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.
… 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.
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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
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