be raised? And is this going to be now a long-lasting place of instability?”

Schooling across the Sahel in particular has taken a hit with widespread unrest, and it’s kids who pay the price.

(Photo courtesy of TeachBeyond)

Durance says, “The unknown part of this is just how long this would take to resume services and bring some sort of normalcy. As we’ve seen elsewhere, it can stretch from all being one week to now weeks to months, and then kids will have missed a whole year of education. And how do we pick up after that? It’s always a huge challenge.

“I think that’s the big difference between natural disasters where you can quite quickly say, ‘All right, in a month, we’re going to be able to resume.’ When you have a coup, when you have uprisings, when you have unrest, we just don’t know.”

When they’re out of school, children are susceptible to recruitment by extremist groups and traffickers.

TeachBeyond supports displaced children wherever they can across the Sahel with Gospel-based education.

“The second is looking at working with these kids that have come out of these environments and recognizing that sticking them inside a regular classroom with regular teaching is not going to be effective. We need to deal with the issues that have happened – so thinking through trauma-informed education.”

Pray for these kids to learn to love God with all their minds and hearts! And pray also for stability and wise, godly leaders in the Sahel region.

Header photo courtesy of TeachBeyond.

After seizing power and detaining Niger’s president Mohamed Bazoum, the junta got an ultimatum from the West African regional bloc: Reinstate the ousted president by Sunday, or face possible foreign military intervention.

The ultimatum deadline passed with no action from the junta. Now, it is the regional bloc’s move.

Niger’s deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum (Photo courtesy of photographer: Bogdan Hoyaux – https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/photo/P-060245~2F00-08, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=129317199)

West Africa bloc leaders are meeting on Thursday to discuss a rogue Niger under junta control, and how to respond.

Amidst tensions, it doesn’t help that Niger is bordered by other countries with extremist presence.

Greg Kelley with World Mission says, “You’re talking about Mali, you’re talking about Algeria, you’re talking about Libya – places that have been real beachheads for extremism. Niger is critical where we can have eyes in those areas from a political standpoint.”

Kelley points out a destabilized West Africa with the coup in Niger opens the door to these radical groups.

“I think extremism has been a huge hindrance to the Gospel in this part of Africa, which is why Niger is so strategic. It’s literally been considered a great ally, which is why the US is really slow-walking their response to this because they don’t want to lose that relationship.”

The United States and France have threatened to cut ties with Niger, which would impact aid for the country.

Meanwhile, the Gospel is needed now more than ever in Niger. World Mission partners are still going into the country to distribute the ministry’s solar-powered audio Bibles called Treasures.

Kelley says, “From a missional standpoint, the Body of Christ needs to be aware. A country like Niger is so strategic. It’s well over 90% Muslim…. Most people living in Niger have never heard of Jesus. That’s where our eyes really need to be locked in.”

Pray for the Gospel to bring hope. Ask God to restore peace to Niger rooted in justice and wisdom.

Header photo depicts sunset over the Niger River. (Photo courtesy of Mathieu Dessus/Flickr: https://rb.gy/h8e5l)

Lebanon could lose an entire generation, just like Syria. Heart for Lebanon’s Elio Constantine explains, “Extremist and radical organizations target marginalized and vulnerable communities; these children start getting fed the most extreme ideas.”

Extremists target kids because they’re easy prey. “They (children) still have a fresh mind like a sponge that would absorb almost anything, especially given that they are in a desperate situation,” Constantine says.

Introducing kids to Jesus through games, crafts, songs, and Bible lessons provides an alternative to hate. “Heart for Lebanon disrupts the cycle; it puts a stop to it,” Constantine says.

“We create this ripple effect of hope among these marginalized communities.”

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

That’s the goal of the ministry’s “Summer of Hope” program. “‘Summer of Hope’ is an initiative that we’re doing [in] June, July, and August,” Heart for Lebanon co-founder Tom Atema says.

“The ultimate goal is to reach 2,500 children. During the month of June, [we reached] 1,269 [kids] in 187 different environments.”

Here’s how you can help kids in Lebanon meet Jesus this summer.

“Right now, three-quarters of the country is living at [or below] the poverty line. Families living in poverty don’t take vacations, they don’t become tourists. They just live in everyday reality that leads to more and more despair,” Atema says.

“We as Christians show up with a fun truck [and] games and crafts, and Bible lessons. We just let the kids have fun as kids for a couple of hours but with a purpose [of] sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.