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HELPING OPPRESSED CHRISTIANS
FACING
PERSECUTION TIN A ‘CHRISTIAN’
Release International’s partner helps those who have experienced persecution as a result of embracing the gospel © Release International 2024
who convert to faith in Christ from a Muslim background face opposition – sometimes violent – from their own families and the local community.
COUNTRY
Converts to Christ in Ethiopia can face hostility from both family and community. Release International is helping to look after those who have paid a high price for coming to faith while at the same time supporting gospel outreach. On a recent trip to the country we met a number of these brave believers
‘Mihret’* is a young Ethiopian woman who came to faith in Christ and, in November 2022, was baptised. Last year her sister, ‘Genet’*, accepted Christ as Lord and was also baptised. At that point their brother realised his two sisters had become Christians and made preparations to kill both of them. The two young believers were forced to leave the community where they were living and move to a larger city as strangers and exiles. Both have missed out on schooling as a result of the whole experience.
he day ‘Abeda’* came to Abeda’s husband kicked her and faith in Jesus Christ was their six-year-old daughter out of the the joyous culmination of a family home – and began treating difficult time in her life. The his own daughter as if she had
Ethiopian mother had been suffering been fathered by another man. This from a life-threatening illness when brought Abeda into conflict with the she had a dream of Jesus. whole local community. Shamed,
As a result of her night-time ostracised and hated by her own experience she decided to put her family she and her daughter had to
trust in Christ and shortly after move away from the area.
realised she had been miraculously Abeda’s experience is not unusual. healed! But the joy of coming to know Despite the fact that Christianity is Christ as her Saviour and Lord was the largest religion in the country, quickly followed by her experiencing there are parts of Ethiopia where the cost of becoming a Christian from Christians face the threat of violent a Muslim background. persecution. In particular, those
More than 60 per cent of Ethiopia’s 120 million population would be identified as Christian, with the majority of these being from an
HELPING THE EXILES
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