May 2016 Persecution Magazine (2 of 4)

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“His Joy is My Strength...”

ICC interviews Pastor “Kevin” who narrowly escaped death when his church was attacked by al-Shabaab radicals.

They gunned down his associate pastor and several of his parishoners during a Sunday morning service and yet he still preaches, ministers, and reaches out to Somali Muslims in the same church.

May 2016

Your Dollar$ at Work Sewing Center Providing Income for Widows

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Suffering Wives & Children

ne theme that is seen time and time again throughout the Bible is the command to care for the widows and the orphans. At ICC, we do not take this command lightly and we seek to provide for families who are facing hardship because of their faith. We do this, in part, through our Suffering Wives and Children fund.

Due to the impact of radical Islamic terrorism throughout the Middle East and northern Africa, many families in Egypt have lost their loved ones to violence. Not only does this leave families struck with unimaginable grief, but they are also then left struggling financially, without means to provide for themselves.

The story of some Christians in southern Egypt is unfortunately all too common. Due to social discrimination and limited occupational opportunities in their hometowns, Christian men in Egypt are often left with no other option but to leave the country in search of better job opportunities. Unfortunately, this leads Christians to travel to Libya, which is becoming increasingly dangerous because of kidnappings and murders at the hands of radical groups such as ISIS. In response, ICC has set up a sewing center in southern Egypt to provide for the widows and families who have faced such circumstances, causing them to lose their main breadwinners. By setting up this sewing center, these families have not only been able to receive the vocational training needed to create the products which they will sell, but they have also gained the experience needed to operate a small business. They will be able to create and sell clothing through this business, which will then be used to provide for their families.

Although we cannot bring back their loved ones, we have provided these families with a steady source of income so that financial troubles will no longer be a worry.

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MAY 2016

Providing for Rejected MBBs

1,200 Heaters for Iraqis

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uslims who come to Christ in Niger face some of the most difficult persecution, especially from their own families. MuslimBackground Believers (MBBs) experience rejection from their relatives in a variety of terrifying ways in this 90-plus percent Islamic country in West Africa. ICC has heard stories of radical Muslim in-laws disowning, beating, and even killing sons and daughters-in-law when their relatives convert to Christianity.

The most common persecution happens when families kick Christians out of the house to live on the streets and cut off believers’ streams of financial help.

ICC has stepped in to work with a local church in Niger and our partner World Renew to provide food for three MBBs rejected by their families and a sewing machine for one getting ready to graduate from tailoring school. Please pray for our suffering Nigerian brothers and sisters.

Moto-Taxis for Injured Pakistanis

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SIS has threatened Christians in the region with forced conversion to Islam, a protection tax, or death. Due to the threat of ISIS, particularly in Iraq, hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes. As winter swept across the country, it became clear that assistance would be needed to protect the families that found themselves vulnerable to the elements.

ICC was able to provide blankets, heaters, clothes and mattresses to many refugees who were forcibly displaced in Iraq. Heaters were delivered to over 1,200 people in northern Iraq in partnership with the local church.

With your help, we have been able to directly serve Christians by providing them with warmth for the winter, while also giving them the opportunity to share that warmth with fellow refugees, using this as a form of outreach.

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ast March, two churches in the predominately Christian neighborhood of Youhanabad, Pakistan were attacked by suicide bombers, leaving 21 people killed and another 70 injured. Shortly after the bombings, ICC sent one of our Regional Managers to Pakistan to assess the effect of the attack on Youhanabad’s Christian community.

Among the greatest needs that ICC discovered was that many of the Christians injured in the attack needed assistance transitioning from a primarily labor-driven workforce to jobs that their now handicapped bodies could do to support their families.

One solution that ICC and the Christians in Youhanabad came up with was providing many of these injured Christians with autorickshaws, a type of local taxi in Pakistan.

Thus far, ICC has provided 14 Christian families with auto-rickshaws that they can use as a small business to help support their families.

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Your Dollar$ at Work

75,000 Bibles Distributed in Northern Africa

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Bibles to the Persecuted

common roadblock in working in areas where Christianity is restricted is that Christians often don’t have their own copy of the Bible, much less in their own language.

One of ICC’s goals has been to increase access to the Gospel, one Bible at a time. Through an underground printing press, ICC has worked with local partners to produce and distribute 75,000 Bibles in northern Africa and the Middle East during the year of 2015.

The spread of ISIS and other extremist groups has threatened to choke Christianity out of the region. Churches have been demolished. Bibles and other religious literature have been destroyed. Seminaries have been overrun. However, it is evident that Gospel seeds are being planted throughout the region as more and more people gain copies of the Bible and are coming to know the truth.

Rebuilding a Burned Church

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Hand of Hope

n the middle of the night on October 7, 2014, the Temple of Hope Church in India was burned to ground by unknown assailants.

Many of the 60 Christians that are members of the church continue to worship as a community but, because they all come from poor backgrounds, have not been able to afford the costs of rebuilding the church. When ICC heard about the challenges faced by the church, we sent a representative to assess the needs of the community. During those meetings, ICC and the Temple of Hope Church agreed to work together to rebuild. Using funds from its Hand of Hope South Asia Fund, ICC purchased the necessary building materials.

Temple of Hope Pastor Nehemiah said, “ICC’s involvement has been timely. We were praying about how we were going to rebuild [our] church building. We really appreciate the gesture from ICC and their visit was very meaningful. We, as a church, want to express our thanks to all the brethren for being part of our lives and faith.”

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MAY 2016

Your Dollar$ at Work

Providing for Families After Loss

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Hand of Hope

n September 22, 2013, Zamir, an eightyear-old Christian boy, was attending church when suicide bombers from the Pakistani Taliban attacked All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan. As a result, Zamir received a serious head wound that ultimately claimed his life on November 17, 2015. ICC paid for all of the medical expenses Zamir’s

parents had incurred as well as all of the funeral arrangements Zamir’s family needed.

“I am thankful to ICC for taking care of my son’s medical expenses and now for this love and care at this difficult time,” Zamir’s father said. “I know my son will never come back, however, I recognize the love I have received from ICC. I have never seen any organization help families with such great vision and Christian attitude.”

Underground Pastors

he Christian community of Indonesia faces persecution in different forms, from government restrictions on church property to direct physical violence. In a majority Muslim nation, their very presence places undue hardship upon them. Underground churches are the most affected as they do not have proper building permits, forcing them to meet in homes and other foreign locations. Their main threat comes from radical Muslim groups who wish nothing more than to remove all vestiges of Christianity from Indonesia.

One such underground church experienced the wrath of radical Islam when members of the church were forced to reconvert to Islam.

Even with the threat of further retaliation, the pastor returned to visit and found that they remained faithful to Christ! ICC was able to provide a motorbike to the pastor so that he could minister to his congregation without placing them or himself in harm’s way. He is able to ride into town, visit with fellow believers, and minister to them secretly which would not have been possible without means of transportation.

Rebuilding Homes from Ashes

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Community Rebuild

n July 5, 2014, militant Islamist radicals from al-Shabaab attacked Malamande village in eastern Kenya, killing 15 men, leaving four widows and dozens of children fatherless. ICC stepped in to help these suffering Christians rebuild their houses that gunmen burned down during the attack. Malamande is a rural town pocked with burned-out shells

of mud huts, a constant reminder of the dreadful day of persecution. Today, 15 houses stand completed with doors, windows, roofs, wooden frames and mud plastering to replace the buildings lost. Thanks to your generous donations and with the help of work from our faithful partners in Kenya, Malamande villagers thank God for His grace as they move forward with cautious hope for the future in the face of fear and opposition to Christ.

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Joy in Jesus

By Troy Augustine

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MAY 2016

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Feature Article

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astor Kevin* knows how to be joyful in the midst of suffering. His church in Mombasa, Kenya continues to face the after-effects of devastating persecution, and his testimony aligns fittingly with the truth that sometimes the sweetest part of life comes in fellowship with God as we go through trials.

Pastor Kevin’s story is one where God, in His own timing and providence, saw fit to purify Kevin’s faith so that his hope and the character of his ministry would match the name of the church he shepherds: Joy in Jesus.

A Look at the Anatomy of an al-Shabaab Attack On March 23, 2014, radical Muslim gunmen from al-Shabaab attacked Joy in Jesus Church, which lies in the heart of a predominantly Muslim slum in Mombasa called Likoni.

The attackers came in through the church’s back door during the Sunday School teaching time. Pastor Kevin recounted the grisly details of that fateful day to me, as if it occurred yesterday.

“Before I arrived at the church, they called me to say we were under attack. I heard gunshots, people screaming, crying. It was like a horror movie. It was just like hell,” he told me.

Kevin survives today because he was en route to church that morning, having delegated the Sunday School teaching to his associate pastor.

The gunmen sprayed bullets indiscriminately into the congregation from behind as church members sat in the wooden pews, they murdered six people, including the teaching pastor. They also left twice as many people wounded in the flesh but almost all who were present remain traumatized.

“Even today, my wife cannot come alone,” Pastor Kevin lamented. His wife survived the

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“When I came, everybody was running. You couldn’t know who was who. The blood was everywhere - some people lying down, some dead ... it was great, total confusion.” attack, but remembers the day with horror.

This is just one attack that did not receive the media attention it warranted. These brutal attacks, though ignored by the media, live on in the hearts and minds of the victims that survived. Even after victims and participants recover from their physical wounds, they often live with PTSD, carrying the indelible stain of trauma, often for the rest of their lives.

When Pastor Kevin finally arrived on the

scene, he beheld horror that he will never forget. “When I came, everybody was running. You couldn’t know who was who,” he said. “The blood [was] everywhere… Some people lying down, some dead, and then the police came. It was a great, total confusion.

Some people were coming, collapsing again,” he added.

Two years after the attack, the congregation has dwindled from 120 in 2014 to 19 at MAY 2016

Photos Top Left Many

of the members who survived the attack still struggle with PTSD and general anxiety, but others have found that the attack has taught them to find “Joy in Jesus” despite their trials.

Bottom Left The permanent stain of spilled blood on the concrete floor of the church remains an inescapable reminder of the horrific attack.

Right Despite the many bullet holes that riddled the back wall, the glass podium with the words “Joy in Jesus” boldly displayed, remained unscathed.

preaching the Word of God while the threat of another al-Shabaab attack remains potent. “[After the attack] God inserted into me a spirit of courage,” he told ICC. “After your church gets shot up, you don’t fear anymore and you stop caring [about the danger],” he said.

Pastor Kevin told ICC that these days, he feels more persecuted by the false Gospel teachers that seek financial gain rather than souls.

He feels they do more to cripple his ministry than al-Shabaab.

“There are even some of us who are persecuted by members of the church because of the faithfulness to the Word of God,” he said.

The New Testament teaches us that, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” Ephesians 6:12 (ESV).

Pastor Kevin continues to fight for joy in Jesus while he has faced physical devastation towards his church, as well as the more dangerous spiritual attacks. Living under persecution almost always includes attacks on both fronts.

Finding Joy in Jesus through Suffering the time of our meeting. Most of the original church members are responding in the expectation of their attackers and are too afraid to go to the church. Many others have simply moved away from Mombasa, seeking safer pastures.

Challenging, Soul-Winning Ministry Pastor Kevin also told me that the church has also lost members to Islam and to false teachers that promise them only healing, blessing, and wealth if they attend their church services.

Local pastors in Mombasa told ICC that the Likoni section of Mombasa offers an exciting

opportunity for Muslim-outreach evangelism, but that in ministering, you walk a tightrope between the two diversions of Islamic radicalism and the prosperity gospel.

The extreme poverty creates an environment where these false belief systems offer financial and social stability as a reward for faith. They promise the fulfillment of practical needs for people who are disenfranchised and struggling to make ends meet. These factors create a fertile breeding ground for al-Shabaab as they recruit among the Somali ex-pats.

Faithfulness & Hardships

Despite the murder of his coworkers and congregants, Pastor Kevin remains faithful,

Each Sunday as he walks into church, Pastor Kevin faces the inescapable reminder of the horror of March 23, 2014. The spilled blood of his sheep has permanently stained the concrete floor.

“That’s refused to go away. We’ve washed it… stain removers, everything. This has refused to go away until this day,” Pastor Kevin said.

Undoubtedly, God has called Kevin to a difficult and persevering faith, serving the Lord under persecution in Mombasa. But despite the psychological strain of the trauma, he leans on God’s grace for strength and finds joy in the midst of suffering, come what may.

“We have been through a lot. We don’t fear anymore… There is nothing human beings can do to you,” he said.

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