Praying For The Persecuted Church: Kenya

Last year in April, Garissa University in Northeastern Kenya was attacked by terrorists - killing a total of 148 individuals, who were mostly made up of Christians. One source says that students at the university were shot and killed if they claimed to be Christian - anyone who said that they were muslims were set free. This has been one of the greatest terrorist activities by the al-Shabaab group. al-Shabaab is a Islamic militant group, mainly from Somalia, that has attacked Kenya on several occasions. This incident traumatized everyone, the university had to close down - and now just over a year later, the people are still recovering from what had happened. People fear returning to Garissa, and it's said that bullet holes and blood marks can still be seen, haunting and reminding those of what happened April 2nd 2015. Many Christians are very scared of the persecution that would continue there if they returned.

But as with the previous nations i've written about, our good and sovereign God is at work. The church flourishes in times of persecution, God sustains us even when we are being attacked and being pursued. One pastor says "Christianity in Garissa town has been strengthened and we are moving forward. We should continue preaching the Gospel to all the people including Muslims and declare that we are created in the image of God. No one should kill the other in the name of religion."

When talking to a pastor about sharing the Gospel with Muslims, one said, "Jesus told us to love our enemies and do good to those who hurt us. He did not give us a spirit of fear but a sound mind and peace. I gave a muslim my phone number today after sharing the gospel with him. I don't know if he took my number so we could be friends or if he wants to kill me. But I gave it nonetheless, hoping that maybe he will come to Christ. We don't win over muslims by ignoring them in response to persecution of Christians, we win them over with love."

How faithful are these servants of God - still strongly and boldly proclaiming Christ regardless of the circumstance they're in because it's all about glorifying God. May we continue to be faithful in our witnessing wherever God has placed us, praying for one another and those in persecuted countries as well.

Kenya is currently ranked as #19 on the Open Doors World Watch List.

Prayer Requests:
1) That growing persecution and violence towards Christians by al-Shabaab will decrease
2) That God would enable Christian leaders to reach out to those in the Muslim community
3) For peace and comfort for the families of Christians who were killed

Resources

• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15336689
• http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-32169080
• http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/12/bethany-blankley-christian-persecution-kenya-what-/?page=all
• http://www.persecution.org/2016/04/04/christians-still-suffering-fear-fighting-for-hope-one-year-after-university-attack-in-kenya/