For persecuted Christians, the Christmas period is a time of increased risk of violent attack. Worshippers gather together in large numbers for church services and other celebrations, inadvertently making themselves a target for terrorist attacks and other violence. Additionally, some religious extremists see Christmas as the ideal time to strike a blow against Christians.
Nine people were killed and more than 50 injured in an Islamist attack on a pre-Christmas service in Quetta, Pakistan, in 2017. [Image credit: UCA News]
It was Sunday December 17, 2017 – just a week before Christmas.
More than 400 people had gathered for worship at Bethel Methodist Memorial Church in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Children prepared for a nativity play that they would not get chance to perform.
Two suicide bombers entered the building during the service. The first detonated an explosive vest at the entrance to the church hall. The other failed to detonate, instead engaging in a shootout with security forces.
Read more: What is it Like to Live as a Christian in Pakistan?
Nine people were killed in the attack, which also left more than 50 injured. Responsibility was claimed by Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh).
The 2017 Quetta church attack is a sad but typical example of the risks faced by persecuted Christians at this time of year.
Targets of Violence and Terrorism
For many Christians in the West, Christmas is primarily a time of opportunity.
Churches often host carol services and other special meetings with the aim of reaching out to their communities with the Gospel. With the potential to welcome visitors who may not attend church at any other time, this is an occasion to proclaim Christ as the light of the world (Isaiah 9:2; John 8:12).
For churches in the West, Christmas services are a primarily an opportunity. [Image credit: Runner1928/Wikipedia]
Believers around the world share in this desire. But for them, the joy of sharing the Gospel, remembering the birth of Christ, and worshipping the Lord together is joined with deep concern that they may become the targets of violence and terrorism.
In recent years there have been several examples of Christmas violence against believers.
“A Very Gory Christmas”
“This has indeed been a very gory Christmas for us,” said Caleb Mutfwang, the governor of Nigeria’s Plateau State. “We have had to celebrate with a heavy heart.”
Governor Mutfwang was speaking after a series of Islamist attacks on Christian communities that began on December 23, 2023, and ended on the morning of Christmas Day. More than 600 were slaughtered in the relentless onslaught – many of them women, children, and the disabled who were the least able to flee fires set by their attackers.
Read more: What is Happening in Nigeria?
Another 30,000 people were displaced from their homes. Eight church buildings and around 1,500 houses were burnt down.
Nanchin and two of her daughters recover in hospital from machete wounds inflicted on Christmas Eve 2023 by militants who attacked their village. Her third daughter, not pictured, was even more seriously injured.
On Christmas Eve 2020, in Nigeria’s Borno State, at least 24 were killed in an attack by terrorists from Islamic State West Africa Province. The Islamists described the killings as a “Christmas present.”
At Christmas 2021, the Buddhist-nationalist Myanmar military shot at least 35 people in Christian-majority Kayah State. The bodies were then burned. “We all had tears in our eyes,” said a local church leader. “We couldn’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ anymore. Christmas was very dark for us … The presence of the burned bodies was there around us.”
There are many other examples. Also in 2021, seven people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Christmas celebration in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A year earlier two pastors were shot dead after a Christmas Day service by Islamists in the Central African Republic. At Christmas 2017 nine people were killed in an attack on the Christian community of Cairo, Egypt.
Peace One Day
When the angels came to declare the news of our Savior’s birth to the shepherds on the Bethlehem hillside, they said that He had come to bring “peace on earth” (Luke 2:14).
Vehicles set alight near the village of Mo So, Kayah State on Christmas Eve 2021. [Image credit: Radio Free Asia]
This promise has not yet been realized in full. Persecution will continue until our Lord’s Second Advent (Matthew 24:9-14). Our brothers and sisters will continue to be killed (Revelation 6:9-11). But we can still pray for the Lord’s protection over His people. While many have been martyred, many have also been delivered from harm.
We must also pray that the faith of persecuted Christians will be preserved until the end (Matthew 24:13) – until the day that all believers share in the victory that belongs to the risen, glorified Savior, who was once a baby laid in a manger.
This year, please continue to pray for those who risk their lives to follow Him.
How You Can Pray
Lord God and Heavenly Father, thank You for the hope that we find in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to this Earth to save sinners. At this time of celebration, we pray for Your protection over Your persecuted people. Please strengthen them with the reminder that when Christ comes again all violence and hatred will be brought to an end, for we pray in His Name.
