WhatFinger


Persecution and Prayer alert; Voice of the Martyrs

Churches sealed shut in Indonesia



(Sources: Compass Direct News, Jakarta Globe) Seventeen churches have been forcibly closed in Indonesia's Aceh province following last month's election of a hard-line Islamic governor. Emboldened by the April election of Zaini Abdullah of the staunchly Islamic Aceh Party, hundreds of Islamic demonstrators gathered and demanded that church buildings be demolished and not just closed.
Officials said grounds for the closures included improper permits and a more than a decade-old agreement that stated that only one church and four small houses that function as churches could be built in the entire district. About 12,000 people in the district are Christian -- accounting for about one-sixth of the population, and the number of churches in the area had grown to 22. Please pray that the decisions to close these places of worship will be overturned. Pray that the number of believers in Aceh will continue to multiply. Please pray that Zaini Abdullah and other authorities in Aceh will come to know and love Christ. Pray that believers will be encouraged to continue to meet together despite opposition (Hebrews 10:23-25). Go to the Indonesia Country Report for more on persecution in Indonesia.

Support Canada Free Press


Sudanese officials close Christian offices in South Darfur

(Source: Compass Direct News) Authorities in South Darfur shut down offices of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) and Sudan Aid, ordering staff off the property and arresting three employees of Sudan Aid. Agents from the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrived without notice or explanation at the organizations' offices in Nyala early in the morning on April 22, demanding SCC staff hand over keys to the buildings and vehicles and ordering them to leave. NISS agents also closed down a church clinic that was serving the needy in the area. The day after the closure of the offices in South Darfur, staff members arrived back at work to find more than a dozen security personnel, some carrying arms, cordoning off the compound. The security agents told the employees the offices were closed and to go home. Two days after the closure, Sudan's federal Humanitarian Aid Commission froze the bank accounts of the SCC in Nyala. Christianity is being treated as a foreign faith in Sudan following the secession of the largely Christian South Sudan last year. About 350,000 ethnic South Sudanese, many of them Christians with no ties to South Sudan, remain in the north under intense pressure to leave. Pray that believers affected by these closures will not be fearful but trust God (Revelation 2:10). Please pray that southerners living in the north will be protected from harm. Pray that those travelling to the south will make it there safely and will be warmly received and cared for by Christian brothers and sisters. For more information on the trials Christians face in Sudan, go to the Sudan Country Report. To post a prayer of encouragement for Sudan's Christians, visit our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.

Families trust in Christ in Pakistan

(Source: VOM-USA) An evangelist in Pakistan supported by VOM has asked for prayer for several people who have recently been receiving the gospel message. The evangelist, "Sam," had been praying for his good friend Hadi for months, but had never had the opportunity to share his faith. Hadi recently asked for a copy of the New Testament and has been reading it. Sam was invited to pray for a girl with chronic kidney pain, and after Sam prayed for her in her home, the pain suddenly disappeared. The girl's family was amazed and asked how this was possible. Sam said, "Everything is possible in the Lord Jesus Christ." The entire family made the decision to follow Jesus. A few Sundays ago, after Sam preached in a church service, a man confessed to him that he was feeling suicidal. His family was pressuring him to divorce his wife because they had no children, but after talking with Sam and praying with his family, the whole family gave their lives to Christ. While there is a notable degree of religious freedom promised to minorities by law, non-Muslims must practice their faith cautiously and under varying degrees of threat from Islamists. Christians in Pakistan face severe opposition from militant Islamic groups, including imprisonment, torture and even death. Please pray that Hadi will be saved. Pray that the faith of the two families will grow strong so they can also effectively share the gospel. Ask God to continue growing His Church in Pakistan. Pray that Christians facing persecution for their faith in Pakistan will look to God for their strength. For more on the persecution of Pakistani Christians, go to the Pakistan Country Report.

Judge upholds Christian's prison sentence in Egypt

(Source: VOM-USA) A judge in Upper Egypt has upheld a six-year sentence of a Christian man convicted of blasphemy against Islam. The charges resulted from an argument between 49-year-old Makarem Diab and a co-worker about differences between Jesus and Muhammad. Diab was sentenced on February 29 in a 10-minute hearing during which he had no defense attorney. At his first appeals hearing on March 16, Diab's co-worker instigated a riot by Muslim attorneys outside the courthouse. The angry lawyers interrupted Diab's hearing, assaulted his attorneys and blocked access to the courtroom. Diab's lawyer, who said the judge upheld the sentence out of fear, is attempting to appeal the sentence again. Diab is being held in Assiut General Prison. Pray that Diab will get a fair hearing and that he will remain strong during his imprisonment. Pray that he will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute him (Matthew 5:43-48). Please visit the Egypt Country Report for more on Egypt's persecuted Church.

Recommended by Canada Free Press



View Comments

News on the Net -- Bio and Archives

News from around the world


Sponsored