Prayer Focus Update September 2025

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever! Amen.”

2 Peter 3:18

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Nigeria – Suspected Islamists slaughter 27 Christians in Plateau State; Church minister abducted by Boko Haram rescued after two months

Yet again, Plateau State has been the scene of anti-Christian violence (see Prayer Focus Update, May 2025 and June 2025). Please pray for the Christian community devastated after at least 27 believers were killed by suspected Fulani Islamists.

More than 30 armed men stormed Bindi-Jebbu village in Riyom Local Government Area at around 3am on 15 July, shooting and setting fire to several homes. The victims included a three-year-old girl and nine members of a local pastor’s family who were burned alive in their home.

“They kicked the door down and marched in, shooting and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)’,” said the pastor, Davou Musa. “Then they set fire on the building and started shouting, saying they had conquered.”

Pastor Musa had alerted the nearby security forces to suspicious movements by gunmen the previous evening, but soldiers did not arrive until two hours after the massacre.

Further north, there was cause for thanksgiving when Alphonsus Afina, a church minister in Borno State, was rescued by security forces.

Alphonsus was released on 21 July along with 10 women who had also been held hostage.

He had been kidnapped on his way to a humanitarian and peacebuilding conference in Maiduguri almost two months earlier, when Boko Haram militants ambushed his convoy.

Borno State, where Alphonsus was ministering, is a stronghold of both Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.

Pray that those mourning the loss of loved ones in this horrific attack will find comfort and strength in the Lord, and in the support of His people. Ask that they will experience the peace of God that surpasses understanding and guards their hearts and minds rooted in Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Pray that the outrage at the killings will lead to more effective security measures in Plateau State and that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Praise God for Alphonsus’ safe return and the security forces’ skill in carrying out his rescue, and pray for all the Christians still held in captivity by Islamist groups in Nigeria, that the Lord will protect them and that they will be released soon.

Laos - Emergency support for evicted Lao converts

Praise the Lord that Barnabas Aid project partners were on hand to provide food, temporary accommodation and other urgent supplies to around 30 Christian converts evicted from their homes in north-west Laos.

The evicted believers are from four families who were forced to leave their home village in Luang Namtha Province after coming to faith in Christ.

Our partners were able to respond to the converts’ immediate needs thanks to an emergency fund financed through your generous giving.

In May 2025, another four Christian families were evicted from their village, also in north-western Laos, and their homes were destroyed (see Prayer Focus Update, June 2025).

A “Law on the Evangelical Church”, in force since December 2019, gives Christians the right to conduct services, preach throughout Laos and maintain contacts with believers in other countries. This law, however, is often disregarded in rural areas.

Praise God for His provision for our brothers and sisters in their time of urgent need. Pray that He will enable them to grow in their faith, and in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ask for His continued presence with all Christians suffering marginalisation and persecution in rural Laos.

D. R. Congo – At least 34 killed in church attack

A Christian community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is grieving after at least 34 people were killed in an Islamist attack on a church in the north-eastern province of Ituri in the early hours of Sunday 27 July.

Fighters from Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) launched an armed assault on the church building in the village of Komanda at 1am, where the congregation was meeting for a late-night service.

The terrorists set fire to the building along with houses and shops in the village.

This massacre is only the latest carried out by ISCAP, who have killed at least 389 Christians in north-eastern DRC since Christmas 2024 (see Prayer Focus Update, February, March and April 2025).

Reports by the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) show that the terrorist group had already slaughtered at least 45 Christians across Ituri throughout July.

According to one of ISCAP’s published claims on Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) social media channels, the worst atrocity took place in “the Christian village of Kateria” on 10 July when fighters “captured and slaughtered 17 Christians, praise be to God”.

Ask the Lord to comfort those bereaved by this act of hate-filled violence. Pray that the faith of our brothers and sisters will remain strong. Cry out to the Lord to protect His people from Islamic State and the other armed groups that operate in north-eastern DRC. Pray that Christians will depend on God’s mighty power and the armour of light to stand firm against the enemy’s schemes (Ephesians 6:10-11).

Indonesia – Two children hurt in Islamist attack on Sunday school; Seven arrests after Christian retreat disrupted

Two incidents of Christian meetings being disrupted by Islamists in different parts of Indonesia require our fervent prayers.

Two children were injured after a group of Muslims attacked a building where a Sunday school class was being held at Padang Sarai Village, West Sumatra province on Sunday 27 July.

“Some 30 children attending the Sunday school were left traumatised
by the sudden attack,” said Pastor Fatiaro Dachi.

Video footage captured a group of men entering the building armed with knives and sticks. The assailants ordered the children and their accompanying parents to disperse, shouting, “Destroy everything!”

Two children, aged 11 and 9, were struck with wooden sticks, and were taken to hospital for treatment.

“They smashed glass windows, broke chairs, and damaged items inside the prayer house,” said Pastor Dachi.

West Sumatra Police announced the arrest of nine suspects, all of whom were identified from the video of the attack that was circulating on social media.

One month earlier, police detained seven Muslims accused of disrupting a retreat for 36 Christian students in West Java province, further south, and vandalising the premises.

The suspects were arrested on 30 June. They are alleged to have been prominent among a larger mob that broke up the retreat in Kampung Tangki, Sukabumi regency, three days earlier.

West Java Police said that the mob had caused extensive damage, including vandalising a cross. They estimated the cost of the damage at 50,000,000 Indonesian rupiah (£2,280; €2,630; $3,060).

West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi labelled the actions of the suspects “serious crimes”, and called on the public to respect one another’s differences.

In recent years, the government of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, has sought to combat Islamist extremism and promote religious tolerance.

Pray that Christian children injured will receive complete healing, and that all those attending the Sunday school will recover from the trauma of the incident. Ask that those responsible will be held to account and come under conviction that leads to repentance (John 16:8). Pray that justice will be served also in Kampung Tangki and lawful assembly of Christians will not be disrupted. Pray for peaceful relations to be maintained among all groups in Indonesia (Romans 12:18), and for the protection of Christians, especially in areas where extremists are active.

Syria – Pastor among at least 12 Christians killed in Sweida province violence

Please remember Christians in Syria at this time of tension. In mid-July a pastor was among a group of Christians killed in Sweida province, southern Syria by Islamists loyal to the government in Damascus.

Barnabas Aid sources confirmed that at least 12 believers - possibly as many as 20 – were killed in this incident.

More than 1,120 people died in sectarian violence that raged across the province for over a week.

The victims included Khaled Mazher, pastor of Sweida’s Church of Jesus the Good Shepherd and a convert to Christianity from the Druze community.

Also murdered were Pastor Khaled’s mother Amira; his disabled father Joudat Hassan; his sister Jihan; his sister Aseel along with her husband Marwan Al-Halabi, and their sons Fadi and Mu’in; his sister Asma along with her husband Yamen Al-Khatib, and their daughters Shahd and Sarah.

The violence in Sweida first broke out on 13 July between the Sunni-majority Bedouin tribal group and the Druze, an Islamic sect regarded as heretical by many Sunnis.

Syria’s transitional government deployed the Syrian Armed Forces to the region in the days that followed, supposedly to restore peace. These forces are alleged to have carried out attacks on civilians, including the unlawful execution of 83 Druze as well as the killing of the believers at the Church of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

Christians are also among almost 2,000 people displaced by the violence.

The current government of Syria, headed by interim president Ahmed al Sharaa, came to power in December 2024 following a successful armed rebellion.

Church leaders have criticised the government for failing to prevent an Islamist suicide bombing on 22 June in Damascus (see Prayer Focus Update, August 2025), which claimed the lives of at least 25 worshippers and injured more than 60 during a church service.

Ask our Father to comfort the grieving families of Pastor Khaled Mazher and all those who were killed in the violence in Sweida. Pray that He will strengthen His Church in Syria, protect those still facing danger, and provide for their basic needs. Pray that the light of Christ shining through His followers will bring hope amid this darkness (John 1:5). Pray for wise governance to establish peace in this troubled land