Page 15 - Voice of the Persecuted Christians - Oct-Dec 2022 - 120

for strength; for the Lord to give me words of comfort and the wisdom to say what will bring healing and to be able to plead for love for those who hate us rather than carrying hatred and seeking vengeance. It is tough.
explain to any of my members why these tragedies continue to happen and how God is with us even in our sufferings.’ Another said, ‘The Lord had guided you here to bring hope
and to tell us emphatically that He
has not abandoned us.’ The training has expanded to southern Kaduna, Plateau state and to Abuja, the capital. We now have over 700 pastors on the programme.
Q: In recent times you have
been involved in training church leaders and evangelists to strategically take the gospel into some of the most dangerous areas in Nigeria. What can you tell us about that, and about how the work is progressing?
In Borno state we all agreed that
as pastors we are all called to
live and die for Christ. We set up mission teams to go back into
the communities that were still
under Boko Haram control and
to evangelise. Our mission was to simply bring the good news and
show the love of Christ. I will not go into details of places and what we
did but would simply say that the Lord has been amazingly faithful. We currently have nearly 200 Muslim converts. The work is still ongoing and we are raising up disciples among our converts who, at the right time, will be our missionaries to their communities.
Christians on a prayer march against the violence
This is an exciting aspect of what the Lord is doing among pastors in Borno state.
the Christians suffering violence in Nigeria generally.
With the support and funding of Release International, I train pastors from many rural communities who have suffered attacks by Boko Haram or Fulani Islamist militia groups. We give training in Christian apologetics,
All the pastors who have committed to take the risks and continue evangelising would not have been able to do that without the training and the careful, strategic planning.
‘Many pastors had fled the attacks while those who remained in their communities were frustrated with the ceaseless killings’
At some point, we suspect that Boko Haram realised something was going on as they began stopping commercial vehicles, identifying
I also appreciate the love that has been expressed by Christians sending postcards at Easter and Christmas
to encourage pastors and their families. One church member, when she got a Christmas card, said (with
a smile on her face): ‘I feel the love
of brethren from abroad. I praise God for all brothers and sisters praying
for us.’ The confidence pastors have here is that Release International and its supporters are like the hands of Aaron and Hur holding up the hands of Moses in the battlefield as souls are won for Christ.
on how to answer the question of ‘God and suffering’, ‘God’s judgement’ and ‘How to answer Islam’. We started with over 250 pastors out of the huge number impacted by Boko Haram attacks in Borno state. One
of the pastors had lived in a refugee camp in Maiduguri (Borno’s state capital) for over five years in one little tent with five members of his family. Many pastors had fled the attacks while those who remained in their communities were frustrated with the ceaseless killings and the overwhelming challenges of caring for people, with little or no resources.
if someone was a Christian (by their ID cards or ATM cards).
They let Muslims go but executed Christians on the spot or took them captive for ransom. Despite this
The training has had a tremendous impact in terms of revitalising hope for pastoral ministry, focusing on God’s divine grace and provision despite the intense persecution.
Without Release International none of these Muslims who have come to Christ through our mission teams would have had the opportunity
I remember one pastor saying:
to experience God’s love and His saving grace and liberty. Release International provided the funding, the encouragement and, very critically, the mobilisation for prayer and protection for our team and for
‘Thank you for reigniting the fire in our ministries. I can now confidently
the work continues, with amazing results. Muslims in many of these communities are increasingly asking for Bibles and we are now organising what we call ‘shadow discipleship groups’.
Q: How would you want Christians in the UK to be praying for Nigeria and for its Christian communities at this time?
Q: How has Release International support for this work been helping you?
We are clear in our minds that the enemy of our soul, the devil, is using every means to quench the love of Christ in our hearts, to discourage those who may be attracted to the warmth of Christ and to bring pain, anguish and death in Christian communities in Nigeria. But we are confident in this, that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. We therefore ask Christians in the UK not to relent in praying for Christians in northern Nigeria. We are standing firm here held up and supported by your prayers.
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