“I have recently arrived back in the UK from Northern
Nigeria, where I, with a team of believers from Muslim backgrounds and others
run a Bible college training Muslim converts and those with a heart to reach
the north. The city where the college is based lies north of the critical fault
line, the middle belt between the Christianised south and the Islamised north.
A few days ago a bomb exploded at the Catholic Church half a mile up the road
killing five or six and was followed by a riot in which twelve or thirteen more
died. This was fourteen days after a bomb exploded at another church in the
same city killing a similar number.
The other day I was talking with one of the correspondence Bible
college students, who was in the college for the day to do an exam. He is a pastor from
the headquarter city of the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram who are determined to
see Nigeria fully under Sharia Law. In his city eight pastors have been
murdered since Christmas, barricaded into their houses at night and the whole
building set on fire, killing wives and little ones too. This month in this one
city alone a dozen schools have been burnt down.
The same is happening in other cities. Men riding pillion on
motorbikes drive past churches or markets, police stations or army checkpoints
shooting people at random. Many churches
have been bombed or attacked during services with machine guns spraying bullets
on men, women and children. The other day a heavily armed military helicopter,
attempting to keep the peace, crashed into three houses near my bible college.
Thousands of Christians have been killed since Christmas. The recent killings
of the British and Italian hostages were just two among the many murders and
atrocities committed daily.
Many have fled south already for safety. Many of those that
remain are the people for whom northern Nigeria is their traditional home;
serving Christ, bringing light in an incredibly dark place. Muslims are turning
to Christ in unprecedented numbers. Many are coming to be trained for ministry,
to plant churches in towns and villages where there are no churches, braving
intense persecution from their own people who have tried to kill them in the
past and now additionally from organised and well financed terrorists.
Fearless love is what these people have. My book, Fearless Love, tells their stories.
Terrorism is not the end of Christianity in these nations but what we are
seeing is an unprecedented turning to God of which we can be a part.
Muslims are not our enemies. They are people like you and
me, but are imprisoned in a harsh religion and many are desperately searching
for the truth. God is meeting them sovereignly and majestically as He alone
can. Many come to me and the team to be equipped to reach their own people.
Often they come illiterate so there is a lot to learn but they are keen to
learn and learn fast.” – James Andrews,
author of Fearless Love
###
Fearless Love is
available now from Authentic Media or your local Christian bookshop – all
royalties from the book go towards the college in Northern Nigeria. All names
have been changed in the book to protect the identity of those involved, and
location names have been withheld. James
Andrews (pseudonym) is willing to speak to your group about what God is doing.
Email fearless.love.africa@gmail.com
to contact James or his wife to share what is happening and find out how you
can be part of helping to serve God in the midst of persecution and revival.
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