Persecution Blog

Suffering Well

How can a pastor continue leading a church that keeps getting attacked? How can he protect other people after he’s been assaulted multiple times?

These are some of the questions that ran through my mind as 48-year-old Rev. Yakubu D’zarai recently shared his story with me at VOM’s office in Nigeria.

Since 1993, Yakubu has pastored churches in Borno state – where terrorist group Boko Haram is based and Shariah (Islamic law) is rule. Two of his church buildings have been bombed. The first, home to 276 worshipers, was bombed on Dec. 18, 2012. The second, home to 278 worshipers, was bombed on July 1, 2014. In each attack, four people died, many others were injured and everyone lost a sense of security.

During the first attack, Boko Haram members hacked at Yakubu’s head, leg and back with a machete. Fortunately, he didn’t lose any limbs.

So how can any pastor continue his work after experiencing persecution? It helps to expect it.

“The Bible said definitely, ‘in this life there will be persecution, you will be killed for My sake,’” Yakubu said, referencing Matthew 24:9. “I was really comforted in this.”

Most would consider Yakubu to be a rare leader. How many pastors are willing to continue risking their life after they’ve nearly lost it?

The truth is he’s one of many. A growing number of pastors, in fact, are receiving training in how to stand firm in their faith following persecution. Why? These pastors know the power of the gospel and the need for Nigerians in the Muslim-dominated north to hear it.

In March, VOM workers from Nigeria drove through multiple military checkpoints and past numerous burned vehicles along the road – attacked by the same extremists that Yakubu experienced – to get to Borno state. Once there, they trained 50 pastors in how to deal with depression, trauma reduction and stress management. They also further examined what faith looks like in the face of danger. They’re learning to expect persecution.

“We are very optimistic that these pastors were transformed to these several days of fellowship, prayers and interaction in the training, and are therefore returning with new hope and spirit to train others,” a VOM worker said.

These pastors are now charged with training at least 10 other pastors in neighboring villages, bringing the total number of newly trained pastors in Nigeria’s most difficult region to 500 by the end of 2015.

Additional training sessions took place in Yobe and Gombe states, which border Borno to the west, and Adamawa state to the south.

These pastors are truly on the front lines, both physically and spiritually. They’re willing to risk everything because they know it all means nothing in light of eternity.

So what do these pastors pray for? Of course, they ask God for protection, peace and the courage to continue. After all, they’re human. They’re also thoughtful. If you ask Yakubu what he prays for, he’ll tell you he’s praying for you.

Yes, you.

“I am praying that God will keep protecting you people and keep you because the Boko Haram members are not happy with how you people are sending help to the Christians,” he said.

“Kelvin Varnsen” is a writer for VOM. He learned about VOM as a teenager after reading Jesus Freaks and began receiving the newsletter. He continues to be inspired by those living out their faith despite persecution.

How Much Do We Need Jesus?

Last night my small group from church met together, as we do weekly. We spend time together, catch up on each other’s lives, study the Bible and pray.

I really appreciate this group and their commitment to coming together, as well as their commitment to serve. When I visited with Syrian Christians two weeks ago, I asked the group if they’d like to send something small to bless the Syrian believers living in a war zone. Two women from my group came back with over 50 button-down shirts and a selection of lotions and perfumes for the women.

Over Christmas, we came together to pack small kits for the local homeless shelter: socks and toothbrushes, granola bars and other items. One of the women organized it, and we all covered the costs together.

[Members of the group in Israel during their meeting. We cannot show their faces for security.]

I enjoy these brothers and sisters and the community and fellowship they provide. But I realized last night that there is something missing from our group, and I thought back to my time worshipping with a small group of Arab believers in Jerusalem two years ago.

I sat in on their weekly worship time, where they sang, studied a Scripture passage and then celebrated one of the member’s birthdays with a cake. Most of the 15 people gathered in the room were in their 20s and 30s. Almost all of them had grown up in Muslim homes. Many of their families did not know these young men and women were believers.  They held the meeting secretly in the basement of a building.

The difference between that group and mine is that the Arab believers deeply needed one another. If they missed the weekly meeting, they missed their only chance for Christian fellowship and worship for the week. For the rest of the week, many of them were alone in their walk with Christ. That time together was crucial for maintaining their faith.

And when they were together, their joy was palpable, even for me who didn’t understand the language. (One of the young men sat next to me and translated what was said in the meeting, but I missed a lot of the greetings and conversations beforehand.)

I want my group to be like that. I want my group to need each other to maintain our fire for Christ; I want us to pursue the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives just as if our faith, or our lives, could be taken away at any moment. Though we don’t face those same risks living where we live today, I want our faith in Jesus to be just as critical to our daily survival as it would be if we did.

Dory P. has worked with VOM for seven years. She grew up in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Between Dory, her husband, four-year-old son and one-year-old daughter, the family shares seven passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.

VOMRadio: Church in Niger is Getting Stronger

The Church in Niger is growing and getting stronger. Earlier this year, enemies of the gospel responded: churches were burned and Christians’ homes were attacked.

Missionary Ron Childs shares what happened during those attacks, and how Niger’s Christians responded with forgiveness and boldness. Ron also shares how VOM provided assistance to affected Christians after the attacks, and the response of Christians encouraged by that help.

You'll be equipped to pray for the nation of Niger, and also hear two stories of answered prayer as God stepped in to save the lives of His people through miraculous intervention.

 

You can listen to all episodes of VOMRadio here, and subscribe as a podcast here.

Why Don't Persecuted Christians Fight Back?

Recently on VOMRadio a listener in Indiana asked a question about why persecuted Christians don’t fight back or at least defend themselves from their persecutors. Below is a transcript of our conversation with Cole Richards, the leader of VOM’s international work, you can also listen to the conversation (and to all episodes of VOMRadio) online (this conversation begins about the 20:30 mark of the broadcast).

Todd Nettleton: Our question this week comes to us from Scott in Huntington, Indiana. I am going to read his question because I think it is an interesting one; then I have invited Cole Richards, who leads our international work, to help answer this question.

So here’s the question from Scott in Huntington Indiana: “I am curious about self-defense and its place among believers. With so much danger and persecution is it out of the question to fight back? I am not speaking of a defensive attack, I am merely wondering if being prepared to defend one’s family, home or life is at all appropriate?  Granted, I think the example set by Jesus on the cross or Stephen as he was being stoned has to be the standard response to persecution as required by love; but (and I think Scott is being very honest here) I envision my own response to someone entering my house with the intent to harm me or my family, I do not see calm prayer as my first response. I would be lying if I said my first thought would not be to grab a weapon of some sort and defend my family, my life and my home.”

So, Cole, I think every American can identify with this question, “Wait a minute, someone is coming into my house, they are attacking my family and you are telling me I am supposed to love them and pray for them?” What is the place for self-defense, and we see this in our brothers and sisters overseas, too. What is the place of self-defense in a persecution attack?

Cole Richards: We have really found there to be two different positions on this among the churches in which we serve overseas. I want to make the point that we serve them, they are being led by the Lord, we don’t try to influence them on this issue really. We try to serve them the best we can.

Let me start with the first approach, which is really a non-violent approach. Now there are some in the Body of Christ that embrace non-violence in terms of really being pacifistic or believing violence has no place as followers of Christ. That is really a minority position. But I want to give it its due. I think as believers we should certainly allow for that position and respect it. There is bravery in not using violence in many ways. You can see that example in Christ: though He could have commanded legions of angels to come to His defense, He chose not to. Why? Because He was following the will of the Lord, and He knew that, so I think we need to give place for this when our brothers and sisters feel they are led not to defend themselves. They may be led by the Lord and we give them room to discern that for themselves.

But more often, people choose not to embrace violence because it is not in their minds effective or a sound tactic. In other words, they know that it can’t work. So since they know they can’t effectively defend themselves they adopt a non-violent approach. In that sense they are choosing to be a witness to eternal realities instead of fighting for their temporal realities.

Todd Nettleton: It reminds me of Pastor Wurmbrand wring in Tortured for Christ, he talks about the guards would beat us (the Christian prisoners) and we would preach to them and they were happy because they could beat us and we were happy because we could preach to them. I think that comes into play in those cases where it is not going to work to fight back, so by not fighting back you have an opportunity to be a witness. You have an opportunity to say, “Hey, we are different from you, we are not fighting back.”

Cole Richards: Yeah, and the way I can characterize that is it is very powerful. I think this is a great thing for American Christians to contemplate, is it makes such a strong statement because radical Muslims today will kill for their faith and it is very powerful when Christians say, “You know what, you are willing to kill for your faith. I am willing to die for mine. I am willing to die to show you the love of Christ.” It is very powerful.

That kind of bridges me to the second position which I want to give credence to, as well, which is believers in many places do defend themselves. Again, if you have a completely non-violent or pacifistic viewpoint in your Christian faith fine, but many Christians, and this is the majority position, believe that it is okay to defend yourself. You know, so sometimes people kind of get it wrong in the sense that when they read the scripture and it talks about loving your enemy and blessing those who persecute you, that that has to mean pacifism and most Christians don’t think that is correct. In places where we work believers do defend themselves in reasonable ways.

An important point to understand; and I think American Christians miss this, is that in these profound persecution environments the Christians usually know that they cannot defend themselves, there is absolutely no chance. So at that point it leads them to other conclusions. So here in the US we always think about defending ourselves because at some level we really believe, or know, that we can. We have access to weapons or fences or security systems, all these things. So I want to bear out the point that our brothers and sisters in these environments where we work are really helpless in the physical sense.

It is interesting because in scripture Christ talked about believers being as lambs led to the slaughter. You think of a completely defenseless lamb led to the slaughter. So our brothers and sisters in places like northern Nigeria, in the Middle East right now in many contexts really are like that. They know that they cannot defend themselves in the temporal world. All they have at that point is to trust in the Lord. Of course, they are encouraged by the support we can give them as the Body of Christ.

Todd Nettleton: I think our mindset is “if I can hold them off, then the police will come.” That’s the thing, if someone if breaking into my house, if I can hold them off a little while the then the police are going to come. If I am in northern Nigeria, the police are not going to come. They are not going to help. If the army comes it might get worse for me. So it is a very different mindset and I think it is hard for Americans to put ourselves in that position where if you call the police it gets worse instead of better. That helps to understand why they make those decisions.

YOUR TURN: What do you think about the issue of persecuted Christians and self defense? Share your thoughts in the comments to this post. And remember to listen each week to VOMRadio on your local radio station, online or as a podcast.

The Mindset of a Persecutor

Periodically as I read the Bible there are verses that pop out at me appearing as though I have never read them before. Reading through Acts 26, I was stopped-short by an amazing statement that never registered in my mind before. Paul said in verses 9-11: “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.”

I have always wondered what motivates people to become persecutors. There is probably no single answer, but the Apostle Paul gives us insight into what drove him. He was obsessed with opposing Jesus Christ. There are theological answers to this question. Persecutors possess a carnal mind, darkened and depraved by sin so that good and evil are flipped. When doing evil, Paul thought he was doing good.

Two words intrigue me—“convinced” and “obsessed.” Most of us are convinced we are right, but we are usually convinced of things within the parameters of what is good. Paul was convinced, persuaded, motivated, and compelled to believe and do something he could never accomplish and it was outside the parameters of good. He had a strong aversion to Jesus Christ and he sought with his whole heart to oppose him. Up to this point, this seems rational, although it was wrong and futile. No one opposes Christ and wins and no one ever will—not Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, or ISIS.

The word “obsession” moves to something pathological, into the realm of the irrational. He is driven to extraordinary means and is consumed by his erroneous beliefs. Paul’s bigotry, hatred and prejudice fed his mind and heart, and he could not stop—until God stopped him!

Switching to contemporary times, we find the same irrational passion. To most people the slaughter of innocent people and the persecution of specifically targeted Christians is beyond comprehension. It is beyond reason—at least by what reasonable people do. In the Wall Street Journal (May 26, 2015) is a short essay titled, “The Rational Ayatollah Hypothesis” by Bret Stephens. The argument is, given what the ayatollahs believe, can they make rational decisions? The first line of the article asks: “Can there be a rational, negotiable, relatively reasonable bigot?” Probably not. They are obsessed with their ideology and it can lead to doing irrational things to those who do not agree to their radical beliefs. One world leader said he was “not a particularly ideological person.” I think he meant he was not consumed by his ideology, but it is obvious that he has an ideology. It, in fact, drives him in his work. He, along with most people, does not understand the “compelling power of ideology” (Stephens).

The fact is that leaders can be so obsessed with ideological commitments (including religious commitments) that they may be driven to think and sometimes act irrationally. As Christians, we hate evil and before we know it, we also hate the evil-doers. This is outside of God’s will and the mandate of Christ to love our enemies. Rational faith hates evil but loves the evil-doers and seeks their salvation and restoration to a transforming relationship with God.

Is Paul the last obsessed radical terrorist who could meet God and have his life radically changed? He was so far gone in his obsession to kill Christians that it took an extraordinary act of God to change him. But it happened!

Along with our prayers for God to stop the horrendous evil and injustice we are seeing perpetuated against Christians (and others), we ought to also be audacious intercessors for the transformation of the world’s most wicked, depraved, and obsessed leaders. Radical terrorist ideology should be resisted through radical intercession.

Is there anything impossible with God? Was there anyone more impossible than Paul of Tarsus? No one is beyond the reach of God.

Do you really believe that?

Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Imprisoned Sudan Pastors Speak

We have been following the case of two pastors in Sudan who are currently on trial and could, if convicted, face the death penalty. Earlier this week VOM's Todd Nettleton did an interview with Mission Network News about the case.

Our friends at CBN news talked to the two pastors by phone at the jail where they are being held in Khartoum. CBN's Gary Lane filed this report:

Yat Michael and David Yein say they are unafraid even though they face possible execution in Sudan. The two Presbyterian pastors are accused of spying in Khartoum, and have been jailed since last December (Yein) and January (Michael).

On trial since May 19, they've been officially charged with "inciting organized groups" and "offending Islamic beliefs."  Sudanese law (sharia) requires them to be executed if they are convicted.

Both Christians--who are from South Sudan--say they had no hidden agenda while visiting Khartoum; they were only answering God's call to share the Word with the people of Sudan.

In an exclusive CBN News interview, Senior International Correspondent George Thomas talked to the two pastors via telephone from their Khartoum prison cell.

"We want you to pray that this test be for the glory of God." ~Sudanese pastor David Yein

Yat Michael told Thomas while he has not suffered physical beating during his imprisonment, he has experienced psychological intimidation. Also, he said it has been two months since he's been allowed to talk with his family.

Speaking mostly in Arabic, David Yein told Thomas he is "not afraid of anything" because "God chose me to suffer." He asks that Christians pray that his suffering will "be for the glory of God" in the prison.

You can read Gary's full report, including video from CBN News and a transcript of the jail-house interviews, HERE.

Following the court hearing on Monday, the case was reportedly recessed until June 15. Please pray for Pastor Yat Michael and Pastor David Yein.

The Missing Prisoners

I stepped into the simple office from the dark hallway. As my eyes adjusted, I saw a man sitting against the far wall, quietly. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to meet Mohammed Hegazy, one of the most infamous converts to Christianity in Egypt.

After he converted, he insisted on legally changing his religious status from Muslim to Christianity. While his case languished in the courts, Mohammed and his family had to go into hiding after extremists began calling them with death threats. He’d come out of hiding to share his story.

Four years later, with no progress on changing his status, Mohammed, who also goes by Bishoy Armia Boulous, was arrested. He continues to be held illegally in one of Cairo’s worst prisons.

One of my roles at VOM is to manage our Prisoner Alert site, where anyone can compose a letter to one of the prisoners featured on the site. I love the whole concept of Prisoner Alert, because it’s such a simple and tangible way for believers to personally reach Christians suffering in prison because of their faith. All it requires is the use of a computer and printer, a stamp and a little time.

The idea of writing letters to prisoners reaches all the way back to our founder, Richard Wurmbrand. Pastor Wurmbrand was sometimes able to receive letters during his 14 years in prison. Not only did he use them to write coded messages to his wife, they were also shining beacons of encouragement from the outside world, in deep contrast to the darkness he experienced almost constantly.

After Pastor Wurmbrand’s release and after he and his wife Sabina founded VOM (formerly Jesus to the Communist World), they realized that letters would be a huge encouragement to Christian prisoners in Russia. Letter-writing campaigns have long been a part of VOM’s history.

Today, PrisonerAlert.com helps believers reach across language barriers by providing translated phrases to choose from. It also tracks how many letters has been sent, and allows users to write letters to various embassies and UN offices on behalf of Christians imprisoned for their faith.

However, the world has changed drastically since the days of the Iron Curtain, and it is again changing through globalization and extremist ideology. Before, most of VOM’s work was in countries under communism, where communist governments arrested and imprisoned Christians.

Today, fewer and fewer governments are the main persecutors of Christians, and when they are, they are very aware that the world is watching their actions. Instead of arresting Christians, they apply “squeeze” persecution by making it difficult for Christians to operate businesses, send their children to school, or meet for worship. This form of persecution is less dramatic than throwing someone in jail for years, and officials can hide behind regulations. In short, there are fewer Christians in prison because of their faith activity.

Another challenge for maintaining Prisoner Alert in this modern era is security risks. While it’s great that the internet can facilitate this type of tool, it also means that everyone in the world can see it. When VOM learns of a Christian prisoner and requests permission (from family members, ministry leaders or someone close to them) to share their information on the site, sometimes people are hesitant to share. In some situations, publicizing information works in a prisoner’s favor; other times it works against them.

We post all prisoners on a case by case basis. If you know that hundreds of Christians are imprisoned in Iran, you may wonder why so few are featured on the site. In Iran, especially, families and church members are worried about government retribution. One Iranian believer, Fashid Fathi,has been very vocal during his imprisonment, even having open letters to the world smuggled out from prison. He’s been targeted by guards as a result. His sentence was also extended by a year recently, though of course we don’t know if this is a direct result of his outspokenness.

So what’s the future of prisoneralert.com? For now, we’ll continue to maintain it. We see it as a vital ministry for encouraging prisoners and for helping Christians in the free world connect to their brothers and sisters. And we’ll continue to search out prisoners’ stories that we can share with you. And together, we’ll continue to watch how God continues to work in our changing world.

It’s simple to compose a letter on prisoneralert.com. Visit today to write to Mohammed Hegazy, or to any of the other prisoners featured on the site.

Dory P. has worked with VOM for eight years. She grew up in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Between Dory, her husband, four-year-old son and one-year-old daughter, the family shares seven passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.

VOMRadio: When An ISIS Fighter Wants to Talk

An ISIS fighter wants to talk with you. He says he wants to know more about Jesus. What will you do?

You’d probably have lots of questions. What are his intentions? Is his spiritual hunger real, or is it a trap? Is the Lord really calling me to go to this meeting?

Those questions aren’t new. Ananias had the same doubts when he was told to go visit a man named Saul.

Christians in the Middle East face this dilemma today. This week on VOMRadio we’ll hear what happened when a Christian worker from YWAM was introduced to an ISIS fighter, a man with Christian blood on his hands.

 

You can also access all VOMRadio episodes as a podcast.