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Praise God that Barnabas Aid has been able to support Christians in Ghana through the gift of 60 pigs. Local missionaries and pastors will farm them, with help from their congregations. The pigs are expected to produce 200 piglets in the coming months, which can be sold and the proceeds used to support the work of the pastors. Congregations will be cared for, and the pastors can work more effectively to share the love of Christ and proclaim the Gospel. This is part of Barnabas Aid’s target of sending one million pigs and one million chickens to marginalised Christian communities. Pray for the success of this ambitious plan in supporting our brothers and sisters around the world.
“We are tired of burying our people every other week.” This was the stark declaration of Wakili Tongwe, a Christian community leader in Plateau State, Nigeria. At least 180 people were killed in a wave of anti-Christian violence that swept across the country’s Middle Belt in April, and that violence has since continued. Pray that the Name of the Lord will be a strong tower, a place of refuge, for His people across Nigeria (Proverbs 18:10).
Mary – a Christian woman in Nigeria’s Plateau State – was left traumatized and maimed by Islamist terrorists who struck her village. The attackers shot Mary’s husband and her two older children. One then took a machete and hacked at Mary and her eight-month-old baby. Mary lost most of her lower arm – the baby did not survive. Pray that the Lord will rise up against His enemies who plot against His treasured ones, and bring them either to judgement or repentance (Psalm 83:1-3, 16, 18).
As Islamist fighters ran amok through a Christian community in Plateau State, one young woman, Rejoice, went into labor. Her mother-in-law led her to the only shelter she could find, in the remains of a building destroyed by the attackers. A Nigerian soldier stood beside Rejoice, exchanging fire with the gunmen as she gave birth to a baby girl. Despite her trauma and fear, Rejoice demonstrated her unflinching faith with the name she gave her child – Emmanuella, God with us. Praise our Father in Heaven for the steadfast faith of His people enduring such desperate hardship in Nigeria.
A grave was desecrated during a violent anti-Christian protest in Sélibaby, southern Mauritania. The mob, inflamed by anti-Christian rhetoric online, exhumed a recently buried believer, destroyed the tombstone, and dragged the body through the streets. The body was later reburied in a village 12 miles away. Christians in Mauritania face growing isolation, with believers being publicly labeled “infidels” and shunned by relatives. Regional authorities have dismissed several officials, but fear and tension remain. Please pray for the Lord’s comfort and protection over the grieving family and the Christian community. Ask God to give strength to church leaders, and to soften the hearts of those promoting hatred.
Lord God, we bring before Your throne members of our worldwide Christian family who suffer violence for trusting You. Help us to mourn with those who have been bereaved, or suffered displacement from their homes, or sustained physical and mental injury. We ask You to provide for their needs where they must make major readjustments through loss of home and livelihood. Please enable our brothers and sisters to refrain from repaying evil with evil, but instead to overcome evil with good. Grant them grace to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered unjustly in bearing all our sins, for we ask in His precious Name. (Romans 12:17-21)
“Their wages were never enough, the work never ending and the debt never decreasing,” said a Barnabas Aid project partner in Pakistan. He was describing the terrible plight of impoverished Christians trapped in bonded labor in the country’s brick kilns because of loans taken out at times of crisis, which kept them tied to their employers. Often the interest rates levied by unscrupulous brick kiln owners are so high that the debts are impossible to pay off and must be passed on to the next generation. Through Barnabas, you have freed 625 Christian families from the burden of debt since September 2024. Pray that, with God’s grace, together we can free hundreds more.
“Hallelujah!” cried Mukhtar in joy as the gifts of Barnabas supporters paid the loans that had kept him trapped in bonded labor in Pakistan’s brick kilns for 14 years. Earning only subsistence wages, Mukhtar had no option but to borrow from his employer to pay for essential medical treatment for himself, and his wife Nasreen. Yet no matter how hard Mukhtar and his family labored, the high-interest debt never decreased. Praise God that, with your help, Barnabas has been able to free Mukhtar and hundreds of other Christian families from the yoke of debt. Pray that Pakistani Christians will no longer be held back from better-paid jobs because of discrimination in education and employment.
Waqas Masih, a 22-year-old Pakistani Christian working in a cardboard packaging department, was hospitalized on after being attacked at his workplace in Sharaqpur, Punjab, by a Muslim co-worker. Zohaib Iftikhar slashed Waqas’s throat with a sharp blade after Waqas repeatedly refused to convert to Islam. Police arrested Zohaib, and their investigation dismissed his allegations that Waqas had desecrated Islamic texts. Waqas’s condition has stabilised, but he was later transferred to a military hospital for extra security. Pray for Waqas’s complete recovery from this horrific attack. Pray for protection for Waqas, his family and the Christian community against any retaliation, and that justice will be seen to be served.
After her husband’s death, 40-year-old Nasreen was, says a Barnabas Aid worker in Pakistan, “lost in grief”. Her faith, of course, was a comfort to her as she grieved. But at the same time, for Nasreen and her two children, the pain was worsened by the sting of poverty and the threat of hunger. Nasreen did what work she could, but opportunities for Christian widows are few and far between, and she could never earn enough. Praise God that Barnabas supporters have provided food parcels to help sustain Nasreen and her children. Thank the Lord for all the believers in Pakistan being helped in this way.
An estimated three million refugees have returned to Afghanistan since September 2023, many of them having been forcefully deported from Iran and Pakistan. These returnees are often those who fled fearing reprisals from the Taliban. Only the Lord knows how many among them are Christians who left Afghanistan to escape execution for leaving Islam (even those who are not first-generation converts are considered apostates by the Taliban). Lift up to the Lord these vulnerable believers, asking our mighty God to protect His people and their faith in Christ.
Praise God for the many children from impoverished Christian families in Pakistan who receive a Christian education from Christian teachers at a Christian school, thanks to the donations of sponsors given through Barnabas Aid’s Living Streams initiative. Mariam is just one of these children. She is the only one in her family to learn to read and write. “I can ask for help to solve all my questions with the teachers here,” says Mariam. Pray that many more children will be able to receive an education in a loving, supportive environment through Living Streams, helping to strengthen marginalized Christian communities in Pakistan.
Lord Jesus, we pray for those whom You have called to teaching and all Christians involved in education. We ask You to fill them with wisdom and sound judgement in informing young minds and directing children and young people in the paths they must follow. We pray that the integrity of educators will prove a shining example of what is good and according to Your purposes. We ask that teachers will know the joy of their students of whatever age following the truth and growing in a relationship with You, for we ask in Your precious Name. (Isaiah 48:17; Titus 2:7-8)
Barnabas-funded emergency aid was distributed to more than 9,000 struggling Christians after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar in March. Many believers, often overlooked in Buddhist-majority areas, received rice, blankets, mosquito nets and more. One widow, grieving the loss of her son, said, “Through their good works, I saw the goodness of God and was strengthened in the Lord.” Despite danger from aftershocks and surveillance, relief teams shared both physical help and spiritual hope. Please pray for the success of ongoing relief efforts. Ask that the Lord will comfort the bereaved, the suffering and the traumatized.
A pastor was among 13 people killed in attacks by the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) in Christian-majority Chin State on consecutive nights. The airstrikes were carried out despite the ceasefire declared by the military government following the earthquake that struck the country on 28 March. Seven residents were killed in Mindat Township just days after the supposed ceasefire was announced. The following night, a family of six died in an airstrike on Tedim Township, leaving a surviving ten-year-old son hospitalized with severe injuries. Pray for the families of those bereaved to know God’s comfort and receive practical aid. Ask for protection of His people in Chin State, and that the Tatmadaw will relent from strikes on civilian areas.
“Almost the entire population [of the city] was on the run. Houses, schools, churches, markets were destroyed,” reported the leader of an orphanage in a city in a war-torn area of Myanmar. A total of 137 children and young adults aged between 6 and 21 had to be evacuated because of severe bombardment by the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw). Give thanks that after walking ten days, all the children were safely accommodated by a church in a neighboring town, and that Barnabas partners were able to step in and supply food, blankets and mats to meet their needs. Pray for the continued protection of orphans amid the ongoing conflict in Myanmar.
Four Christian families were left homeless when they were evicted from their village in north-western Laos in early May. The families’ houses were demolished, and they were forced to abandon most of their possessions. There have been several instances of Christians being targeted in this way in recent years. Thank the Lord that Barnabas Aid partners have supplied the families with rice, cooking oil, hygiene products and other essentials. Pray for our partners’ efforts to find safe accommodation for each of the four families.
“Barnabas Aid has helped and given hope to the people who have been waiting for water for their daily needs for a long time,” declared one of the grateful beneficiaries of a Barnabas-funded borewell constructed in a remote village in Jambi province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The borewell serves 12 Christian families (more than 50 individuals) who benefit from better access to clean water that has greatly reduced health problems. Give thanks for the impact this invaluable water source is having on these families’ lives and pray that this blessing will help the community to grow stronger in every respect.
Pray for a Christian community in West Java, Indonesia, where Islamist radicals protested on Ash Wednesday against the proposal to designate a multipurpose building as a place of worship. Though built by a Christian minister and used for weekly services since the 1980s, some locals claim it should be for social use only. Church leaders are seeking to register the facility officially, while still keeping it open to the public. Opposition from hardliners has created tension. Ask the Lord to give wisdom to local church leaders, protect believers from harm, and bring about a peaceful resolution.
Lord God, maker of Heaven and Earth, we pray for Christian congregations around the world lacking a place to meet to worship You. We ask You to impart perseverance and courage to believers facing persecution or legal obstacles to using premises for regular meeting. Please grant them opportunities to meet, even when they must maintain utmost secrecy. We thank You that You are not confined to buildings made by human hands, and that in You we live and move and have our being. We ask You to bless richly these vital times of communion for our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, in whose precious Name we pray. (Acts 17:24, 28)
Christians in Saudi Arabia continue to face severe restrictions on worship. Converts from Islam live in fear of social ostracism, abuse or even death at the hands of family members and former friends if their conversion becomes known. Apostasy is a capital offense, though no executions are known to have been carried out in recent years. Pray that Christians in Saudi Arabia will remain strong in their faith and undeterred by these restrictions, keeping close to God despite the dangers they face for doing so.
Two Iranian Christian converts, Mahmoud Mardani-Kharaji, 56, and his brother Mansour, 50, have been sentenced to four years in prison for their membership of a “house church”, convicted of “deviant propaganda activities contrary to the holy religion of Islam”. The brothers also received fines and a ban on joining any social groups, including churches, for five years after their release, and are barred from their home province of Isfahan for two years. Pray that as Mahmoud and Mansour contemplate their sentences and reflect on the authorities’ attempts to deny them fellowship with their Christian family, they will know the fellowship of the Holy Spirit sustaining them powerfully throughout their trials.
The prison sentences of three Iranian Christian converts from Islam have been upheld by a Tehran appeal court. Narges Nasri, 37 years old, pregnant with her first child, was sentenced to 16 years; Abbas Soori, 48, and Mehran Shamloui, 37, received sentences of 15 years and 11 years 8 months, respectively. They were charged with “propaganda activities” concerning their involvement in “house churches”. Pray that Narges, Abbas and Mehran will draw encouragement from the Scriptures and know the comfort and counsel of the Holy Spirit as they face these long, harsh sentences. Ask God to assure them of His perfect plans to further His kingdom even through such injustice.
Lida Alexani, 56, wife of Iranian-Armenian pastor Joseph Shahbazian, was released from Evin Prison, Tehran on bail equivalent to £42,000 ($50.000; €46.000) one month after being arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents on unspecified charges. Joseph, 60, was re-arrested in February despite being “pardoned” and released in 2024 one year into a ten-year sentence for “actions against national security”. Lida’s arrest came two days before the funeral of Joseph’s mother in April, which neither she nor her husband was allowed to attend. The high bail amount makes it harder for the family to pay for her husband’s release. Pray that both Joseph and Lida will know the comfort of the Spirit to strengthen them in this continuing ordeal, and for God’s justice to prevail.
Barnabas Aid contacts have reported raids on “house churches” in the Iranian cities of Isfahan and Shiraz. Several Christians were arrested, including at least one pastor. The authorities also seized Bibles and other Christian books, along with computers. Unlike Iran’s historic Christian communities who are permitted to hold church services in their own language, Farsi (Persian)-speaking believers are converts from Islam who are prohibited from worshipping. “We are witnessing a huge increase in the efforts of the Iranian government’s crackdown on house churches in Iran,” a regional expert told Barnabas. Ask that our Lord, who is near to all who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18), will be near to our brothers and sisters in their hour of trial.
Praise God for the faithful witness of believers throughout Egypt, especially those serving in difficult and demanding environments. Pray for those who are nurturing and guiding others in their faith, that they will be filled with wisdom, perseverance and the Holy Spirit as they help raise up the next generation of Christian leaders. Ask the Lord to protect churches and Christian families, and to open doors for the Gospel in communities marked by hardship or hostility. Also, pray for unity among Christian leaders and for renewed strength as they serve their people with compassion and courage.
Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are a father to the fatherless, and a defender of widows, and provide protection, security and comfort from Your holy dwelling. Please instil in those who have lost the protection of a husband or parents the assurance of Your great love. Please bless the work of Your servants who reach out to widows and orphans in troubled regions of the world. We pray that through their ministry many will turn to You and be rooted in faith in their heavenly husband and father, for we ask in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Psalm 68:5-6)
Praise God that Barnabas Aid has sent a 40-foot container of food aid from the United States to nourish and sustain orphans being cared for by a Christian ministry in Guatemala. Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in Central America. Many people cannot afford even the most basic food. Nearly half of all children under the age of five suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition – and orphans are at even greater risk. Pray that the Lord will continue to supply the needs of these dear children.
Up to 90% of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, is now controlled by armed criminal gangs. Across the country, more than one million people have been displaced by the violence, and the United States has designated two of the gangs as terrorist organizations. “The situation is worsening by the day,” said one international expert. “People fleeing violence need immediate protection, food, water and shelter.” Pray that our Lord, who is known by His acts of justice (Psalm 9:16), will bring an end to the criminal violence that is destroying the lives of so many.
Thank the Lord that Barnabas has been able to send more than six tons of soup mix to hungry Christians in Haiti. The Caribbean nation is the most impoverished in the Western Hemisphere, with around 5.7 million people – half of the population – facing “acute hunger”. The soup mix was distributed through two churches and is enough to help more than 11,000 people. Pray that the Lord will continue to meet the needs of His people in Haiti.
The Nicaraguan government has intensified its crackdown on churches. Religious leaders face surveillance, restrictions on ministry, and financial hardship due to frozen bank accounts. Easter processions have been banned for the second consecutive year, and more than 200 religious figures have been exiled. Despite these challenges, many clergy and laypeople continue to worship, sometimes in secret, expressing hope for a better future. Please pray for strength and protection for Nicaragua’s Christian leaders and congregations. Ask the Lord to sustain their faith amid oppression and to open avenues for the Gospel to be shared. Pray for a change in the hearts of those in authority, that they may uphold religious freedom and justice.
