Sadly, another attack has left Christians dead in Nigeria.
According to local reports, at least 22 believers, including a pastor, were killed after armed militants attacked a Christian gathering in central Nigeria. Witnesses said the gunmen surrounded the home before opening fire, leaving those inside with little opportunity to escape.
For many of us, news like this flashes across a screen and disappears by tomorrow. For the families in these villages, there is no moving on. A husband doesn’t come home. A mother is missing from the table. A church meets the following Sunday with familiar faces gone.
This is not the first time, and unless something changes, it likely won’t be the last.
Over the past several years, Christian communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt have endured repeated attacks. Some villages have been abandoned altogether. Others rebuild, only to be hit again months later. Pastors continue to lead their congregations knowing they may become targets themselves.
One local believer once told a ministry worker, “We don’t ask if persecution is coming. We ask whether we’ll be faithful when it does.”
That kind of faith is difficult for many of us to comprehend, who worship without fear. While we debate preferences and schedules, many Christians around the world quietly wonder whether gathering for worship could cost them everything.
Please remember the Church in Nigeria. Pray for the families now planning funerals instead of celebrating ordinary life together. Pray for the pastors who will comfort others while carrying their own grief. Pray for the believers who will gather again this Sunday, even after seeing what happened to their brothers and sisters. And pray that those responsible for these attacks would encounter Jesus in the same way Saul did on the road to Damascus.
The Church in Nigeria has suffered greatly, but we need to remember that the Church is never weaker because it suffers; it is weaker when it forgets why.
Dear Friend,
Northern Nigeria is under attack.
Not just by bullets, but by ignorance.
While our children roam the streets, extremists are recruiting them in the bush. While classrooms sit empty, terrorist training grounds fill up.
At Bright New World Educational and Humanitarian Foundation, we are on the ground. We see it with our own eyes. And we are fighting back with education, hope, and action.
But we cannot do it alone.
We urgently need partners and support. We are ready to work with anyone willing to extend a helping hand. The situation is escalating, and time is running out.
Will you stand with us?
With hope,
The Bright New World Team