https://agwm.org/en/stories/urgent-prayer-for-nigerian-christians/
On Monday, November 17, armed bandits attacked the Assemblies of God Zuru Missionary Area in Nigeria’s Kebbi State, abducting 11 Assemblies of God Nigeria believers. This terrorist attack occurred during a service in a local Assemblies of God church, and the abducted individuals have yet to be recovered.
As part of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the General Council of the Assemblies of God Nigeria serves millions of Christians who face rising pressure and danger each day in Nigeria’s current state.
We are not alone in facing this kind of violence in Nigeria; believers and Christian organizations across the nation stand in solidarity as our faith continues to come under attack. AGWM Executive Director John Easter says, “We are heartbroken at the abduction of these precious Assemblies of God believers. We are praying for God’s protection for them and a safe return. We also are praying for comfort for their families and other believers in all the churches in Nigeria. We are asking every Assemblies of God congregation around the world to pray for the believers in Nigeria.”
Please pray with us for the safe return of these believers. Pray for God’s intervention and divine protection as our Nigerian Assemblies of God family faces unthinkable distress.
To financially support our fellow believers during this difficult time, click here: https://giving.ag.org/donate/600001-649230?class=52&comments=Africa
The past few months, I have been thinking a lot about the themes talked about in Dr. Joseph Lear’s book on Pentecostal Worship! I’d recommend you check it out!
He has challenged me the past year to keep the proclamation of the return of Christ at the forefront of my mind and preaching. May we not forget the importance of his return and how that truth impacts our lives today.
Generated video transcript for your convenience:
A few days ago, I saw a report from the Assemblies of God Missions Office that last week there was an attack on a Nigerian church, where a group of terrorists attacked the church and abducted, I think, eleven individuals from that Assembly of God church in Nigeria.
Today, as it’s Thanksgiving, I was thinking about the blessing it is that as a minister—as a clergyman, as a pastor—I don’t really fear violence in our church. Obviously, there are infrequent attacks on places of worship in the United States, and all of them are devastating. But by and large, we rarely fear our places of worship being attacked, harassed, or experiencing violence or death. As a minister, I don’t fear for my life when I step into the pulpit to proclaim the Word of God, to preach. And that is a blessing—something I need to thank God for frequently, something we don’t worry about.
I was looking at the latest issue of Influence Magazine from the Assemblies of God, and our superintendent, Doug Clay, shared in it that over the last forty years we’ve grown from about twenty million adherents to about eighty million adherents globally. Fifty percent of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship resides in Africa, and places like the one where this tragedy occurred constitute the majority of our world fellowship—the global Assemblies of God Pentecostal fellowship. Half of us are in Africa. This has become a largely African movement.
So here we are on Thanksgiving, reminding ourselves first of the blessings we have, but also not forgetting the Pentecostal message we must proclaim: Jesus is coming again. We must not be so blinded by the luxury and relative ease we have in the States that we forget the Pentecostal message that Jesus is coming again.
Events like these are reminders that in many places the gospel is radically oppressed. Being a proclaimed Christian puts a target on you. Following Jesus is a commitment to the cross. And when brothers and sisters—like those eleven who have suffered for Jesus’ name—endure such persecution, the reason they can suffer is because they know their Pentecostal message: the Spirit of God is in them to give them boldness to proclaim the gospel; to proclaim that even though we suffer in this present age, Jesus is coming again.
So this Thanksgiving, would you first thank the Lord for the many blessings that we have?
Second, would you pray for our brothers and sisters—the majority of our fellowship—who reside in Africa, in the global South, in the global East? In many of these places, proclaiming the gospel is not a luxury but a sacrifice. It is a call to the cross. It is a call to suffering to proclaim the gospel.
And third, would you pray, seeking the Lord and asking for His protection and grace for those in the Nigerian church who are suffering at the hands of persecutors, suffering for the gospel, suffering for Jesus?
Would we abide in Jesus, knowing that He is all we need in the midst of our wealth, our blessing, and our ease? Would we not forget the call of Jesus to come and abide in Him in suffering—so that when we suffer, as Paul the apostle said, when we suffer with Christ, we will also be raised up in glory with Him?
Happy Thanksgiving.
Until next time—peace.
