Continue praying with the Sharibus

It  has now been two years since Leah Sharibu and 100 of her classmates  were abducted from Dapchi, a town in northeastern Nigeria. Two months  later, all of the girls were released except for Leah who, because she  refused to renounce Christ, remained in captivity of Islamic extremist  group Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
 

In  mid-October 2018, Boko Haram militants stated that Leah and Alice  Nggadah (a Christian aid worker kidnapped in a separate attack) would  remain their “slaves for life.” Since then, unconfirmed rumors of Leah’s  well-being have circulated periodically. Please continue to pray that  Leah and her parents, Nathan and Rebecca Sharibu, would be reunited.

Chinese House Church Raided

 … See, I have placed before you an open door.

That no one can shut.

I know you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

(Revelation 3:8)


Right after hundreds of police raided his house church in China, Pastor Xiang En preached this powerful scripture.

Open  Doors recently sat down with him to hear his and his church’s story and  to learn more about the trials our brothers and sisters are walking  through. Watch his story here.

% buffered00:0003:28

Right  now as you read this, churches in China are being closed and Christians  like Pastor Xiang are coming under intensifying pressure; some have  been arrested and imprisoned. Xiang says that persecution in China is  comparable to the persecution China saw under Mao during the country’s  Cultural Revolution in the ’60s. The large underground church he is a  part of has seen firsthand what Chinese President Xi Jinping has started  in a move to squeeze the church and stunt the growth of Christianity.

But  in the fire, God is refining His people. Pastor Xiang’s story reminds  us that God’s hand is moving in the hearts and lives of His faithful.

And that no one can shut the open door He has set before His people….

*Pastor  Xiang En’s story is the personal account of a Chinese Christian from a  large house church in China. Persecution in China differs by region and  church context. To learn more about China and what God is doing in and  through His Church—visit ODUSA.org/China