Christian World Outreach’s (CWO) Greg Yoder says, “First of all, we thank God that these people that were kidnapped have been released, and [we are] just grateful that their lives were spared – others have not been.”

Their safe return brings relief, but it also highlights the ongoing instability gripping the nation, fueled by gang violence and targeted kidnappings.

Children’s feeding program by CWO in Haiti. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

Around 1.3 million Haitians have fled their homes and are now internally displaced — a 24% increase since the end of 2024.

“We have seen or heard reports of some of the towns, especially in the north where people have been displaced to. The way it was described — it being one of the cities — it’s like ants,” says Yoder.

“You just add more people, which probably adds food insecurity in those areas. That’s how it affects ministries like Christian World Outreach.”

CWO is seeing the impact of displacement firsthand through its children’s feeding program. “We’re just seeing an increase,” says Yoder. “Eighty children gathered in one of our places where we have a feeding program, which is a little bit higher than the norm.”

Pray for an end to the violence and instability permeating Haitian life, and for people to turn to Jesus for hope. Ask the Lord to sustain CWO’s ministry with supporters and spiritual encouragement.

Yoder also urges prayer for the newly freed captives: “Emotionally, that God would heal there. I’m not sure what all they went through, but I’m sure that emotionally it was a draining month. [Pray] that God will work in their lives and they can get back to somewhat of a normal life that they had at that center.”

*Some reports say nine people total were kidnapped from the compound.

Header photo from 2020 of a suburb of Port-au-Prince. (Photo courtesy of Reynaldo Mirault/Unsplash)

Since 2022, as the Russian army advanced and occupied more Ukrainian territory, children became silent casualties — taken to unfamiliar Russian institutions. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children are still missing, believed to be in Russia or Russian-occupied areas. The actual number may be even higher.

The mass abduction of Ukrainian children is a war crime according to International law.

Families are doing everything they can to recover their children, while Ukrainian authorities insist that even orphans taken to Russia remain part of the nation and must be brought home.

Representative photo courtesy of
Evgeniy Alyoshin via Unsplash

Eric Mock from Slavic Gospel Association says: “There are children who desperately miss their parents. Some are told their parents don’t want them or aren’t worthy of them — an awful reality no child should ever have to face.”

Some parents of these children were detained and later released. Others fled while their children were taken. In some occupied areas, families were offered the chance to send their children to summer camps — but not all of them came back.

“It’s difficult to sort through the pieces, but it’s clear that kids have been separated from their families, and there’s an overwhelming need to restore these families. That is a heartbreaking reality of this war,” Mock explained.

Finding and accessing the children inside Russia remains difficult. “There are organizations that are working to get these children home,” Mock added. So far, only 1,399 children have returned, while thousands remain trapped in the reeducation system — where efforts aim to replace their Ukrainian identity with a Russian one and revise their understanding of the war.

Slavic Gospel Association supports churches across Ukraine, where some Christians are actively involved in the search for lost children. Also, through its orphan ministry network, Orphans Reborn, operating in over seven countries, some of the orphans encountered may be from Ukraine.

“A lot of these disconnected children are showing up in orphanages, and we pray that SGA-supported churches who minister to orphans are able to connect with these kids and be there for them,” Mock said.

Be the voice for these children. Many feel helpless and forgotten, and their families struggle to find them.

“We pray for the restoration of these families, and above all, we pray that these children and their parents — wherever they may be — will be connected to a faithful church and get to hear the Gospel at every opportunity,” Mock said.

Header representative photo courtesy of Tadeusz Lakota via Unsplash.

A hidden layer 

Bruce with Uncharted Ministries says that at first, their team didn’t realize the scale and depth of suffering that Pakistani Christians endure. Then, a young Christian leader in Pakistan revealed another layer to them through a simple request. 

“We were introduced to this [reality] by him just sharing a need,” Bruce says. “He didn’t ask for any money. He just said, ‘Please, please pray for this young 13-year-old girl.’” 

The teenager had been kidnapped by a man in his forties, then forced to marry him and convert to Islam. 

“[She spent] five months chained to a bed and [was] malnourished but was rescued. She was later found pregnant as a 14-year-old and gave birth to a little baby girl,” Bruce says. 

Hers is just one story among hundreds that rarely have a happy ending. 

“Over 1,000 Christian young women are kidnapped, and only 10% ever make it back to their homes,” Bruce says. 

Lifted up out of poverty  

By God’s grace, Uncharted Ministries is able to come alongside vulnerable Christian families with practical help and even freedom (more on that here). 

“Christian women are in a tough way, so we’ve been providing six-month training courses for Christian young women to be seamstresses or beauticians,” Bruce says. “[They are] six-month classes, 15 students in each one for six months of training in the business skills but also being discipled, being loved. They become a little family.”

A young Christian woman shows what she has sewn. (Photo courtesy of Uncharted Ministries)

The training courses have served 120 women so far. Bruce says it’s amazing to see how God has opened the way for this ministry.

“After successfully completing the course, they are given their sewing machine, a work desk, chair and supplies to begin their business,” he says. 

“These young women [will] earn money for their family, but then they’ll attract a young man someday who’s also upwardly mobile, and they together can work and increase their standard of living. So we’re looking at generational change, where God is going to transform their lives.”

One of Uncharted’s contacts in Pakistan recently told Bruce, “It’s so encouraging to know that we weren’t created just to be hated.” 

“That stuck with me,” he says. “They feel so reviled in the culture, but what God is doing [is] He’s just plucking these people out and giving them skills.”

You can have a place in this life-changing ministry. Gifts to Uncharted Ministries designated “Pakistan” will aid frontline efforts of rescuing families from slavery, supporting young women who have been sex-trafficked, and training girls in business skills. Visit unchartedministries.com to make a gift under the “Pakistan” designation. 

Header photo courtesy of Paul Jai/Unsplash.

Khaled* said armed men already at the site tied him to a chair in a corner. Over the next two weeks, they tortured him and recorded videos demanding his family pay 25,000 euros (US$28,900) for his release.

In the midst of this ordeal came an unexpected spiritual battle.

“My life started to be like fighting with the devil and fighting to find who is my God,” he said. “They forced me to pray like a Muslim – I knew the traditions of Islam, so I started praying to Allah by force and said, ‘Allah, help me! Where are you Allah? You are Allah, you are doing nothing. Who is Allah, why you make me suffer?’”

Muslims have long persecuted members of the Druze, a monotheistic but mixed basket of religions and philosophies dating back to 11th-century Western Asia. Khaled said that when the Saudi government forced him to leave the country, initially he had gone to Lebanon, where he met a Christian who told him, “When you have trouble, just ask Jesus to be your God.”

Khaled had asked the Christian not to talk about Jesus, but now he recalled what he told him as he suffered in captivity. “I remembered how he would pray in the name of the Lord Jesus and then say, ‘Amen,’” Khaled said.

“By that time in captivity, it was the Holy Spirit moving in me or standing beside me – He wanted to talk to me, and I was fighting within myself to accept or reject it.”

Light in a Dark Moment

As the deadline to pay the ransom passed, his captors fought about what to do with him – break his legs, or take him to Turkey, or kill him and sell his organs, he said.

While they were arguing and distracted, Khaled poured out his heart to Christ and wept. The moment he said, “Amen,” he felt he was on a new path. He also felt his legs and hands coming free of the ties binding them, he said.

“I start to cry,” he said, “and I told Him, ‘Now I will believe. You are my God. You are my everything. I just really need You to send me out and make me free.’”

Continuing to call on “Jesus, Yeshua,” under his breath, he made it out a door and felt the Lord carrying him over a nine-foot-high wall on the building’s perimeter, he said. Once on the other side, Khaled said, he heard the Lord saying, “You are free.” As he ran three hours trying to find a police station, he shouted Jesus’ name in Hebrew, “Yeshua!”

Local missionaries in Greece find opportunities to share the gospel through a medical clinic. The ministry’s church continues to grow even though many refugees who receive Christ move on to other European countries.
(Photo courtesy of Christian Aid Mission)

After two months under police protection while authorities investigated, Khaled went to the office of a local Christian ministry that provided him food, legal help, and the Gospel.

“All of them held me like a family, and they supported me and let me know who the Lord Jesus really is,” Khaled said. “And now I can say I will be with the Lord all my life. Anywhere I go, I say, ‘Find God, because God is love.’”

‘Persecuted Believers’

Khaled now works as an Arabic interpreter for the ministry, which not only meets refugees’ immediate needs for food, infant supplies, and psychological/spiritual counseling but helps arrange schooling for children and appointments to obtain legal status.

Local missionaries believe Europe is facing a new refugee crisis as many people fleeing Taliban-controlled Afghanistan are added to the number of those escaping areas of conflict in Africa and the Middle East.

“Many of the refugees that we work with are persecuted believers,” the leader of the ministry based in Europe said. “Some have come to know the Lord in their home country and, for various reasons but mainly for persecution, have been forced to flee. Others, despite being in a free ‘Christian’ country, have been very persecuted even in their new homes, the camps, or from other family members.”

With a holistic approach that addresses, physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs, workers find refugees are able to recover and thrive, supporting themselves in their new lives.

Local missionaries there and in other European countries see an unprecedented opportunity to share the Gospel with Muslims who were once inaccessible.

“While our work is not specifically tailored to reaching specific ethnic groups, all of our beneficiaries are coming from predominantly-Muslim countries in the 10/40 window, where it is extremely difficult and/or illegal to share the Gospel,” the leader said. “Our pastoral and leadership teams receive daily text messages and phone calls from people who want to hear about God’s Word.”

Equip local missionaries in Europe to keep pace with refugees’ physical and spiritual needs.

*Name changed for security reasons

Header and story image courtesy of Christian Aid Mission.

The 17 missionaries are members of the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries. They were kidnapped Saturday by the notorious 400 Mawozo gang, a group that’s gained increasing power in the last three years and essentially controls Port-au-Prince suburb Croix-des-Bouquets.

Among those kidnapped are an 8-month-old infant and four children ages 3, 6, 14, and 15-years-old. The American FBI and Haitian authorities are working to negotiate the group’s release.

Rising Gang Activity

Reported kidnappings in Haiti have risen by 550% in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year.

(Photo courtesy of Haiti Bible Mission)

For other mission agencies in Haiti like Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), the rise in gang threats has presented challenges for ministry.

MAF’s Latin America regional director Dave McCleery says, “The gang activity is becoming a little more mobilized and a little more widespread. We do feel like we have to be more vigilant and so we’ve raised our threat level there for our staff.”

Between the earthquake in August, the assassination of the president, and deteriorating government stability, many Haitians are growing fearful and desperate.

“Some of the gang activity and people taking things into their own hands are in a very desperate situation,” McCleery says. “That’s a lot of what we’re seeing is the desperation there. And that desperation, unfortunately, will lead to cutting off resources flowing from the United States and North America because of travel risk and those types of things.”

Challenges for Haitian Ministries

MAF in Haiti flies into remote and hard-to-reach areas with relief, medical aid, and Gospel resources.

MAF flying a team of nurses from Port-au-Prince to Jeremie. (Photo courtesy of MAF)

While growing threats and risk won’t stop Gospel outreach, McCleery says, “Some of the ministry and what it looks like is changing — more local activity, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“We are still able to respond with airplanes because we can still fly to those distant, isolated communities. And we’re finding, actually, more Haitian people and Haitian ministry activity needing to use the airplane because of the insecurity of the roads.”

The hardest part is an ongoing need for funding and support from the global Body of Christ. It takes a lot of money to keep fuel in planes and buy parts for maintenance.

If you want to support MAF Haiti, click here!

MAF recently linked arms with Samaritan’s Purse for more effective ministry work in Haiti.

“They’ll help us with an additional airplane that they will use and we will crew it for them to be able to respond in that way more collaboratively with other mission organizations.”

Freedom from Desperation

What Haiti needs is freedom from fear and desperation, “and I think that will only come with the Gospel affecting people’s lives,” says McCleery.

“I would ask for prayer that the Holy Spirit would convict hearts and reach into the right places at the right time and affect leaders who can really make an effective change there.”

Please pray also for the mission group’s safe release, and for the salvation of their kidnappers.

Header photo courtesy of Patrice S Dorsainville via Unsplash.

The name Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden”. Boko Haram is a Muslim militant group bent on driving out Western influences from Nigeria, including Christianity.

According to USA Today, Leah’s father, Nathan Sharibu said, “They told her they would release her if she converted, but she said she will never become a Muslim.

“I am very sad, but I am also overjoyed because my daughter did not denounce Christ.”

The Nigerian government negotiated the release of the other Dapchi schoolgirls, and President Muhammadu Buhari vows they will keep negotiating Leah’s freedom as well. But so far, there is no telling when that could be.

Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014. (Video snapshot courtesy of YouTube)

Lauren Libby with Trans World Radio (TWR) says the Dapchi girls’ kidnapping is similar to the kidnapping of the Chibok girls back in 2014. “That’s not the only time [a Boko Haram kidnapping] happened. You remember back four or five years ago when the same thing occurred. This is a group that is very violent and supposedly religiously-oriented.”

As our young sister in Christ who is being held captive by Boko Haram, Leah desperately needs the prayers of the Body of Christ.

“What we’re praying is that God would directly intervene,” says Libby.

The only thing that is going to change the heart of radical militants like Boko Haram is something even more radical – salvation in Christ. “So the question is, how do you get the truth and how do you bring the grace of Jesus Christ into that group?”

TWR has a radio station in West Africa broadcasting the hope of the Gospel. But they are currently working to build a new 200,000-watt radio station on the AM band to broadcast into Niger, Togo, and northern Nigeria — right in the heart of Boko Haram territory.

“That is where the Boko Haram groups operate from. So to be able to talk about Jesus into a primarily Muslim audience is quite an undertaking, not only technically, but from a programming standpoint as well,” Libby explains.

“When you begin to talk about Jesus into a culture, it is interesting how the Holy Spirit can begin to work in hearts, not just of the average person, but of leadership as they listen.”

(Image courtesy of Open Doors USA)

For now, TWR is waiting on the license to finish this new radio station. They already have many of the radio station’s components and much of the funding.

“The Lord has already provided about 50 percent of the funds and we look at that as being an affirmation that God wants us to move forward.”

Click here if you would like to support TWR’s ministry in Africa.

Libby says, ultimately, the battle with Boko Haram in Nigeria is a spiritual battle. And the prayers of God’s people truly do make a difference. “We’ve found that when groups of people begin to pray for a particular area or a particular process, it is interesting how that begins to energize the spirit of God in that area.”

Pray for God to miraculously transform the hearts and minds of Boko Haram fighters, that they would repent and come to salvation in Christ Jesus.

Please pray especially for Leah as she remains in Boko Haram captivity. Ask the Holy Spirit to give her strength of heart and to hold steadfast to her faith. Pray for Leah to be released soon and reunited with her family.

We recently spoke with Ray and Denice with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada. They serve as field officers and developers in the ministry’s numerous projects in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Nigeria, and will be speaking at the upcoming Momentum Conference in Oakville, Canada on November 19.

(Photo courtesy of Ray and Denice with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada)

Ray says part of their Gospel ministry in Nigeria is trauma care for victims of Boko Haram.

“Many of these people who have come out of the villages and who have witnessed horrific things — things that are almost unspeakable to talk about on radio — we bring them into these trauma response ministries and we pray for them, we minister the Word of God to them, we cry with them, we hold them. And you know, it’s not just about the physical relief we bring them, but it’s also the spiritual and emotional — we call it soul care.”

Deborah’s Story

Ray and Denice share the story of a Nigerian woman named Deborah. She and her husband were caring for their two young nieces when Boko Haram found them.

“Boko Haram came into her home, confronted her husband who was an elder in the church and asked if he would convert to Islam. He said, ‘No, I’m not going to convert because I’m a Christian.’ Immediately Boko Haram shot and killed Deborah’s husband.

Deborah holding a photo of her two young nieces who were abducted by Boko Haram militants in 2012. (Photo courtesy of Ray and Denice with Voice of the Martyrs, Canada)

“While watching, there were the two little girls, they were 9 and 11-years-old. The terrorists looked at them and said, ‘Convert to Islam, or what happened to your uncle will happen to you and you will join him in death.’ Both girls looked at the terrorists and said, ‘We will not convert to Islam and we are ready to join our uncle in death. We will not become Muslims.’ So instead of killing the girls, the Boko Haram terrorists actually abducted the two little girls.”

Ray shares, “We saw a picture of [Deborah] holding a photo of those girls and we saw the trauma she was carrying, watching her little girls as they were abducted. She has been searching for those little girls since 2012 in refugee camps.”

Please, pray for Deborah to be reunited with her two young nieces. Pray for the girls to be strong and courageous in their young faith, and for the Holy Spirit to draw near to them in comfort.

Perseverance in Prayer

Here at Mission Network News, we don’t just encourage prayer as a last resort, or something you can do when all else fails. But rather, as Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (ESV)

(Photo courtesy Flickr/CC/BradRuggles)

Prayer is a key tool in our belt, along with the many other ways God has equipped us to support the oppressed and disheartened.

Ray shares this account on the impact of faithful prayer: “I remember having a speaking engagement this summer, and two years ago I had given the church all the names of the Chibok girls. This fellow walked up to me two years later and said, ‘I’m still praying for that one little girl whose name was put on my chair. How is she doing?’ And I was amazed…. It’s a tremendous impact, and we recently heard that several of the Chibok girls had been released. We believe that’s a direct answer to our prayers.”

In addition to praying, you can support Voice of the Martyrs, Canada in their outreach with the persecuted Church, including in Nigeria.

“We do Christmas outreach projects, clothing projects, food projects, VOM medical projects, things like this. So really, just praying for and supporting Voice of the Martyrs brings a huge impact for the Church in Nigeria,” Ray says.

A Steadfast Faith in Nigeria

In closing, Denice says Nigerian believers are remaining steadfast in their faith in Jesus Christ, and are witnessing in their communities — even when it could cost them everything. She shares about a Nigerian pastor and his wife, whom they call Abraham and Sarah.

“They have chosen to remain in their city and this pastor is determined to be there as long as he has a member of the church there. So he has said for him and his wife, they will remain strong and be that witness in that community.”

Pray for the Church in Nigeria to remain a steadfast witness to their neighbors, and that they would feel the strength of the Holy Spirit when they are confronted for their faith.

At the Voice of the Martyrs, Canada’s Momentum Conference, you can hear more faith stories like these from Ray, Denice, and several other guest speakers representing the worldwide Church. Click here to register for the Momentum Conference in Oakville, Canada on November 19!

“In the Presence of My Enemies” book written by Gracia Burnham.

Today, Gracia Burnham travels and shares her story at various speaking engagements. We recently connected with her at The Voice of the Martyrs, USA’s latest Advance Conference in Lynchburg, Virginia.

She says, “Voice of the Martyrs was some of the first to come alongside me and my family after that event, and so I have tried to plug into a lot of their conferences they do around the nation.”

Burnham reflects on what God taught her from her captivity 15 years ago: “In my case, what I learned was who I am. I think if you were to ask my children, they would say a different mother came out of the jungle than went in. I was always a real black-and-white person…. Then all of a sudden the bottom dropped out from me, and I saw myself at my lowest and I saw my sin and my hatred for those guys [our captors], and it was shocking. So when I saw myself for what I really was, then I learned God’s grace in a whole new way.”

There have been miraculous developments in Burnham’s story. “I have found some of the guys who held us captive, in a maximum security prison in Manila, and I’ve been able to work with them in a small way through a missionary couple who works in the prison. So far, four former Abu Sayyaf have come to know Jesus as their Savior.

“God writes really good stories. All of that could be happening in the Philippines and I wouldn’t even know about it, but the Lord let me even be in on some of it, and I’m just very grateful to Him.”

Gracia Burnham (Photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs)

Coming off the heels of the International Day of Prayer and the focus on the worldwide Church, we asked Gracia how her life experience has influenced her thoughts on missions.

“I think my philosophy on missions is you just love people and you invite them into your circumstances. You tell them your story and what God did for you — and how God can work in their hearts and lives as well.”

For those in more volatile mission fields today, Gracia says this is her prayer — and how we can pray as well:

“I pray they’ll have a place to sleep tonight, they’ll have a pillow for their head, a blanket so they don’t freeze, a cup of hot coffee with sugar in it — something that will bless them, some encouragement from God’s Word…. They need the basic things, so my prayers for them are very simple: God, give them what they need today, their daily bread, and give them something to hang onto from you today to encourage their hearts and let them know, ‘God is here with me.’”

Click here to check out Gracia Burnham’s second book, To Fly Again.

Ultimately, says Burnham, “It’s an honor to tell my story…. I just try to love people and do what I can do, and watch God do what only He can do.”

Open Doors workers bringing hope to the persecuted Church through Psalm 23 bracelets. (Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

Open Doors USA has been working with the families of the missing girls for the last couple of years. Emily Fuentes of Open Doors says the families who’ve been reunited with their girls are grateful to have them home again. Many of them are thanking God. However, they recognize that there is a long road ahead.

Fuentes says just as faith in God sustained many of these families during this time, it is key to helping the girls in the future.

“Meeting with Christians like this who know this is a reality, we’ve heard from them just how the actual persecution refines their faith. Going through something like this, really having to make a choice for their faith, has caused them to think deeply about how they’re living their faith in their daily lives.”

But just because they’re leaning on their faith does not mean there won’t be trials ahead.

Fuentes says, “Untreated, a traumatic situation like this can cause a lot of harm down the road. So that’s why Open Doors is such an advocate and provides resources for trauma counseling after horrific incidences like this, or church attacks, or other violent attacks.”

This counseling is vital for their spiritual journey, she says.

Nigeria is number 12 on the World Watch List for persecution. Fuentes says these violent attacks take place all the time. That’s why counseling is one of their focuses in the country.

The attack in April 2014 caught the world’s attention. (Photo courtesy of Michael Fleshman via Flickr: https://flic.kr/p/ndSY5o)

While most Boko Haram activity fails to catch the attention of the West, the 2014 kidnapping of 276 girls did.

“It really touched the hearts of Americans and many others throughout the world when it first happened. But, as any tragedy that goes on for years, it’s not at the front of our minds anymore,” Fuentes says.

But these types of kidnappings and violent attacks are really quite common. Fuentes says Christian girls who are going to school are a huge target. First it’s because their religion is abhorred by Boko Haram as being Western-based. Second, they are women pursuing an education.

So, what can we do?

Hannah was kidnapped by Boko Haram and escaped. Her story reminds us these attacks are very common. (Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA).

One practical thing, Fuentes says, is to contact our elected officials and urge them to pressure the Nigerian government to work to prevent these attacks. Open Doors often has petitions for this reason, so check back with them often.

But more importantly, we can pray — for the girls who have been returned, for the girls still in captivity, and the families who are still waiting.

“It is important for us to be praying for them daily — to be praying for families who saw the other families reunited with the girls, but still don’t know the status of their own daughters.”

Now on Saturday, the extreme Islamic faction attacked another village just 12 miles (20 kilometers) away from Chibok, rubbing salt in an old wound. They looted and burned the village, and abducted 13 more women and children.

Snapshot of video released by Boko Haram last week featuring Chibok girls.

Boko Haram also released footage of several of the Chibok schoolgirls still alive earlier last week. The masked spokesman in the video demands the Nigerian government release imprisoned Boko Haram insurgents, implying a trade.

Voice of the Martyrs, USA’s Todd Nettleton explains, “There is also, behind the scenes apparently, a power struggle going on within Boko Haram…. Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to ISIS, [and] ISIS apparently has recognized a new leader of Boko Haram, a man named Abu Musab al-Barnawi. So this video may be part of that power play as Shekau, the previous leader of Boko Haram, tries to reassert, ‘Wait a minute, I’m still in charge. I’m the guy who has these hostages, these girls. I’m the guy you need to deal with, Nigerian government, if you want to negotiate.’

“So there’s a lot going on behind the scenes, and it’s hard to know exactly what the agenda is in releasing this video at this particular time. But it does show that these girls, at least many of them, are still alive. They are still held by Boko Haram. They claim that 40 of them have been married off to their fighters, but that some of them are still single, still releasable.”

Boko Haram in the Hausa language means “Western education is forbidden”. They began military operations in 2009, targeting Christian villages, churches, and moderate Muslims. Thousands have died at the hands of this Muslim extremist branch.

“Northern Nigeria is predominantly Muslim. The Christians there are the minority. They know they’re at risk, they know they’re in danger. Going to church is something they don’t take for granted because they know sometimes churches are targeted, sometimes Christians go to church and they don’t come home,” Nettleton shares.

Since joining the Islamic State, Boko Haram considers itself the “West African province” of ISIS. The Nigerian forces have made significant advances to contain Boko Haram and recapture territory, but it’s not enough.

(Photo courtesy of Tim Green via Flickr under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic: https://goo.gl/Fyvy4b)

While the world’s eyes are trained on ISIS in the Middle East, the events of last week remind the us that Nigeria’s Boko Haram fighters are still at-large.

When considering the world’s general inattention to the Boko Haram crisis, Nettleton reflects, “I’ve often wondered why that is, if it’s [because] Africa is farther away, if there’s an element of even sort of racial prejudice that plays into the lack of coverage of suffering in Africa. But these pop up in the news occasionally, [that] by the way, those girls are still taken captive. But this has been more than two years now since they were taken hostage.

“There have been negotiations with the Nigerian government, there has been talk of some kind of military rescue. Boko Haram says if you try that, they will all die. So it is an ongoing story that just seems like it will never go away, and when you think about these girls who are held captive, this is a tragedy for them. If we think about what they are likely going through as Christian captives of Islamic terrorists, it really is horrendous.”

If Nigerian Christians know their spiritual brothers and sisters around the world have not forgotten them and are currently lifting them up in prayer, that alone would be an immense encouragement, says Nettleton.

“The most important thing we can do is to pray for them. That would be their request. Pray that God will protect them, but pray that they’ll stay encouraged and stay bold in their witness.”

Additionally, Nettleton offers a rather unconventional, yet necessary prayer request.

“We also want to pray for the persecutors. We want to pray that Boko Haram fighters will encounter Christians and hear the Gospel message, perhaps even supernaturally through dreams and visions, that they will meet Jesus Christ in a personal way. We never want to forget that as we’re praying for those who are persecuted, the Bible also calls us to pray for the persecutors as well.”

It may be surprising, but it is already happening, and Muslim persecutors are indeed coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Nettleton has even met a few of them.

“Several years ago, I was in Nigeria and met some former Muslims who has come to Jesus Christ, some of whom who had persecuted Christians. They were the persecutor, they were the Saul and now they’re the Paul, they’re the people who are following Jesus Christ.

“I’ll never forget one of them because he said his favorite thing to do in the world is to sit down with a Mullah (an Islamic leader) and a new Testament and talk to him one-on-one. Now, he said if you sit down with a group of Mullahs, they’ll never admit that you have a point. They’ll never admit any curiosity about Christianity or Jesus. But if you sit down one-on-one, they have a ton of questions they want to ask. They’ll talk about where Jesus is referred to in the Koran and they’ll say, ‘Hey, what does this mean? Why does it say this?’

“So he’s able to take out a New Testament, and as a former, very strong, well-trained Muslim, he knows their way of thinking. He’s able to take out a New Testament and say, ‘Let me share this story. Let me show you what this says about Jesus Christ.’ And he says it’s his very favorite thing to do in the world is to sit down in a conversation like that one-on-one. So God is at work. Muslims are being reached with the Gospel message. Their hearts are being changed, and really that’s an answer to our prayers.”

(Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

If you’d like to come alongside Voice of the Martyrs’ ministry to the persecuted Church, Nettleton says they are collecting Bibles to give to Christians in hostile and restricted nations.

Last year, Voice of the Martyrs distributed over 1.2 million copies of God’s Word. Just $6 pays for one Bible. Click here if you’d like to give!