Churches Attacked in Nigeria

​Jihad
Since the establishment of Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria, in 2001, over 13,750 Christians have been killed for their faith by Muslims. Just since December 2011, over 300 churches have been destroyed in Northern Nigeria.
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5 Million Christians in Northern Nigeria live under severe persecution. Radical Islamic groups regularly issue ultimatums to Christian communities: "You have three days to leave, or you will die!" Christians throughout Northern Nigeria are continuing to suffer a series of attacks which are often pre-planned and well co-ordinated. There are many attempts to force them to convert to Islam under the threat of death. Many have courageously died as Martyrs rather than deny Christ.

​Islamicists in Nigeria call it Odium Fidei - The War of Religion. In the village of Dogo Nahawa, Islamicists with machetes killed over 300 Christians, mostly women and children.
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for scores of recent suicide bombings and machine gunning of congregations throughout Northern Nigeria. Boko Haram has claimed thousands of lives. Boko Haram claims to be fighting for an Islamic state - a caliphate - in Nigeria.
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The Battle for Nigeria's Soul
Many Muslims, both persecutors and those appalled by the behaviour of the Radical Jihadists, have been won to Christ in recent years. The scale of persecution of Christians by Muslims in Northern Nigeria has accelerated over the last decade. Many hundreds, even into the thousands of church buildings have been damaged, or destroyed, and thousands of believers have been murdered.

From Islam to Christ
An Evangelist in Northern Nigeria writes to us: "Islamic hatred for the Gospel of Christ is seen in many ways. On a Muslim website under the title Evangelism Invasion, they complain that Christian Evangelism has become a big threat to them. Muslims are being incited to reject and oppose the Gospel, claiming that Northern Nigeria is Islamic and no Muslim should listen to, or accept the Gospel. Please pray for me and my team. We are compelled to preach the Gospel, no matter the risks involved. Some Muslim children get the beating of their lives just for their presence in outreach centres, but the beatings didn't stop them from coming the following day either. In the midst of the bombs, God is still moving powerfully in Northern Nigeria. Muslims are coming to know Christ, the only way to Salvation."

"Brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith." 2 Thess 3:1-2

Mobilise Prayer and Action
Please join with us in fervent prayer that the sufferings of our Christian brethren in Northern Nigeria, South Sudan and the Nuba Mountains become known to the Church worldwide and that the persecutors be exposed and opposed. Let us pray that peace with justice be firmly established.

Understanding the Threat
During this time of escalating violence against Christians throughout the Middle East, it is absolutely essential that Christians understand the nature of radical Islam. The best books to enable you to understand the threat of Islamic Jihad and how Christians are impacted are: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam - The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat and Faith Under Fire in Sudan. With over 200 pictures, maps and charts, this 300 page book is well-illustrated. The third edition of Faith Under Fire in Sudan is 320 pages, with over 200 pictures.

Films to Combat Radical Islam
Frontline Fellowship took in the Jeremiah Films crew who produced Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust and Terrorism and Persecution - Understanding Islamic Jihad. Both of these landmark films and an additional one produced by a secular war correspondent, who experienced a bombing at a Frontline church service, are available on one DVD boxset.
These three films on Sudan, along with the four part series Islam Rising, are the very best expose on radical Islam. Every congregation should be shown these films. They are ideal for mid-week services. A Church is called to be a House of Prayer for all nations, and to remember the persecuted. These books and films will enable your congregation to do just that, effectively.

Prayer and Action
It is our earnest prayer that the Lord will use these books, DVDs and Audio MP3 Muslim Evangelism Workshop to alert Christians to the real threats, the urgent needs and unprecedented opportunities before us, to reach Muslims with the life-changing Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God be pleased to inspire, energise, and equip us to fulfil the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ in Muslim communities, in our neighbourhoods and throughout the Middle East and the 10/40 Window.

Jihad  in Nigeria
At least 15 people were killed and more than 40 seriously injured on Sunday, 3 June, when a Boko Haram suicide bomber drove his car into a checkpoint outside The Living Faith Church in Bauchi. The explosion, which occurred at 9:20am, sent shrapnel through believers who were fellowshipping outside, after the church's first worship service. The explosion also hit the Harvest Field Church only 25m away across the road, causing part of the church building to collapse on worshipers.

Churches Under Siege
Christians in Northern Nigeria are continuing to attend worship services behind barricades and check points, which have been erected to attempt to protect them from the systematic campaign of bombing Christian churches. Muslim mobs continue to raid Christian communities at night. Boko Haram has quoted Surah 7:4: "Our punishment came to them at night, or while they were sleeping at noon."

Beheaded in Tunisia
Graphic footage of a young convert to Christianity being beheaded was filmed in Tunisia. Islamic militants recited the Quran and chanted Islamic slogans and curses in Arabic, while the "apostate" who had refused to recant his conversion to Christ, calmly prayed before being beheaded. It was not long ago that Tunisia was regarded as the most free and open of all Arab states. The popular support for murdering of Arabs who convert to Christianity bodes ill for the Arab Spring.

Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Fax: 021-685-5884
Email:  mission@frontline.org.za