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“Nobody ever asked me what I can do … except Barnabas Aid.” These were the words of Dalyop, a young believer from Nigeria who lost both his parents to anti-Christian violence while only a child. Dalyop is now one of thousands of Christians in Nigeria studying digital content creation on a course funded by Barnabas Aid as a part of our new Opportunity Africa initiative. Give thanks that Dalyop, having endured suffering and marginalisation, is now being empowered through Barnabas. Pray that the same will be true of many believers in the 36 African nations where Barnabas-funded Operation Africa projects are going ahead.
Please lift up in prayer Nigerian pastor Paul Musa, 59, and his wife Ruth, 50. The couple were abducted in March 2023 by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram from their home in northern Borno State. In a video posted online by the kidnappers on 5 May 2024, Pastor Paul calls on the government and the Christian Association of Nigeria for help in securing their release. Pray that Pastor Paul and Ruth will soon be released unharmed. Until then, ask the Lord to draw near to them and comfort them in their captivity.
“This is removing the bitterness and hate and replacing it with hope and beauty,” commented a Nigerian pastor’s wife who received a medical backpack funded by Barnabas Aid. We have provided these backpacks to Christian volunteers from 30 villages in Plateau State, one of the areas most badly affected by ongoing anti-Christian violence. Each bag contains a thermometer, stethoscope, equipment for giving blood, plasters and bandages. Pray that the provision of these backpacks will ease suffering and even save lives.
Praise God that Lydia Simon – one of the “Chibok girls”, now young women – has escaped from being held by Boko Haram in Borno State, northern Nigeria. Lydia regained freedom in April 2024, ten years to the month she was one of 276 girls, mostly Christian, abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok. Lydia was five months pregnant when found and was accompanied by her three children. Give thanks for Lydia’s freedom. Pray for her physical, emotional and spiritual recovery, and that of her children. Continue to pray for around 90 young women from Chibok who remain in captivity.
It is now more than a year since over 40 people, almost all school pupils in their mid-teens, were killed in an Islamist attack on a boarding school in Mpondwe, Kasese District, in Christian-majority Uganda, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Pupils were singing Gospel songs at evening worship before the attackers from Islamic State Central Africa Province (also known as the Allied Democratic Forces), based in north-eastern DRC, launched their assault after 10pm local time on 16 June 2023. Continue to pray for the Lord’s comfort to surround the bereaved and traumatised and ask for His protection over our brothers and sisters on both sides of the border as the threat of anti-Christian violence persists.
An estimated 5.4 percent of Sudan’s nearly 50 million people are Christians. Our brothers and sisters share in the suffering that has afflicted all people as a result of a civil war that broke out in April 2023. It is also reported that both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have targeted Christians, with more than 165 churches forced to close since the conflict began. Christians had previously endured decades of severe persecution under the Islamist government of Omar al-Bashir before he was ousted in 2019. Pray that the Lord will sustain our brothers and sisters in the Republic of Sudan, as well as those who have fled into neighbouring countries. Ask that He will especially protect His people and restore peace to Sudan for all people.
Heavenly Father, we lift up to You our sisters in Christ who as women are especially vulnerable to persecution. We pray for Christian women who are left without support and protection for themselves and their children, either because they are widows, because their husbands have been imprisoned for their faith, or because they are Christian converts who have been abandoned by their families. We ask that You will shelter our sisters from harm under the shadow of Your wings, and that they will know the protection of the Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose Name we pray. (Psalm 17:8-10; John 10:11)
“I feel the hands of Jesus in my life with this project,” declared 51-year-old Egyptian Christian widow “Layla” after she started a small business breeding goats through Barnabas support. In the past 18 months Barnabas has helped believers to escape grinding poverty by enabling them to start up 289 small enterprises. Most of the beneficiaries are widows. Praise God for the hope these widows and others are experiencing through these ventures. Pray that He will continue to bless their undertakings and that His people will witness His hand directing them more and more.
Lift up in prayer Christians in southern Minya Governate, Upper Egypt, after separate attacks by Islamist extremists on two Christian communities. Several houses belonging to Christians in Al-Fawakher village, around 150 miles south of Cairo, were set alight late on 23 April, an attack launched in response to an attempt to build a new church. On 26 April extremists attacked Christians in Al-Kom Al-Ahmar village after learning that a church had obtained a permit to construct a church building. Give thanks that on both occasions the authorities prevented the incident escalating. Pray for continued protection of Christians in Egypt’s rural areas and that homes damaged will be rebuilt.
“There is not a single city in Morocco that does not have a presence of Moroccan Christians, even in the villages,” reported a pastor in the city of Temara. Official attitudes towards Christianity have softened in the past few years, added the pastor, and house church gatherings are generally tolerated. The pastor emphasised the loyalty of Moroccan Christians to their country. However, Christians – and particularly converts from Islam – still face reprisals from extremists within the Muslim majority. Give thanks for greater levels of tolerance for our brothers and sisters and pray that the Lord will protect and sustain Muslim-background believers.
Pastor Youssef Ourahmane’s one-year sentence for “illegal worship” was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Tizi Ouzo, Algeria in April. Pastor Youssef, Vice President of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA), was charged with holding an unauthorised religious meeting in a building not permitted to be used for religious worship in March 2023. His original two-year imprisonment was halved on appeal in November 2023, but a fine of £605 ($725; €665) remained in place. In rejecting his second appeal, the court added a further six months’ suspended sentence on top of the one-year prison term. Pray that a further appeal to the Supreme Court will be successful and the conviction will be overturned.
“You are our strength and blessings,” wrote the director of a Christian school in Bethlehem, to Barnabas. The Middle East crisis has caused great fear and worry in the city, not least among Christian families, many of whom have lost their jobs because of the downturn in the economy and tourism. Thanks to the donations of Barnabas supporters, the school is able to maintain the education of Christian pupils whose parents are enduring hardship. Pray for peace and stability in the region. Ask that members of the marginalised Christian community will find refuge in the LORD, our very present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
Yousef is six years old, and his joy is attending a Barnabas-supported Christian school in Bethlehem. He arrives as soon as he can each day, urging his father to wake up early. “I am safe at school because Jesus is our guardian,” says Yousef. Christians are a despised minority in Bethlehem and the school is a safe and secure place where Christian children can learn. Pray that Yousef and other pupils will grow in their love of the Lord. Ask that the school will be able to continue to serve the Christian community for decades to come.
Heavenly Father, we bring before You our Christian family in Saudi Arabia. We ask You to sustain them in a land where they form a tiny minority in the birthplace of Islam. We give thanks that recent reforms have softened some of the country’s harshest laws and pray that Your people will have greater freedom to exercise their faith. We ask You to build up our Saudi brothers and sisters, almost all converts from Islam and secret believers. We ask for Your Divine direction and discernment upon them so that they build confidently on the cornerstone of our faith, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose mighty Name we pray. (Ephesians 2:20)
Syria is scheduled to hold its next parliamentary election today. The 250-member People’s Assembly has been controlled by the Ba’ath Party since it came to power in a 1963 coup. The elections take place amid a deteriorating economy and ongoing civil war, now in its fourteenth year. Many Christians have left the country, where they previously enjoyed a good relationship with the Muslim majority, prior to the rise of Islamist groups in recent years. Pray that people of a servant spirit will be elected to the assembly who will make wise decisions to alleviate the suffering of all Syrians. Pray for Syrian Christians to grow strong amid various trials and that harmonious relationships with the Muslim majority will be restored.
The killing of Iraqi soldiers in the east of the country by fighters from Islamic State (IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in May highlights the threat that the terrorist group still poses. The last piece of IS territory in Iraq was reclaimed in 2017, but IS was never finally defeated, and continues to operate in Iraq and Syria, elsewhere in the Middle East, and beyond. The resilience of IS is a danger to all people, but Christians are among those particularly vulnerable. Pray that IS will not regain power in Iraq. Give thanks for recent efforts to return property stolen from Christians and Yazidis, and for the rebuilding of churches, often with the help and support of the Muslim community.
Laleh Saati, 45, an Iranian Christian convert from Islam, was sentenced on 16 March to two years’ imprisonment for “acting against national security by connecting with ‘Zionist’ Christian organisations”. A further two-year ban on leaving Iran is effective upon her release. She lived for some time in Malaysia before returning to Iran in 2017 because of the length of time her asylum process was taking, and to care for elderly parents. After raiding her father’s home in Tehran intelligence agents used photographs and videos of Laleh’s baptism in Malaysia as evidence of her “crime”. Pray that Laleh will experience God’s comfort and strength in her ordeal, and for the success of any possible appeal.
Mina Khajavi is a 60-year-old Iranian Christian convert. At the time of writing she is reported to be struggling with pain and unable to access essential medical care, except occasional painkillers, inside Evin Prison in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Mina began a six-year sentence on 3 January 2024 for “acting against national security”, the result of her membership of a “house church”. Sentenced in 2022, she was not required to start her sentence until recovering sufficiently from being run over by a car that summer. Her badly broken ankle was fitted with metal plates following the accident. Pray that Mina will quickly receive the medical care she needs. Ask that the retrial request she has submitted will be granted, and she will soon be released.
Esmaeil Narimanpour, an Iranian Christian convert from Islam, was released on bail of more than £8,000 ($10,000; € 9,300) on 30 April after spending more than four months in detention. He was arrested on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2023 and charged with “acting against national security by communicating with Christian ‘Zionist’ organisations”. He was detained around 100 miles from his home in Dezful, western Iran. Esmaeil was among several converts cleared of “propaganda” charges in 2021 but subsequently forced to attend Islamic classes. Pray that he will experience God’s strength and guidance as the legal process continues. Ask that charges against him will be dropped and his case dismissed.
Give thanks for the safe arrival in Jordan of a 40ft container full of donated food from the US. The contents are being distributed to Christians in need, who are struggling to find enough to eat due to the country’s economic crisis. Pray that Christians in Jordan will recognise the love and provision of God, and be encouraged in their faith (Psalm 107:1-9).
Lord Jesus, we ask for Your protection over all our brothers and sisters who are displaced within their own country, and all Christians who are refugees. Whether they are escaping war, poverty, or persecution for their faith in You, help them to remember that You are their fortress. Stay with them, Lord, and comfort them as they leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. Send Your Holy Spirit to give them strength as they try to rebuild their lives and bring them out of danger and into safety.
Do you remember the events that drove nearly 120,000 Armenian Christians from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia? When Azerbaijan invaded Karabakh – an Armenian Christian region placed within Azerbaijan by a quirk of history – in September 2023, the inhabitants were already exhausted, malnourished and traumatised. Nearly ten months on, these refugees are facing the reality that they may never be able to return home. Even if they could cross back into Karabakh, they would find homes, farms and churches destroyed. Please pray that our brothers and sisters will be comforted that, while their earthly homes may be lost, they can be confident that the LORD has gone to prepare a heavenly home where we shall all live with Him for ever (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
“Your organisation has been an answer to prayers,” wrote our church partners in Romania who run a relief centre for Christians fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine. Barnabas Aid’s funding for food and hygiene parcels to sustain 400 Ukrainian families for six months arrived at a time of great financial challenge for the church following a cut in funding for relief centres by the authorities. Give thanks for the help and care our partners have given to thousands of refugees since the war started in 2022. Ask God, the Father of compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3), to provide the means for them to continue their work.
In war-torn Ukraine, access to food and other basic amenities is a challenge for Christians who live close to the frontline. Praise the Lord for the generosity of our food.gives supporters, whose response to our winter appeal saw a record-breaking 360 boxes sent to our Swindon, UK, warehouse in a week. This, along with further donations, was distributed to our suffering Christian family in Ukraine, who were facing a bitterly cold winter without access to sufficient food. Give thanks to God that food.gives aid has been able to reach needy Christians in Ukraine, and pray that further aid will arrive safely. Ask the Lord to keep Christians in Ukraine safe, and comfort them in this terrifying situation.
“Thank you for your care and hearts,” wrote a pastor in a rural area of Uzbekistan after Barnabas repaired flood damage to a small registered church following the breach of a nearby dam. Most members of the congregation are converts from Islam and many endure hostility because of their decision to follow Christ. Congregation members are poor and could not afford the repairs, yet they share what they can, including opening their church building to another congregation, which enables that congregation to meet legally. Praise God for this caring Christian community, whose strength comes from their joy in the LORD (Nehemiah 8:10). Pray that others will be encouraged by their Christ-like example.
Cousins Asif Masih, 25, and Shan Masih, 28, suffocated on 17 March after inhaling poisonous gases while attempting to clear a blockage in a sewer in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The cousins’ deaths were described as “murders through duty”, as they were forced to enter the sewer without being given protective gear. This is despite a 2015 court order requiring local authorities to ensure protective gear is provided. Marginalised Christians in Muslim-majority Pakistan often work the lowest-paid, dirtiest and most dangerous jobs, often without proper protective equipment. This has meant that many have died or suffered serious and disabling injuries or health problems. Pray that the families of Asif and Shah are comforted, and that conditions improve for Christian workers in Pakistan.
“All praise to God for this wonderful opportunity!” exclaimed “Priya”, a South Asian student at The Shepherd’s Academy (TSA) – the undergraduate section of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life (OCRPL). She is one of the cohort of Tamil speakers benefitting from following courses in their own language, and particularly praised the energetic and engaging teaching style that provided learners with profound insights and practical applications, as well as excellent technical support. The TSA courses are the first of their kind made available to Tamil speakers with limited resources. Give thanks for the opportunities given to the Tamil Christian community and pray that more students will be thoroughly equipped for Christian ministry.
Father God, we pray for Christians in Afghanistan, and those returning to the country, who often face intense persecution because of their faith. We pray for any Christian converts who have come from a Muslim background, who live in hiding under the threat of a death sentence. Please help them and protect them in the situation they are living in – often destitute and unable to make a living. We pray that You will help all our brothers and sisters remain steadfast against the demands of a world around them that would pressure them to deny their faith. In Jesus’ Name we pray.
“When the relief material from our Christian brothers and sisters arrived, it was like a miracle,” said Samana, a Christian mother whose home in a remote, mountainous area of western Nepal was destroyed in an earthquake in November 2023. Food and other practical aid funded by Barnabas supporters “strengthened our faith in God’s goodness and mercy”, she added. Give thanks that our partners were able to deliver food, blankets and warm children’s clothing to Christians in need, despite destruction caused to mountain roads and tracks by the earthquake.
At least 20 churches were reduced to rubble by a powerful earthquake in a poor and remote, mountainous region of western Nepal in November 2023. The local authorities and government will not provide for Church reconstruction or repair as Christianity is viewed by many as an “alien faith” that does not belong in Nepal. Pray that, by God’s grace, the churches will be able to reconstruct their buildings. Give thanks for the steadfast faith of the small, but growing Christian community in Nepal, whose hearts are full of love for the Lord (Ephesians 3:17).
Four Christians in Madhesh province, eastern Nepal, face trial, accused of trying to secure forced conversions to Christianity. On 3 April they were required to submit bail of 150,000 Nepali rupees (£895; $1,130; €1,043) at the district court in Bara. After the Christians visited a house in Kolhabi on Sunday 10 March, several local residents summoned the police, alleging that the Christians were attempting to convert locals by force. Seven Australian Christians in the town were detained and subsequently deported. Meanwhile, the four Nepali Christians spent 24 days in custody before being bailed. Pray that justice will prevail and that any unfounded accusations of forced conversion will be dismissed.
