“We have experienced … the killing of women and children, the destruction of our villages with the aim of wiping us out because we are Christians,” said a pastor in Nigeria. “But we have also experienced love from Barnabas.”
These words of thanks came after Barnabas Aid provided food, sleeping mats, roofing sheets and other urgently needed supplies to 2,200 Nigerian believers who had been displaced by anti-Christian violence in 2022. It has been our joy and privilege over many years to share with the Lord’s people wherever we are able to meet their need.
“Brothers and sisters who are far away continue to put us in their prayers and send food and materials to us,” the pastor addded. “What more can we ask for?”
In this magazine, we have sought to give you a bird’s-eye view of how Christians are persecuted and why they are persecuted. Now we shift our focus: how does Barnabas Aid respond, and why do we respond?
The family of believers
The words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans represent just one of the Biblical texts that provide a spiritual foundation for the work of Barnabas: “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need” (Romans 12:13).
Around the world there are millions of the Lord’s people who are in need, suffering from hunger and thirst, lack of medical care, denial of educational and employment opportunities, and other hardships – often because of persecution.
The Lord Jesus Christ makes clear the importance of sharing what we have with our brothers and sisters in need, making it the criterion of who will be declared righteous in the final judgement:
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25: 34-40).
Salvation is of course by faith and not through good works – but the Apostle James reminds us that a true and living faith will result in good works (James 2:14-17), and the Lord Himself singles out meeting the needs of our suffering Christian family as a work of special significance.
This significance is again highlighted by the Apostle Paul, this time in the letter to the Galatians. “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,” says Paul, adding: “especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).
Scripture, then, is clear that Christians, as we have opportunity, should seek to meet the needs of our needy Christian brothers and sisters. The work of Barnabas is to help you to do just that. By making believers aware of the plight of their brothers and sisters in far-off lands, and partnering with Christian organisations in those lands who can help, we have created a channel by which your donations go from Christians, through Christians, to Christians.
An elderly believer in the Middle East received Barnabas-funded food aid
How Barnabas helps
The needs of suffering and persecuted Christians are many and varied. For this reason our response is also varied. Your generous giving allows us to help in many different ways.
The most obvious form of persecution is violence. Through our Victims of Violence fund we meet the needs of those left injured, destitute or displaced after violent attack. In 2023 we provided food, bedding, hygiene kits and household goods to believers who had suffered mob violence in Jaranwala, Pakistan. We have recently provided relief to 182 Nigerian Christian widows whose husbands were killed by Islamist terrorists just months ago.
In June 2015 we launched Operation Safe Havens to rescue Christians from Iraq and Syria who were suffering greatly at the hands of Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). We still give practical help to displaced Middle Eastern believers today.
Discrimination against Christians means that in many parts of the world our brothers and sisters are among the most impoverished and marginalised. We have funded feeding programmes for hungry Christians in various places, including Central Asia, Lebanon and Pakistan. Three years ago we launched
food.gives, a Barnabas project that delivers food to where our brothers and sisters needed it the most. Since the start of 2024, we have provided more than 3,500,000 servings of food.
As well as food we also provide for medical needs, funding clinics and health centres in India, Pakistan and Nigeria or providing medication for struggling Christians in Lebanon.
In order to break the cycle of poverty, we support Christian schools in several countries (109 schools in Pakistan alone) for Christian children who may otherwise go without formal education or face discrimination and harassment in the classroom. We also fund apprenticeships and vocational training, as well as the means for Christians to start up their own small businesses in countries such as Egypt and Indonesia.
Boxes at one of our food.gives warehouses remind us of our
spiritual purpose
Earlier this year we launched Opportunity Africa, a new Barnabas project with the aim of helping Christian communities across sub-Saharan Africa become more resilient, self-sufficient and independent (see Barnabas Aid, May/June 2024 ).
Believers in Christian-minority contexts are often the last to receive help in times of emergency. Our Disaster Relief Fund has allowed us to meet the urgent needs of Christian communities after natural disasters in locations as varied as Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Syria and Turkey.
Equally important are the spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters. We provide theological and leadership training across Africa, Asia and the Middle East through the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life and The Shepherd’s Academy. We fund the repair and refurbishment of church buildings in countries such as Uzbekistan. We provide Bibles for believers hungry for the Word of God.
These are just a few of the ways in which Barnabas Aid seeks to fulfil the Biblical call, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.”
Thankful to the Lord
Barnabas Aid has been at work for more than 30 years. Yet any success we have seen in that time cannot ultimately be credited to us. It is the work of the Lord, on whom we depend for all things.
We are also grateful to our faithful supporters, who give so generously of their time and money, who pray for our projects around the world, and who intercede for our suffering and persecuted brothers and sisters.
