by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - The Gospel of Jesus Christ is advancing in some of the most hostile, devastated countries in the world, with recent reports of Muslims coming to faith in Christ in Eritrea, Nigeria, and Sudan in Africa’s Sahel region, Christian Daily reports.
Eritrea, Nigeria, and Sudan rank 4, 6, and 8, respectively, on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted. Plagued by wars and Islamic jihadism, these Muslim-led countries are among the most deadly and dangerous for Christians.
“Violent insurgent groups such as the Islamic State Sahel Province (IS Sahel) and Katiba Macina perpetrate serious violations against religious minorities, often in the context of weak state security,” Michael Ardovino, a Policy Analyst for the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, noted in a statement about the situation in Africa’s Sahel region.
Nevertheless, in Sudan, where the current civil war has claimed more than 10,000 lives and displaced some 7.6 million people, the Gospel is bringing hope to the desperate and needy. “Amidst deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions in Sudan, evangelism and conversions are being witnessed in some of the refugee camps such as the Wedwiel Refugee Camp that borders Sudan and South Sudan,” Christian Daily said in its report. “According to reports, about 2,000 internally displaced people have converted from Islam to Christianity due to the outreach initiatives in some of the camps,” Christian Daily said.
In Eritrea, meanwhile, more than 1,000 Christians have been imprisoned without charge for their faith in a country where minorities are violently suppressed. Even so, Christian Daily reports, “this has not dampened the resolve of evangelical and Pentecostal communities who meet in home churches.” In a statement to Christian Daily, an Eritrean pastor said: “Nothing comes to us without the will of God. Through persecution – I don’t know why, but the church grows.”
Nigeria has lost around 60,000 Christians to an Islamic jihadist genocidal campaign that has been ongoing since 2009. Nevertheless, Christian Daily reports, “there have been embers of hope and resilience of persecuted Christians and the resolve of pastors to continue preaching the gospel and of new converts confessing Jesus as Lord in extremely hostile conditions.”