by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban on August 15, Afghan Christians began fleeing to the mountains to escape the Islamist rulers, who reportedly have a hit-list of believers to kill and who are going door-to-door taking women and children, Fair Mission (FAI) reported.
An official statement released by leaders of the Afghan underground church said that with the US embassy defunct and nowhere else to shelter, the believers are now reliant on God as the “Only One who can and will protect them.”
In their official “First-Ground Report in Afghanistan” published by FAI, the underground church leaders said “The Taliban has a hit list of known Christians they are targeting to pursue and kill. The US Embassy is defunct and there is no longer a safe place for believers to take refuge... The people must mark their house with an “X” if they have a girl over 12 years old, so that the Taliban can take them.” If a girl is found and the house was not marked, the terrorists will kill the whole family, the statement attests.
Some believers have taken to the hills, and FAI is working on preparing a “war chest” of supplies for them. Others are staying in their homes and continuing in ministry, FAI said. The Afghan church is understood to be one of the fastest-growing churches in the world.
FAI has issued a solemn call for prayer for the believers in Afghanistan: “Pray for those fleeing to the hills to be protected (Psalm 73, Psalm 91); Pray for miraculous protection for women and children being forcibly taken and those that have already been taken for their protection, salvation, and deliverance. (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5); Pray that the Afghan Church steps into her identity in Christ and walks in unity with the Holy Spirit. (Ezekiel 37, Romans 15:5-6).”
“Please pray for the Afghan Church to have strength and endurance,” FAI requests. “The Afghan Church and GCM believe that the best days are before us, and we will witness the greatest movement of salvation among Muslims from the ashes of this catastrophe,” FAI reports.