Nmadu says from our standpoint as Christians, genocidal offenses are being committed; but regardless of how the UN or other international organizations choose to label the situation: 

“We can safely say that Christians are being killed in mass with the intention to coerce, to make Christians change their religious conduct,” he affirms. “Freedom of religion, or belief, is being hampered in many parts of Northern Nigeria.”

With land comes economic and political power, and the battle for control sweeps through a complex territory of cultural, political, and religious landscapes. 

Nmadu says he does not believe the present government is aiding the killing of Christians. But the administration’s refusal to take swift action, even in the form of strong rhetoric, reveals a trend towards political correctness. 

“In trying to be politically correct, they become complacent,” he says. “The government – not just this government, even past governments – have not done enough to protect lives of Christians in communities.”

The killings and abductions of thousands of Nigerians have been documented over the last few years. But Nmadu says small numbers aren’t even accounted for in those reports. 

“The evil is just unimaginable, and for a government to come out and deny that there is [any] such thing happening in the country shows their level of responsiveness in protecting lives and property, which is the number one duty of any government in the world,” he says. 

In particular, he believes the government of Nigeria must track down terrorists and hold them accountable to justice. He also thinks the administration needs to address the blasphemy laws being implemented in some Nigerian states by Muslims trying to enforce Sharia law. 

“When we say government is not doing enough, it is allowing the culture of impunity to prevail in the country,” he says. “People are emboldened to commit more atrocities because when one is committed, nothing is done.” 

Nmadu is hopeful that a surge of international interest will be a catalyst for change in Nigeria. 

President Trump has declared Nigeria a country of particular concern and has even threatened to send US troops to the country if measures to stop the genocide are not taken. It’s a move that Nmadu says has pricked the ears of government officials in his home country. 

“And if this is the only thing that this has done, I think it’s a welcome idea,” he says.

Above and featured photos courtesy of Unsplash

The nearly two-year war is only one of many current events dividing people across the world. 

“We are so polarized. ‘If you are not 100% with me, then you are 200% against me,’” says Fadi Sharaiha with the MENA Leadership Center. “This is not right. We need to talk. We need to discuss.”

How should the global Church respond to events in Gaza? Sharaiha first acknowledges the evil in this war. Neither side is innocent. People are dying on both sides, and Hamas still holds 48 hostages.

“In the midst of the whole evil that is around us, I believe that God is still worthy of all the blessings and all the glory,” he says. 

“I [also] want to acknowledge the need for us to go back to the basics and remember what Jesus said about peacemakers: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.’ We are called to love our enemies.”

(Photo courtesy of Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash)

Sharaiha says believers don’t have to understand every aspect of the war in order to respond the right way. He studied the history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine at the United Nations University. Even after receiving lectures from different leaders, not everything was clear to him. 

“But you need to get the Bible. You need to get ‘Who are we? What is our identity?’ We are called to be peacemakers. We are called to love our enemies,” he says. 

Talking about peace is premature in the midst of active war. But one day, people with great wisdom will have to begin that restorative work.

“The governments right now are really calling on both Israel to stop, and Hamas to surrender the hostages and surrender their weapons,” he says.

Even when the fighting ends, a different battle will continue in people’s hearts.

“I am very concerned about people dying today, but also I’m concerned about the one who did not die, next year,” Sharaiha says. “They will be filled with so much hatred, agony, trauma. That’s why we need to make sure that we are preaching Jesus to those people.” 

In the complexities of the Israel-Hamas war, please pray that the Church will be a peacemaker. Pray that the gospel of peace in Christ will reach more people in Gaza and Israel. Pray for the MENA Leadership Center, as it plans training courses that will one day equip leaders for trauma healing and refugee ministry. 

Header image is a stock photo courtesy of Marek Studzinski via Unsplash.

Tom Doyle with Uncharted Ministries says mainstream media narratives push us to choose sides: Israelis or Palestinians? Jews or Muslims? Yet there’s another option for followers of Christ — indeed, more than an option but a divine allegiance.  

“There are a lot of ministries and a lot of people — and we’re included — talking about what’s going to happen the day after the war. Israel doesn’t want this to go on forever. Palestinians don’t, obviously. I think people need to see that the Body of Christ has no boundaries,” Doyle says. 

“For believers, it’s dangerous to take our worldview from the news, because we’re the Body of Christ. We belong to the Kingdom of God, and there are bigger things going on than this war.” 

Uncharted Ministries works with believers across the lines drawn in the Middle East. Doyle says that even in the devastation today, Jews and Muslims are coming to Christ.

“I think we will look back one day and say this was an awakening. It was a horrible thing, the war. Think of all the people that have been killed just even on October 7, 2023 and then as Israel goes into war in Gaza and back and forth,” Doyle says. “But I think we will look back and say, amazingly, God did something [in line with] Romans 8:28, for He can work all things out to the good of those that love the Lord.”

He adds, “We want to see as a result of this horrible time, people that we meet in heaven one day that say, ‘I came to faith in Christ in the worst time in Gaza history’ — or Israel’s or Syria’s, because the Lord is so present, and He’s moving so powerfully.” 

Three calls to action

This Kingdom mindset doesn’t remove the controversy and chaos in the Middle East. But it does reframe it for followers of Jesus. Whatever you think about what’s going on, please take action.

“Number one, we pray for peace. As believers, we pray for all human beings. We want to see Palestinians stop suffering through this. We pray for the Jewish hostages that are still being kept. There’s so many people groups that are affected,” Doyle says.

Photo courtesy of Artem Beliaikin via Unsplash.

“Two, I think this is a wake up call for us in the West that the return of the Lord could be closer than we thought. If you look at Ezekiel 38 and some of the nations that are lining up and what’s happening, it could be [soon].” 

Number three, Doyle says to pray for one more surge of awakening to the gospel across the globe. When that happens in the Middle East, it will make people marvel.

“I’m telling you, if the world can see Jews that love Jesus and Muslims that have come to faith in Christ [who are] reconciled, [who] can love each other, and in some places even worship together — that is something they will never get over, because most people think that is an absolute impossibility,” Doyle says. 

“But then God says, ‘Is anything too hard for me?’ We know [reconciliation in Christ is] possible. We see it in places. We pray for more of that, and when we see it, it’s going to show the world peace can triumph over hatred and it really comes from the Prince of Peace.”

Header photo from October 2023: Israeli pastor and a Palestinian missionary praying over the Gaza Strip from Israel. They love each other as brothers in Christ and they love both people groups. (Photo, caption courtesy of Uncharted Ministries)

Earlier this week, the ICC’s top prosecutor accused top Israeli and Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“It’s a moral equivalency issue that’s really not fair,” Uncharted Ministries’ Tom Doyle says.

“Hamas is a terrorist group. They tried to commit genocide; Israel goes in to get Hamas, and now they’re accused of war crimes.”

The United States immediately condemned the ICC announcement, stating:

We reject the prosecutor’s equivalence of Israel with Hamas. It is shameful. Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and is still holding dozens of innocent people hostage, including Americans.

Three judges will review the charges and decide whether to pursue a case. Even if ICC judges issue arrest warrants, Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister won’t face immediate prosecution. However, they could be arrested during travel to an ICC member nation.

“There are some nations where that could happen to Israeli leaders, so they need to be careful,” Doyle says.

Residential buildings destroyed during the first week of intensive bombing by Israeli aircraft.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Meanwhile, conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate. After six months of war, believers have little choice but to leave.

“They’re tired; many people are saying, ‘We’re finished. We can’t live this way anymore,’” Doyle says.

“I was just talking with a Christian leader in Gaza, and he said that there were 900 known Christians in Gaza; now it’s down to 700. They expect that it will be cut in half, at least to 450.”

Pray for the war in Gaza to end. “Pray [for] a massive heart change, that the Gospel will spread through Gaza, and people can see there’s a better way,” Doyle requests.

Support Gospel workers in the region through Uncharted here. “We hope when it’s safe to go in, and the war’s over, that the Gaza Baptist Church will be rebuilt and be a beacon of light in the Gaza Strip,” Doyle says.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Mohammed Ibrahim/Unsplash.

More than eight million Sudanese have been uprooted in the country since then, and at least two million have crossed into neighboring countries. Unknown tens of thousands have died in the conflict, with countless genocide victims buried in mass graves.

“The burden on East Africa is becoming almost untenable,” says John*, an unfoldingWord partner focused on Sudan. “Chad is one of the top 10 poorest countries in the world; South Sudan is THE poorest country, and that’s where refugees are going.”

Church planters trained by John’s organization meet refugees in several border camps. More about that here. Believers see God turn horrific trauma into something good for these refugees.

“[Refugees have] the desperation of having lost everything and being separated from the normal day-to-day life and just living in constant need. Your soul is so thirsty for any hope, and God is reaping a harvest,” John says.

“Many are coming to Christ because, in their desperation, they’re calling out for help. And in their sleep, God is meeting them. It’s a vision of Jesus, a vision of a man in white.”

Church planters introduce refugees to the hope of Christ through biblical trauma healing. Here’s how you can support that work.

“It’s a simple African way of explaining ‘This is what trauma looks like. This is how it can affect the way you think and the way you feel.’ We have them tell their story, validate it, pray for them, and give them the truth of the Word of God that offers hope,” John explains.

“We’re not able to put a country in therapy, but there were 100 people that our team [recently took] through trauma healing. They came to Christ; within two days, there were 200.”

Ask the Lord to provide food for refugees facing famine. Pray they will find the Bread of Life by connecting with church planters.

*Pseudonym

Header image is a graphic courtesy of unfoldingWord.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)’s all-women force liberated Kovan Aidi Khourto from al-Hol. This notorious camp houses tens of thousands of ISIS families and supporters in Syria.

Samuel* with Redemptive Stories says their partners in Iraqi Kurdistan offer trauma healing to former Yazidi captives. One day, a Gospel worker saw a woman enter with sorrow etched on every feature.

Collage depicting the persecution of Yazidis by the Islamic State.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The worker asked if she could pray for the new class member. “The woman who was praying for her saw a vision. And in this vision, she saw the young lady cutting herself,” Samuel says.

“She stopped praying and began to tell her (the Yazidi woman) what she saw, and [the woman said], ‘How did you know that? No one knows about me hurting myself.’”

This Yazidi woman – another Islamic State sex slave – shared her painful story with the Gospel worker who prayed for her. Nearly 50 different men raped her during her time in captivity.

The worker introduced her to the Great Physician and his Gospel hope. “Through that process, this woman was able to find healing in Jesus Christ,” Samuel says.

“She became a believer and is now sharing with others in her community.”

Pray that Redemptive Stories and its partners can continue their vital work among Yazidi survivors. Politicians threaten to shut down all the camps housing displaced Yazidi communities in Kurdistan and force these families to relocate.

“A lot of women found healing through trauma healing care, through dreams and visions, and ultimately through Jesus Christ,” Samuel says.

Pray believers from a Yazidi background will grow in Christ and become bold witnesses.

“Pray for them to keep pressing on amid persecution,” Samuel requests. “One of the young believers – his father was killed for speaking out against the Yazidi religion.”

*Pseudonym

Header image depicts Yazidi women in traditional clothing. (Wikimedia Commons)

Abducted by ISIS during the group’s genocide against Yazidis in 2014, Murad has been fighting to hold the terrorists accountable for their crimes. She is also working together with the Kurdistan Region Presidency to ensure the safe return of survivors to the Yazidi heartland of Shingal.

Numerous Yazidis have encountered the Gospel since being driven from their homeland by the Islamic State in 2014. Today, the Yazidis’ “openness [to the Gospel] can be debated, but one thing that has been very clear is that God is doing some amazing things,” says Samuel* with Redemptive Stories.

For example, “the Yazidi speak their own version of Kurdish,” he explains.

“One of our partners has a Facebook page that is putting out Christian content in that language, but made by believers from a Yazidi background.”

Sometimes, these partners will meet with Yazidi families face-to-face in secret.

“This family will say, ‘Hey, have you seen this page? It’s amazing. They’re talking about this Jesus that is peaceful and loves us.’ All the while, they (believers) know they’re messaging this person from behind the scenes.”

The Islamic State is not as powerful as it used to be in Iraq, but they’re still around. Secrecy protects believers and the Yazidis from persecution. Pray the Lord will continue calling the Yazidis to His side.

“Pray for the Yazidis; pray for our brothers and sisters doing amazing work among the Yazidi. Some churches are being planted,” Samuel says.

Pray Yazidis will encounter the God of the Bible through a dream or vision if they have no access to a believer who can tell them about Jesus. “They believe in the spirit world; they believe that God would speak to them potentially through a vision or a dream,” Samuel says.

*Pseudonym

Header image depicts a Yazidi religious leader at his home in Babera village near Duhok, Iraq. (Photo, caption courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash)

Fighting is relentless, and according to the UN, Sudan now holds the most displaced people in the world. Half of the displaced population are kids.

Sudan’s two warring factions have given the UN until March 1 to leave the country, removing a critical lifeline for the Sudanese people. Yet hope remains. The “Sudanese are running as sheep without a shepherd,” an unfoldingWord partner we’ll call John* says,

“They’re looking for security, and many are finding that security in Jesus.”

Three decades of severe Islamic rule have left most of Sudan’s ethnic communities without access to Scripture in their languages. unfoldingWord is changing that through church-centric Bible translation.

(Photo courtesy of unfoldingWord)

Their work couldn’t come at a better time. “In Islam, God speaks Arabic. Most of the people we are working with to translate the Word of God have never spoken personally to God in their language,” John says.

“It is transforming people as translation is taking place.”

Translation work continues despite the war, albeit with more caution. “[When] they (translators) go into a village to test their translation, the whole village comes out because they’d never heard about God in their language,” John says.

“As they go through these Open Bible Stories, we’ve seen people come to the Lord.”

Meanwhile, Sudanese church planters are sharing minority-language Open Bible Stories in displacement camps, and Muslims are turning to Jesus. In an email update, John writes:

Many of these translators lead Discovery Bible Studies with people from their tribes who have come to Christ. What a miracle! Four UPG refugee new believers want to attend [our organization’s training school.]

Here’s how you can help through unfoldingWord.

“Pray for not only our workers but anyone working to bring the truth of Christ to the people of Sudan. Pray that God will give them courage as they witness,” John requests.

*Pseudonym

Header image is a representative stock photo depicting the Sudan flag and emblem overlaying a map outline of Sudan. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

See our full coverage here.

“As a nation, they’ve grown up in war; Sudan had Africa’s longest civil war that lasted 22 years. But this war is different,” says John*, a Gospel worker focused on Sudan.

“This war affects every group in the country.”

Fighting has now reached Sudan’s “breadbasket” in Aj Jazirah State, which also serves as a hub for relief efforts. United Nations Under-Secretary Martin Griffiths says 25 million people will need help surviving this year. Yet heavy rains and widespread conflict make it impossible for aid trucks to reach those in need.

Meanwhile, genocide continues unchecked.

“Sudan has been on the top list of those (countries) persecuting Christians. But they are also on the top of the list [for] ethnic persecution of non-Arab, black African tribes, and using rape as a weapon of war to change the balance of power inside Sudan,” John says.

John’s group works with unfoldingWord to plant churches and translate God’s Word into Sudan’s minority languages. More about that here.

When the war started, church leaders began helping refugees and displaced families. Pray Sudanese will find hope in the Lord as they understand His Word in their languages.

“Trauma is now built to volcanic levels inside Sudan,” John says.

“We have [teams]from different language groups that are working among their people [in] trauma healing, [and] there is an openness to the Gospel at a level that has not been seen before.”

*Pseudonym

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of alameen studios/Pexels.

In the early verses of chapter 9, Isaiah foretells a royal Savior. “These verses have great meaning in the context of Sudan, given that the government has become the enemy,” says John*, an unfoldingWord partner.

“People are running like sheep without a shepherd, looking for security.”

Christmas reminds us that Isaiah’s prophecy and others like it were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, John adds.

“When it says ‘The government will be upon His shoulders,’ it’s a reminder that evil will not win because the ultimate, absolute rule belongs to Jesus.”

Sudan’s current events make it challenging to believe evil will not win.

(Graphic courtesy of unfoldingWord)

The civil war that began in April and has uprooted over seven million people continues to spread. Aid groups like the UN struggle to feed and shelter thousands who desperately need help.

Plus, Sudanese farmers couldn’t plant their crops because of the fighting, so a massive food crisis looms.

Yet, hope remains. “As I mentioned in previous interviews, Christians and Muslims are being driven into the same geographical location” by the war, John says.

“There is a harvest (of souls) taking place.”

Pray that many Sudanese will turn to Jesus for salvation as they hear the Gospel in their heart language.

In refugee camps outside of Sudan’s strict Islamic rule, “They (Muslims) are free, for maybe the first time in their life, to consider Jesus,” John says.

“It’s not religion, it’s not Christianity – it’s to consider Jesus the Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:7 says, ‘Of the increase of His government and His peace, there will be no end.’”

Support Gospel workers through John’s organization here. We cannot publish names or details for security purposes.

Pray for endurance and strength for Gospel workers as they lead new believers through Bible studies. Pray for Sudanese Bible translation teams as they continue working despite the war.

“The promise of the Son of God is a powerful one, and we are seeing that power unleashed as we do translation verse by verse, passage by his passage,” John says.

*Pseudonym

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Robert Thiemann/Unsplash.