Barnabas Aid, 28^th February 2024

Ask the Lord of all comfort to draw close to Christians in north-eastern Burkina Faso after at least 15 worshippers were killed during an attack on a church on Sunday 26 February.

 Pray for the bereaved and ask for healing for two others injured when suspected Islamists militants opened fire during a service in Essakane village in Oudalan province, close to the border with Mali and Niger.   

 A statement from church leaders said 12 people were killed instantly while three others died in hospital.

 It is the latest slaughter attributed to Islamists waging a nine-year campaign of violence in Burkina Faso, much of it targeted against Christians and churches.

 More than two million people have been driven from their homes and thousands have been killed during the insurgency, which began when Muslim extremists in neighbouring Mali and Niger began moving into the north of Burkina Faso in 2015.

 Jihadists now control more than 40% of the nation.

International Christian Concern, 13^th March 2024

As elections in Mexico approach, Presidential candidates are scrambling to gain the favour of the religious population of Mexico. With three primary candidates left in the race, Claudia Sheinbaum, Xohitl Galvez, and Jorge Alvarez Maynez, the question of how candidates plan to address the issues plaguing Mexico has become vitally important.

Of the approximately 129 million people in Mexico, 78% identify as Roman Catholic, 10% as Protestant or Evangelical Protestant and 1.5% as other religious groups. The constitution of Mexico guarantees freedom of religion, including the right to participate in religious ceremonies or worship.

While the constitution and the broad culture do not indicate persecution, church leaders, particularly that of the Catholic Church, face extreme persecution due to their position as a “moral authority.”  During the rule of outgoing president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, two Jesuit Priests were brutally murdered in the north of Mexico, drastically affecting the relationship between the president and the religious community.

We pray that the commitment made by the three presidential candidates will come to fruition regardless of the election results.

We pray that the Lord would reveal Himself to the people of Mexico through the presidential election and be glorified through the results.

Joshua Project, March 17^th, 2024

How do you reach a people if they feel threatened by religious change? That is the situation for the Pipipa people of Brazil. They speak Portuguese, but their ethnic religion is deeply rooted in their identity. Leaving their traditional religion is viewed by their community as one more part of their culture robbed from them.   

There are well-meaning efforts by the Brazilian government to protect indigenous people from missionaries, loggers and other outsiders who can potentially introduce diseases for which native peoples have no immunity. However well-meaning the effort is, it keeps the Pipipa from hearing about and responding to Jesus Christ.

Some Pipipa live outside their homeland, and they can potentially be reached by Brazil’s spiritually healthy Church. New believers among them could return to their homeland and help build a movement to Christ among this unreached people group.

Pray for Christ to reveal Himself to Pipipa elders, leading them to open their community to the King of kings. Pray for physical and spiritual protection for the Pipipa and pray that this would be the decade when there is a movement to Christ among them and other indigenous peoples in Brazil.

Barnabas Aid, 21^st February 2024

Christians in Laos urgently need our prayers. Whilst citizens of Laos have the right and freedom “to believe or not to believe in religions” according to the country’s constitution, followers of Jesus are still subject to repeated harassment in rural areas.

Village leaders and residents tore down the private home where Christians were gathered and interrupted a worship service in Savannakhet province on Sunday 4 February.

“The village authorities came here and tore down our home at around 10.30 a.m. Sunday morning,” reported a worshipper at the church in Kaleum Vangke village in Xonboury district. The eyewitness added that the mob burned Bibles and other documents in the assault.

A “Law on the Evangelical Church”, in force since December 2019, gives Christians the right to conduct services, preach throughout Laos and maintain contacts with believers in other countries. The law is not well enforced in rural areas; the Kaleum Vangke church did not escape attack despite being affiliated with the Lao Evangelical Church, the only Christian denomination recognised by the government.

The tearing down of Christian homes and eviction of Christians from villages has happened repeatedly in country districts in Laos.

Pray that the law will be upheld throughout Laos and that Christians will be able to worship in peace. Ask the Lord to sustain and strengthen believers in Kaleum Vangke in this unsettling situation.

Open Doors, 21^st February 2024

Your urgent prayers are again needed for believers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following another attack on a church in the northeast of the country.

In yet another devastating attack in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at least 15 Christians were killed, including a pastor, when a church service was stormed by militants earlier this month.   

Believers from a church called 8e CEPAC in the village of Manzia were gathered for a morning devotion on Monday 5 February when members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked, shooting at least eight people.

Others were shot as they fled. The total number of deaths has not been confirmed, but it could be higher than 15.

Alphonse Mumbere (37), the pastor, leaves behind three children and a wife who is four months pregnant. Two evangelists, Saasita Baraka (34) and Seli Schak (40), were also amongst those killed.

The increasing violence in the region has pushed many Christians to turn to traditional religious beliefs.  “We ask everyone who has a good will to continue to pray for us,” shares Pastor Kambale, from a nearby church. “Many Christians are currently turning back to traditional religion and they say it’s better to have the protection [of these traditional gods] because the situation is bad.”

 “The progress of God’s Word is suffering because people think God is not going to act,” he continues. “That’s why your prayer is of very paramount importance. Your beloved prayer is very important to strengthen Christians and comfort them. Thank you and we thank you we have faith that you will pray for us.”

Voice of the Martyrs, February 22^nd, 2024

Feliciana’s husband pastored a church in a town in Oaxaca, Mexico, until he was killed in 2014 for his bold witness for Christ.

After her husband’s murder, Feliciana struggled to provide for her family, and her two children became seriously ill. With help from foreign believrs, she has been able to continue the work of leading the church in her town, and her children are healthy and thriving. She hopes to start a small business this year to further support her family.

Specific areas within Mexico have a high concentration of indigenous minority groups. These minority communities, which maintain a separate identity and language, are systematically oppressed by local authorities. Christians among them are persecuted by Marxist and animist groups as well as village leaders.  Despite persecution, the number of Christians has continued to grow in these areas.

Many people in rural Mexico practice Christo-paganism, a syncretistic blend of ancient pagan practices and Roman Catholicism. There is a strong Marxist (atheistic communist) movement in some southern areas, especially in the state of Chiapas.

Christian converts are rejected by their community and are often forced from their homes and villages in some rural areas. Large groups of Christians have at times been driven from their homes in the south. Converts and faithful witnesses for Christ lose their jobs, inheritances and land. Those who remain in their communities are marginalized, partly because they will not participate in pagan celebrations that feature drunkenness and debauchery.

Joshua Project, February 23^rd, 2024

The Cocos Malays are the majority population of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a territory of Australia. The Malay were the first permanent inhabitants of the island, along with Alexander Hare. They were brought as slaves and members of his harem. When a previous claimant, John Clunies-Ross, arrived a year later in 1827, he took the island back, employing the existing population in the harvest of coconuts.   

Because of the unbroken European rule of the islands, the culture has been mostly Western. The Cocos Malay have their own dress code. Those in the Australian mainland, however, conform to Australian dress habits. They have their own language, but to function in Australia, they must be fluent in English.

Since they don’t have any Christ followers among them, the Cocos Islands Malay Muslims will be hard-pressed to give the gospel a chance.  There are plenty of vibrant Christian believers in the Cocos Islands who can reach out to them. 

Pray that many from today’s people group will allow their spiritual lives to be transformed by the Lord, and that they will begin to publicly praise Him.

Pray for a movement to Jesus to multiply among families and communities. Pray for the Lord to anoint and thrust out workers to the Cocos Malay people. Pray for them to understand that the Lord wants to bless them with spiritual abundance.

International Christian Concern, 27^th January 2024

Armenian Christian Hakop Gochumyan is still being detained in Iran. Last summer Hakop, an Armenian citizen, travelled to Iran to visit his wife Elisa’s family, an Iranian-Armenian.

On August 16th, they were arrested while visiting their friend’s home. Their arrests coincided with arrests of dozens of other Christian converts in Iran. Elisa was held for several months but was released and returned to Armenia with their children. Hakop’s trial was scheduled for January 7th. His current location and well-being are still unknown.   

While Hakop and Elisa live in Armenia and only were visiting family in Iran, Elisa’s father, Rafi Shahverdian, was a well-known pastor in Yerevan after fleeing Iran in the 1990s. It is reported that Christian literature was found with them when they were arrested in Iran.

The minority Armenian Christians are given certain protections under the Islamic Republic’s legal system. They are, however, forbidden from any proselytizing to Iranian Muslims, and Farsi language Christian literature is banned. Iran is estimated to be holding more than 100 Christians in prison detention by the end of 2023.

Barnabas Aid, January 24th, 2024 (excerpts)

Islamists have boasted of killing ten Christians in a series of attacks waged over two weeks against Christian villages in northern Mozambique.

The onslaught claimed by Islamic State coincided with the launch on 4 January 2024 of the group’s new global terror campaign, “Kill Them Wherever You Find Them”, announced in an audio message by its spokesman, Abu Hadhayfah Al-Ansari.

The wave of renewed violence in northern Mozambique centred on three districts in Cabo Delgado province, already known as “the land of fear” because of repeated Islamist terror attacks.

It began on 3 January in Mocimboa da Praia district when IS fighters struck the village of Ntotoe, two days later they hit Chimbanga village, and on 7 January gunmen opened fire with machine guns on a village in the same district.

Two Christians were murdered, and 16 houses burned down in attacks on Chai and Litamanda villages in Macomia district on 4 and 9 January, respectively.

The village of Chinda in Muidumbe district was struck on 5 January, and two believers were killed.

Around 1,800 Christians have been murdered in northern Mozambique since October 2017 in sustained anti-Christian violence.

They are among more than 50,000 Christians slaughtered in a genocidal campaign waged by Islamists across parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Voice of the Martyrs, January 25^th, 2024

Gabriela lives in a rural village in Oaxaca, Mexico, where members of her Mixteca community adhere to Christo-paganism, a syncretistic blend of pagan practices and Roman Catholicism that is opposed to the gospel.

Because of her boldness in sharing her faith, she has been attacked by her neighbours as well as her husband, who is embarrassed by her commitment to Christ. She has been beaten an estimated 40 times and hospitalized on several occasions.

Despite this opposition, she continues to make outreach trips into the Mixteca regions of the mountains of Oaxaca to spread the gospel where few others can go.

Specific areas within Mexico have a high concentration of indigenous minority groups. Minority communities like these, keeping a separate identity and language, are systematically oppressed by local authorities. Christians among them are persecuted by Marxist and animist groups as well as village leaders.

Tribal leaders persecute Christians in defence of their indigenous culture in several rural areas, and the federal government allows this. These communities are remotely located and difficult to reach. Despite persecution, the number of Christians has continued to grow in these areas.