The Palestinian Christian presence in the West Bank continues to be threatened by Israeli settlers. Once a flourishing population in the region, Palestinian Christians now make up only 1 to 2 percent of the population, numbers that have dwindled significantly since the 1900s. 

In 1948, Christians in Gaza and the West Bank accounted for 10 percent of the population, with over half the Christian population in Gaza leaving within the past 10 years due to ongoing conflict and restrictions.

Palestinian Christians under Israeli occupation—which enforces restrictions on travel to holy sites, checkpoints, confiscation of land, destruction of homes, and more—are also subject to restrictions posed by the separation barrier, a long wall constructed by Israel in June 2002. 

The barrier runs through occupied territory in the West Bank, breaking up contiguous Palestinian rural blocs and laying the groundwork for de-facto annexation of settlements along the barrier’s route.

Growing settler movement 

Israeli occupied territory has increased in recent times due to Israel’s growing settler movement, the establishment of Israeli communities in Palestine with the objective of establishing a Jewish homeland. 

These settlements are deemed illegal under international law, as Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states an occupying power [Israel] cannot transfer its civilian population into occupied territories. 

The settlements not only pose issues of legality. Palestinian Christians face assaults and violence connected to West Bank occupation, resulting in higher rates of forced displacement. 

On Feb. 1, the Palestinian Presidential Higher Committee for Church Affairs sent a letter to churches worldwide, urging an appeal against escalating illegal Israeli settler violence. 

Biggest challenges facing the community 

In an interview with Baptist Standard, Khalil Jeries, executive director of the Agora Initiative nonprofit in Washington, D.C., an organization seeking to educate the public on Israeli occupation in Palestine, commented on what is happening to Palestinian Christians in the West Bank. 

“It has always been bad and difficult because of the occupation there, the system of checkpoints, segregation, and permit regimes that the Israelis have imposed. That restricts freedom,” Jeries said. 

As of 2023, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs identified 565 movement obstacles in the West Bank, including 49 checkpoints staffed by Israeli forces or private security companies, 139 occasionally staffed checkpoints, and over 300 roadblocks, earth mounds, gates, and other barriers. 

Palestinians with West Bank IDs are required to have permits from Israeli authorities to enter East Jerusalem through three checkpoints, with exceptions for men over age 55 and women over age 50. 

The permits exist as part of the Israeli military’s permit regime put in place in 2003 requiring Palestinians to obtain permits in order to enter the “seam zone,” or areas within occupied Palestinian territories. 

Despite the existence of the permit regime, Jeries links the biggest challenges facing the Christian community in the West Bank to settler terrorism. 

“These settlers are backed by the Israeli government. [They have] committed and are still committing acts of violence and terrorism against the Christians,” he said. 

“They come, they burn houses, cars, properties that belong to Christians. The military comes and protects them [the settlers],” Jeries added. 

Jeries cited a recent example of settler terrorism that occurred on Jan. 24, where an elderly woman was attacked and critically injured in her home by Israeli settlers. The attack took place in Birzeit, a predominantly Palestinian town north of Ramallah. 

“When the Israeli military came, they arrested the Christians trying to defend their home,” Jeries said. He claims the settler movement is a driving force behind Palestinian emigration. 

“The settlement[s] will be a driving force to ethnic[ally] cleanse more Christians from Bethlehem. Already, the numbers of Christians in the Holy Land generally are decreasing, especially in Bethlehem,” he said. 

Impact on churches in West Bank

Fares Abraham, founder and CEO of Levant Ministries, a gospel ministry operating in the West Bank, described the situation for churches operating in the West Bank. 

“[Church] numbers are shrinking rapidly, driven by lived realities. Movement restrictions, checkpoints, the separation barrier, land confiscation, and settlement expansion severely limit freedom of movement, economic opportunity, and access to family land, jobs, and education,” Abraham said.

“Young Christians struggle to find meaningful work, obtain permits … or envision a viable future. … This fuels emigration, which further weakens the community and threatens the continuity of Christian presence,” Abraham added. 

Christian churches in the West Bank have been further subjected to vandalism and attacks as a result of “price tag attacks,” a violent strategy conducted by Israeli settlers in which they exact a “price” against Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli authorities dismantling settlement outposts. 

The number of violent attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians, including Christians, and their property, has risen by about 150 percent each year since 2008. 

These attacks hinder Christian ministries in the West Bank, contributing to shrinking congregations out of fear and lack of resources.

“The pressure is overwhelming and relentless,” Abraham said. “Growing insecurity turns daily life into a calculation of risk. 

“Churches are not being shut down overnight, but they are being steadily and, I would argue, systematically weakened, forced to shift from vision and growth to survival and crisis care. Over time, this brings hopelessness,” he said. 

Abraham stated pastors act as shepherds within their communities, increasingly offering support to those feeling trapped, unseen, and uncertain whether they and their families have a future in the land. 

A worsening situation 

When asked if the situation in the West Bank has worsened since Nov. 2025, Abraham emphasized conditions are worse than they were in the past. 

“Overall, the situation for Christians in the West Bank is worse than it was in Nov. 2025. While many of the structural pressures remain the same [movement restrictions, economic hardship, emigration], the level of insecurity has increased,” he said.

Abraham highlighted the rise in recent settler violence and harassment affecting Christian families. “There is little sense of accountability, as seen in recent attacks where victims were detained rather than protected. This has deepened fear.” 

Saleem Anfous, justice advocate and partner with Musalaha, a faith-based organization that teaches and facilitates reconciliation between diverse ethnic groups, linked some of the worsening conditions to U.S. lawmakers. 

“The support from some U.S. lawmakers often uses Christian language to justify these policies. This can be deeply challenging for Palestinian Christians, as it feels like their faith is being co-opted to support injustice,” Anfous said. 

Anfous stated such language causes confusion and distress for Palestinian Christians, putting them in a defensive position. “They feel the need to constantly clarify their Christian faith does not support oppression or colonialism, which adds an emotional and social burden.” 

Anfous expressed the negative impact of U.S. pastors and religious leaders meeting exclusively with Israeli politicians. On Jan. 29, the U.S. Congress hosted another meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who thanked them for their support of Israel. 

“This one-sided approach can be frightening and feel like a denial of [Palestinian Christian] existence and experiences,” Anfous said. 

“In essence,” he said, “these factors combine to create a challenging environment for Palestinian Christians, both in terms of physical security and the integrity of their faith and identity.” 

Christians in Burma/Myanmar continue to suffer systematic violations of religious freedom carried out by the military junta known as the Tatmadaw, according to a Jan. 29 briefing hosted by the Burma Research Institute.

Christians affected are in Chin, Kachin, Karenni, Karen states (those inhabited by the Karen ethnic group), and the Sagaing region. Systematic violations include church bombings, imprisonment of pastors, and killings of Christian leaders.

Robin Stoops, Burma Research Institute board chair and former associate general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, and Zo Tum Hmung, Burma Research Institute president and CEO conducted the briefing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

The immense violence in the region has resulted in the U.S. State Department designating Burma/Myanmar a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for discrimination against Christian and Muslim minorities every year since 1999. 

Examples of attacks on religion

Attacks by the Tatmadaw on houses of worship and religious communities continued to increase throughout 2025, Vicky Hartzler, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom chair, noted.

Tatmadaw refers widely to the Burma/Myanmar military and is used commonly to refer to specific forces that inflict harm on Christians and civilians.

Hartzler shared the story of an ethnic Chin pastor fleeing from religious persecution at the hands of the Tatmadaw. 

“The military council told him to cease any religious activities, including preaching and worshiping. He had no choice but to flee Burma with his wife and children,” she said.  

Hartzler described the junta’s plan to host a sham election on Dec. 28, claiming the junta reportedly encouraged Christian churches in Kachin state townships to conduct Christmas celebrations prior to Dec. 20 to prevent election interference. Airstrikes were carried out by the junta on Christmas day. 

According to Hartzler, the Tatmadaw is using deliberate tactics to demoralize the Christian communities in the country, noting the examples she shared “are just a few of the many atrocities committed against religious communities throughout Burma.” 

USCIRF’s “mandate is to monitor religious freedom worldwide using international standards and to make policy recommendations to the U.S. president, the secretary of state, and Congress,” Hartzler explained.

USCIRF has urged the administration to designate Burma/Myanmar Temporary Protected Status, she said. 

“Furthermore, we have recommended that Congress reintroduce past legislative efforts, such as the BRAVE Burma Act, to bring targeted sanctions against members of the junta and limit its ability to use military aircrafts,” Hartzler added. 

Report on religious persecution 

Roughly 6.2 percent to 8 percent of the population in Burma/Myanmar is Christian, with this religious concentration primarily in Chin, Kachin, Karen, and Karenni states, according to a report on severe violations of religious freedom in Burma/Myanmar presented by Zo Tum Hmung, president and CEO of Burma Research Institute. 

Chin state has the largest proportion of Christians, with roughly 85 percent of the population identifying as Christian. Many humanitarian concerns exist in these areas due to high levels of displacement, Hmung emphasized.

“As of the end of Dec. 2025, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 3.63 million people were [internally] displaced and 1.1 million [people] slept outside Burma as refugees,” Hmung stated.

According to figures on the UNHCR website, as of Dec. 31, 2025, Burmese refugees and asylum seekers number nearly 1.6 million. 

Christian churches destroyed 

Between 2021 and 2025, Burmese Research Institute estimates 343 Christian churches and buildings were damaged or destroyed by the Tatmadaw, Robin Stoops, BRI board chair, emphasized. 

Data pulled from Open Doors International stated 149 Christians had been killed and 218 imprisoned for faith-related reasons. Among these are 11 Christian pastors who have been killed and 21 arrested, with 13 still actively detained. 

Stoops explained how, despite Burma/Myanmar’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern, little action has been implemented to make a difference.

“BRI concludes the attacks on churches, clergy, and Christian communities constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Stoops said. 

“International humanitarian law prohibits intentionally harming civilians and religious buildings that are not military objectives,” she continued.

BRI urges three actions

Burma Research Institute recommends three actions, Hmung explained.

The Trump administration needs to make a formal determination that crimes against humanity have been committed against Christians by the Tatmadaw, Hmung said. 

Also, “press for the release of Christian pastors and other clergy and for political prisoners,” he continued.

As recently as Jan. 4, 2026, Myanmar’s military granted amnesty to over 6,000 prisoners nationwide. Since the 2021 coup, the military has detained over 30,000 political prisoners. 

Hmung called for the redesignation of Burma/Myanmar’s Country of Particular Concern status and the enforcement of accountability by imposing sanctions against the regime and others responsible for atrocities. 

“The U.S. Congress needs [to use] funds to support the pro-democracy movement and resistance organizations in Burma,” Hmung said.

He also called for the Trump administration to “unfreeze” 1 billion dollars of Myanmar central bank reserves being held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“Make [this money] available … for nonlethal assistance to pro-democracy groups and resistance organizations,” Hmung said.

He called on the administration to condemn and reject the sham elections and their results and to appoint a special policy coordinator for Burma/Myanmar.

Burma and Texas Baptists

“The war in Burma does matter to Texas Baptists,” Mark Heavener, director of Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries and advocate for Burmese communities within the U.S. and abroad, stated in an email to Baptist Standard.

“That conflict impacts the members from 36 [Texas Baptist] congregations. Please engage in praying for peace, justice, and the love of Jesus to change Burma,” Heavener added.

Today, there are over 150 Burmese Baptist congregations in the U.S. 

A Protestant pastor, wife, and 3-month-old baby are temporarily staying with relatives in Oaxaca after being forcibly displaced after the pastor was told to kneel and pray to a Roman Catholic saint.

In November 2025, Mariano Velásquez Martínez, pastor, who led Iglesia Camino Nuevo y Vivo in the community of Santiago Malacatepec, San Juan Mazatlán Municipality, in Mexico’s Oaxaca State, was assigned the role of mayordomo, a stewardship role in which individuals are required to lead a traditional Roman Catholic festival and manage expenses.

On Jan. 15, according to a Christian Solidarity Worldwide report, a fellow mayordomo ordered Velásquez Martínez to light the candles, kneel, and pray to Saint James the Apostle. Velásquez Martínez told his fellow mayordomo such a request was not part of the agreement due to his religious beliefs.

The mayordomo complained to village authorities, who detained Velásquez Martínez for five days.

Velásquez Martínez was also bound with a rope and taken to an assembly of 180 men where an announcement was made that he was to be expelled from the village.

Velásquez Martínez was forced to sign a document, forcibly displacing him from the community.

Velásquez Martínez said he “fears it will be used to fabricate the story that he left the community voluntarily,” CSW reported.

Anna Lee Stangl, CSW director of advocacy, is calling on the government of Oaxaca to take swift action on the matter.

“The arbitrary detention of Pastor Mariano Velásquez Martínez and the subsequent forced displacement of him and his family is unconscionable,” Stangl said.

“This case is unfortunately not unique, and it is past time that the Mexican government, at every level, implements policies to uphold freedom of religion or belief for all, including in communities governed under Uses and Customs,” Stangl continued.

“We call on the government of Oaxaca to take swift action to hold those responsible for the forced displacement of this family to account under the law, and to take steps to make it clear that freedom of religion or belief must be upheld for all,” Stangl stated.

The case comes as sanctions have tightened in response to forced displacement in the state of Oaxaca. A prison sentence can last up to 18 years for perpetrators.

MIDAPALLI, India—Villagers in Midapalli, located in the Gadchiroli District of India’s Maharashtra State, demolished the homes of four Christian families Jan. 12, amid an ongoing campaign of threats and violence against the village’s Christian community.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide reported tensions rose on Jan. 11, when 25 villagers confronted four families and two others to force them to renounce their faith.

Reports go on to say a mob of at least 20 villagers attacked the families, demanding the victims renounce their faith as they demolished the houses of those families.

On Jan. 13, victims tried to file a complaint at the Kawande Police Station, but police took the side of the mob, according to the report. The officer in charge threatened Christian families, “questioned their decision to embrace Christianity as members of a tribal community,” and warned “their unique identity cards and ration supplies would be cancelled.”

Mervyn Thomas, founder and president of CSW, called for intervention over the incident.

“It is deeply concerning to witness the grave and unacceptable assault and humiliation these families have been subjected to on account of their religion,” Thomas said. “Even more alarming is the failure of the police to protect these vulnerable citizens, which has emboldened the perpetrators.”

“We call upon the district administration and state authorities to intervene as a matter of urgency, ensuring the safety of the affected families, restoring their rights, compensating them for the loss of their homes, and holding those responsible to account under the law,” Thomas added.

Call to come alongside

Wissam al-Saliby, president of 21Wilberforce, called on churches around the world to come alongside their Christian brothers and sisters in India

“Anti-conversion laws have been on the books for decades in several Indian states. However, communal relations have worsened since 2014, even in states where Christians enjoyed greater freedom and good relations with their neighbors,” al-Saliby said.

“We call on churches that enjoy freedom in the United States, the Western Hemisphere, Latin America, and elsewhere to come alongside brothers and sisters in India. Listen to them and support their efforts toward greater freedom and peacemaking among communities,” al-Saliby continued.

The support from the officers emboldened the villagers who continued to launch threats toward the families.

Police working the case requested to speak to the local pastor, but during questioning, officers declared the pastor’s ministry “‘andhashradha’ (superstition)” and “prohibited the pastor from visiting families in the village.”

Nearly 175 worshippers were abducted Jan. 18 from three churches in Kaduna State in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, Christian advocacy groups reported, after at least 35 were killed in separate attacks on villages in the Middle Belt and eastern Nigeria.

Approximately 167 Christians remained captive today, Jan. 20, according to reports from Christian Solidarity Worldwide and International Christian Concern, with witnesses and others attributing the abductions to bandits and Fulani militants, although no group has claimed responsibility.

Fulani herdsmen are blamed for killing at least 12 Christians in various attacks in several Plateau State villages Jan. 1–9, killing 13 Christians in several attacks in Benue State Jan. 5–12, and 10 Christians in four villages in Taraba State in eastern Nigeria Jan. 10, Christian Daily International-Morning Star News said in three separate reports.

“Two Christians who are members of our community were attacked by a group of armed Fulani herdsmen in broad daylight,” Christian Daily International-Morning Star quoted Yohana Thomas, head of the Plateau Youth Council of the Gyel District in Jos South County in Plateau. “One of the victims was stabbed to death, while the second victim suffered life-threatening injuries.”

The killings and kidnappings are separate from the murder of 58 individuals in Christian villages in Niger State, Nigeria, Dec. 29–Jan. 3.

Jan. 18 attack

In the Jan. 18 abductions, attackers divided themselves into three groups and captured worshipers from three churches in the Kurmin Wali community of the Kajuru Local Government Area, including the Evangelical Church Winning All, Albarka Cherubim and Seraphim 1, and Haske Cherubim and Seraphim 2.

Yunusa Sabo Nmadu, chief executive officer of CSW Nigeria, lamented the attacks while applauding military successes he said occurred in the past few months to counter the violence.

“CSW condemns the repeated attacks on the vulnerable people in Kurmin Wali and surrounding communities,” Nmadu said in a CSW press release. “We urge the security agencies to ensure the prompt release of those abducted and to enhance security for all other vulnerable areas.

“We also call on the government to strengthen the local capacity of these villagers to serve as the first line of defense against terrorists who are increasingly emboldened by each unchallenged abduction.”

While some Nigerian federal authorities denied the kidnappings, several elected officials confirmed it, Christian Daily International-Morning Star reported.

Access denied

A ministry team of CSW Nigeria tried to visit the Kurmin Wali community to verify the kidnappings, but Nigerian military officials told them of a standing order not to let them enter the area, the group reported.

“However, several local sources who later spoke to CSW [Nigeria] on the basis of anonymity said a large number of Fulani militia men had stormed the area on foot and on motorcycles at around 9 a.m. (Jan. 18) as members of the community were attending their respective church services,” CSW said in a press release.

Sources told CSW Nigeria they were compiling a list of the names of those still held, believed to be 167 individuals.

Among the captives are Baptist church leader Daniel Bagama, CSW said, who was abducted from Tudun/Bussah village in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna, Jan. 18, with his three daughters.

Call for accountability

CSW Founder and President Mervyn Thomas expressed high concern for attempts to obscure the abductions, calling on the government to do all it can to secure the captives’ release.

“The government of Nigeria at both state and federal levels must be transparent about the scale and severity of the security crisis the country is experiencing,” Thomas said, “and specifically about the asymmetry with which Christian communities are being targeted, in order to ensure an effective response to the terrorism that has blighted the lives of vulnerable citizens across central Nigeria for far too long.”

A group of 24 to 30 worshippers abducted in Kogi State in December were freed in poor condition in three separate incidents Jan. 1–13, CSW said.

The Nigerian government classified bandits and Fulani militants as terrorist groups for the first time in December 2025.

Nigeria is among the U.S. State Department’s countries of particular concern for committing and/or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

In its 2026 World Watch List, Open Doors ranks Nigeria as 7th among the 50 most dangerous countries for Christians, and the deadliest, accounting for 3,490 of the 4,849 Christians killed for their faith in the 2026 reporting year spanning 2025.

International Christian nonprofit and ministry Open Doors released its World Watch List for 2026 confirming Christian persecution is at an all-time high in 15 nations, including Nigeria and Syria.

The data released needs to be understood within a broader context, Wissam al-Saliby, president of 21Wilberforce, said.

“Around the world, violent conflict, domestic unrest, and human rights violations are increasing,” al-Saliby said. “When peace and security are threatened, when freedoms of expression and assembly are curtailed, freedom of religion is inevitably violated, and faith communities face greater pressure, discrimination, and threats of violence.”

“This dynamic is especially pronounced in countries where churches and Christian communities are growing,” al-Saliby said. “For Christians, it is essential to understand this bigger picture of where the world is heading in order to respond wisely and effectively.”

Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List

Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors, told Baptist Press the increase in attacks on the church throughout the world is the result of the church advancing and the enemy’s work toward fighting the church.

The World Watch List ranks countries by their persecution scores. The score is a point system measuring from 0 to 100 with higher scores indicating severe persecution and danger for Christians residing in a specific country.

To compile the score, the World Watch Research Unit works with researchers to measure freedom of worship across six areas: private life, family life, community life, national life, church life, and violence. A score of 81-100 is considered “extreme persecution,” 41-60 “high,” and 61-80 is “very high.”

The World Watch List, according to Baptist Press, ranked North Korea first for the 24th year, with Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, and Iran ranked second through 10th.

Baptist Press also reported the following from Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List:

• 224,129 Christians were forced to leave their homes and go into hiding or leave their respective country.
• 67,843 Christians were beaten, threatened, or physically or psychologically abused, 163 of whom were in Mexico.
• 5,202 Christians were sexually assaulted, harassed, or forced to marry non-Christians, with an estimated 1,000 of those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• 25,794 attacks were made on Christian homes, shops, and businesses.
• 4,849 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons, 3,490 of them in Nigeria.
• 4,712 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, or imprisoned, with more than 1,600 of these incidents occurring in India.
• 3,302 Christians were abducted.
• 3,632 churches or public Christian properties were attacked or closed, with about 1,000 of those in China.

Open Doors’ World Watch List is “an important tool for awareness,” al-Saliby said. Advocating for religious freedom, peace, and security can be built on that awareness, he explained.

“At 21Wilberforce, our advocacy for religious freedom and for peace and security is always shaped by country-specific contexts and developed in close dialogue with local Christian leaders,” al-Saliby explained.

“We listen carefully to understand their capacity, their margin of maneuver, and their sense of calling—where they believe God is leading them to advocate.”

A Protestant pastor and five friends and family members were released from prison Jan. 10 after nearly six months of incommunicado detention in Nicaragua’s Granada Department, as reported by Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

Evangelical pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas, with the La Roca de Nicaragua Church Association, was arrested in July 2025, as reported by Baptist Press in November.

Vargas was released along with his sister, two brothers-in-law, a church worship team member, and a family friend, according to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua.

The group was among 20 political prisoners whose release was confirmed in a statement posted on X.

CSW sources reported Vargas is under house arrest and surveillance, and movements are restricted.

“While we are grateful that these individuals will be reunited with some of their loved ones after nearly six months in incommunicado detention, neither Pastor Rudy Palacios Vargas nor his friends and family members should be under house arrest or precautionary measures. Their release does not undo the injustice committed against them,” CSW’s director of advocacy and Americas team leader Anna Lee Stangl said.

CSW is calling on the Nicaraguan government to grant Vargas and others arrested “full freedom without condition, and to immediately release all remaining political prisoners.”

“We call on the international community to maintain pressure on the Ortega-Murillo regime to ensure human rights are upheld and that their crimes do not go unpunished,” Stangl said.

Baptist Press also reported the U.S. State Department in 2022 designated Cuba and Nicaragua Countries of Particular Concern for “engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

TEHRAN, Iran—Christians have been shot as police respond to protests across Iran, a U.S.-based evangelist told Baptist Press, with Southern Baptists requesting prayer for persecuted Christians and others across the nation.

Communicating through Starlink satellite and bypassing the government enforced internet blackout in Iran, Iran Alive Ministries founder Hormoz Shariat told Baptist Press he learned Jan. 11 a Christian man had been shot in Iran, Christians are in harm’s way because they are ministering amid protesters, and at least one wounded man accepted Christ through a Christian’s intervention.

“Yesterday as I was doing a live broadcast, and then news came, and a person outside Iran called and said: ‘My nephew has been shot in Iran. He’s a Christian and he’s hiding in a home. Please pray for him,” Shariat told Baptist Press. “Christians are on the streets and some of them in the past (protests) have been killed.”

Christian death tolls rising

As the names have not been released of an estimated 500-1,000 or more killed in protests the past two weeks, Shariat said he cannot verify how many Christians might be among the dead in the latest round of demonstrations.

“But it’s very likely there are Christians among them,” he said, “because Christians are out there.”

At least one wounded person accepted Christ after a Christian nurse took him into their home, treated his wounds, and shared the gospel, Shariat said he learned Jan. 11.

“This person called and he said: ‘I was wounded on the streets. And then somebody took me home as I was fleeing and bleeding. The person was a nurse, and they dressed my wound. And then I realized they are Christians, and they shared the gospel with me, and I just came to Christ,’” the newfound believer said.

As deaths mount but details remain elusive, Nathan Rostampour of The Summit Church in Raleigh, N.C., is urgently asking believers to pray for Iranians risking their lives for freedom amid a growing humanitarian crisis.

Urgent prayers requested

“This is a moment for the church to rise,” Rostampour, The Summit’s Persian Ministry director and an International Mission Board trustee, told Baptist Press Jan. 9. “Men and women are being beaten, imprisoned and killed in the streets simply for demanding freedom, dignity, and the right to live. When the world cannot see, injustice multiplies. When voices are silenced, lives are lost.”

Please pray for Iran, Rostampour pleaded.

“We urgently ask the international church to stand in the gap and become the voice for those who have been forced into silence. Please help bring awareness by speaking out,” Rostampour urged. 

“Post on social media, talk about this in your churches and call on news agencies, leaders, and institutions to report the truth of what is happening. The people of Iran are crying out, and they need the world to hear them. Silence is not neutrality—it is abandonment.”

Christians are bringing light amid the evil, with many treating the wounded at homes to avoid certain arrest at hospitals, Shariat said. Christians are also taking food and water into crowds of protesters amid Iran’s humanitarian crisis.

One Christian couple prepared 50 sandwiches, put them in their backpacks along with bottles of water, and distributed the food to protesters, Shariat learned through Starlink.

“They (Christians) go among the protesters and they feed them, they give them water, and they share the gospel,” Shariat said. “Christians, we are called to be salt and light in every area.”

Concerns about Iranian retaliation

As U.S. President Donald Trump threatens military intervention in Iran on behalf of protesters, Shariat voiced concern about Iran’s promised retaliation.

“Pray for Trump and Israel because they’re saying they are considering intervening. May God use (Trump and Israel) and not the enemy, that they will be a positive influence in Iran,” Shariat said.

“And another prayer is that the Iranian government has enriched uranium. They can build four to five atomic bombs, and we need to bind that spirit of death. In Islam, as you know, killing and dying for the cause of Islam is honorable. So, once they have the atomic bomb, nothing stops them.”

During his daily satellite broadcasts in Iran from his homebase in Dallas, Shariat said, he reminds Iranian Christians of their purpose and encourages them to persevere as others commit suicide.

Shariat described a Starlink video of a young Iranian man telling police to kill him because he had no life anyway.

“A young person was telling the police or those anti-protest forces: ‘Kill me. I’m young, but I never had a life. I never lived. Kill me,’” Shariat said. And another Iranian who was contemplating suicide decided it would be more effective to die publicly.

“And he said: ‘I’m not going to die in the privacy of my home if I want to (commit) suicide. Why don’t I go out?’” the young man pondered. “And if they kill me, at least my life counts for something.”

Specific prayer requests lifted up

Both Shariat and Rostampour shared specific prayer requests.

Rostampour, in touch with a broad-based but scattered Christian community in Iran through his work at The Summit, requests:

• Pray that brothers and sisters in the church of Iran will be protected, strengthened, and encouraged. “In the midst of extreme persecution, they continue to pray, serve, and faithfully follow Jesus from inside the country. Many gather in secret. Many risk imprisonment, torture, or death simply for worshiping Christ. Yet they remain steadfast, interceding not only for their own survival, but for the salvation and freedom of their nation.”
• Pray for the church in Iran to be strengthened, unified, fearless, and filled with hope.
• Pray for an immediate end to the violence and the killing of innocent people.
• Pray for truth to be exposed and for justice and accountability to prevail.
• Pray for comfort for grieving families and healing for the wounded and traumatized.
• Pray for restored communication and the breaking of information blackouts.

Shariat, among his previously stated requests, also requests prayer for Iran Alive Ministries, which has plans to plant dozens or hundreds of churches in Iran when the country becomes open to the gospel.

An influential Protestant church in central China has reported its prominent leaders have been arrested in what is being considered a crackdown on underground churches in China.

Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu said, as reported by BBC News, “nine people were detained on Tuesday after police raided their homes and the church office in Chengdu in central China.”

The detentions came as authorities more than 1,000 miles away began demolishing the Yayang Church in Wenzhou, a coastal city known for its large Christian population.

Video obtained by the advocacy group ChinaAid showed bulldozers and cranes tearing down parts of the building, while hundreds of armed and special police officers were deployed to guard the site, the group said.

Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, told reporters at BBC News, “The massive mobilisation against the two major independent church networks shows the central government is determined to stamp out Christian churches entirely, unless the church is totally indoctrinated into the party’s ideology.”

Arrests like these have been the result of the Chinese Communist Party’s desire to keep churches not aligned with government policies and Chinese culture from gaining influence within China.

BBC News also reported Xi Jinping’s attempt to control religious freedom has strengthened with his call for “Sinicization of religions,” requiring religious doctrines and practices to conform with Chinese culture and values.

China’s Communist Party promotes atheism and tightly regulates religion, pressuring believers to worship only in state-sanctioned churches led by government-approved clergy. While the government said in 2018 that China had about 44 million Christians, the figure is believed to exclude many who attend underground churches.

Since the U.S. government’s Jan. 3 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, many Latino evangelical Christian communities in the United States have been celebrating what they call a spiritual victory as well as a political one.

“God is using Donald Trump to liberate Venezuela from the 27-year-old chains of oppression,” said the Rev. José Durán, a Venezuelan immigrant in Michigan, voicing a view held by some, though not all, Latino evangelicals and referring to the time that Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, have led the country.

Durán, who was interviewed in Spanish, serves as pastor of a senior team of advisers of María Corina Machado, the Venezuela opposition leader who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

He’s also the executive director of Movimiento de Ciudad, an organization that supports urban ministry throughout Latin America.

Though Machado is a Catholic, her inner circle in the Vente Venezuela Party includes several evangelicals, who have taken up her charge that opposing Maduro is a “battle between good and evil.”

“We’re in agreement that we want the liberty of Venezuela from satanic communism, socialism,” Durán said.

But with Maduro’s successors increasing repression in the country and President Donald Trump insisting the U.S. will “run” Venezuela without calling immediate elections, the future of the country is uncertain.

Latino support a key role

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, an evangelical adviser to President Trump and the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, told RNS that U.S. Latinos’ support in the 2024 elections played a key role in the administration’s decision to remove Maduro from office and that Latino evangelicals will have a voice in the country’s future.

“ You combine the evangelical vote plus the Latino vote, and you get Nicólas Maduro in New York City in prison,” Rodriguez said. “That’s the result because we demanded that.”

Rodriguez said the NHCLC would be sending the Rev. Iván Delgado Glenn, the Colombian leader of the NHCLC’s new Latin America expansion, to Venezuela along with four other faith leaders to observe the leadership transition after Maduro’s arrest and how it “will impact the church.”

Rodriguez added that “appropriate governmental authorities stateside on our side” will ensure their safety.

He applauded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that the U.S. does not want to govern Venezuela and said the secretary wants to help the country transition to a “legitimate form” of democracy.

“The White House and the Trump administration have given the evangelical community more than an ear,” Rodriguez said, adding he’d met with Trump just before Christmas.

Rodriguez said, while evangelicals are not weighing in on specific tactics, such as the boat strikes near Venezuela that preceded the operation that removed Maduro, the administration is “ taking action based on what they hear from an evangelical community that really would like to advance an agenda of righteousness and justice, truth and love.”

Even before Maduro’s capture, the U.S. government had been applying pressure to effect regime change in Venezuela, particularly through sanctions. The Washington Post reported those sanctions contributed to an economic contraction in the country roughly three times as large as the one caused by the Great Depression in the United States.

Grassroots efforts during Maduro government

Marcos Velazco, a director of Vente Venezuela’s grassroots organizing who fled the country in August 2024, attributed reports of political prisoners and their Maduro-government torturers accepting Jesus to the presence of God, as well as his own escape from the country and his movement’s ability to connect with allies abroad.

“If something has been a true miracle, it’s how God has drawn our cause near to influential and important people, not just in the United States, I should say, but in the whole world,” Velazco said in Spanish via video.

Beyond praying with Machado’s team, Velazco said, Durán has been a key “architect” for making important connections.

“We have seen how faith has generated sufficient trust to defend the Venezuelan cause,” Velazco said, mentioning relationships with Rubio and Republican members of Congress such as U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga of Michigan and Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and María Elvira Salazar of Florida.

But Velazco said these victories have not come without pain.

As a result of his advocacy, he said, his father, who is not involved in the movement, was accused by the Maduro government of inciting hate, criminal association and terrorism.

He is being held as a political prisoner in a location unknown to his family and could face a sentence of up to 30 years, the Machado advisor said.

Velazco, 26, also said he became a key leader at such a young age because his boss was imprisoned and is now being held at El Helicoide Jail, where there have been reports of systematic torture.

Chávez and Maduro together have been “a regime that, from its position of power, has spiritually delivered the country to the forces of evil,” said Velazco.

Durán and Velazco both point to public accusations that Maduro has engaged in witchcraft and Santería, which Velazco said gives the president the feeling he is “spiritually protected while they slam civil society and while they dilute the structure of the free and democratic state.”

Durán said his group continues to count on God to act.

Machado allies are praying interim President Delcy Rodríguez and other prominent figures of the regime will be removed, and while he said he did not understand Trump’s approach to Rodríguez, “God is the one that removes and places kings.”

Machado has heaped praise on Trump publicly, even offering her Nobel Peace Prize to the president.

Velazco said the Trump administration “has done a fantastic job” with Maduro’s “Cartel de los Soles,” a slang term for corrupt government officials taking drug money.

Machado prays with her evangelical advisers, Durán said. “We’ve prayed, and she’s Catholic, but she cries like a person very sensitive to the Holy Spirit.”

Durán said Christians must influence society, though he said they should not be partisan.

“The church must be the church, and that’s the problem. The church has been locked away in thinking just about the spiritual, or that there’s a dichotomy between the secular and the spiritual. And that’s a plan from Satan,” he said.

Venezuelan evangelicals have heard God’s intentions for the country since the 1980s, said Durán. “We have heard prophetic words that God has a plan for Venezuela and that liberty for Venezuela is coming and a new Venezuela will be born.”

Durán, who had been ordained in the Foursquare Church, said he trained hundreds of Latinos for Billy Graham’s 2000 Nashville Crusade after he came to the U.S. Durán is now affiliated with the Reformed Church in America.

Rodriguez, the leader of the NHCLC, also said the church was “not done” in Latin America. He said the Venezuela policy is the beginning of a “domino effect” and called on the Trump administration to effect change in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Brazil, explaining he was calling for “geopolitical pressure,” not the same exact tactics because the other countries are “a different reality.”

He said a major policy goal of the NHCLC is to build “a multigenerational firewall against communism, socialism” in Latin America.

“ I want Christianity to thrive, and I do believe that a political apparatus that is counterintuitive to religious liberty serves as an impediment to Christianity expanding, to people coming to Christ as Lord and Savior,” he said.

Maduro’s capture “is not the period—it’s the comma,” Rodriguez said.

Support for capturing Maduro

The response from pastors within Venezuela has been more muted, reflecting a significant difference in views between those still living in the country and those who’ve joined the diaspora.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of Venezuelans living abroad support U.S. military intervention in the country, compared with only a third (34%) of those in Venezuela, according to an October AtlasIntel poll.

But the same poll found majorities of Venezuelans everywhere considered Maduro a dictator and said the country would be better off without him.

About 4 in 10 (41%) Venezuelan residents and 55% of those in the diaspora said they trusted Machado to lead a transition to democracy.

The Evangelical Council of Venezuela wrote in a statement the day of Maduro’s capture that its members were praying for their fellow citizens “that go through moments of uncertainty or fear” and for “the peace of the country and for a true and enduring transformation that honors the justice, the truth and the dignity of every citizen.”

The next day, the council announced a week of fasting and prayer for the nation.

On Sunday back in Orlando, the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, the Venezuelan evangelical council’s U.S. counterpart, told his congregation at The Gathering that in Venezuela, “the last chapter has still not been written,” referencing “powerful forces” still in place.

“We have to pray,” alongside thousands of other churches in his network, he told them, “for the freedom of the Venezuelan people and for democracy that respects the self-determination of the people.”

Nigerian Christians express appreciation for U.S. military action against Islamic militant targets in far northwestern Nigeria on Dec. 25.

The strike follows U.S. President Donald Trump announcing on social media Nigeria’s designation as a Country of Particular Concern in response to the ongoing killing of Christians in the country.

In a separate social media post, Trump threatened military action in Nigeria “to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”

Since the Dec. 25 strike, several news outlets have reported continuing attacks against Christians in parts of Nigeria.

Baptist Standard reached out to contacts in Nigeria for their response to the Dec. 25 strike.

‘Joy, relief and encouragement’

“Many Christians celebrated President Trump’s” social media post threatening military action and “were looking forward to a concrete action,” Joseph John Hayab, Baptist minister and chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria Northern Region, stated.

While the strike was a surprise, it was “a surprise that brought joy, relief and encouragement that has strengthened the faith of Nigerian Christians” in U.S. promises “that something serious would happen to the terrorists and bandits that have been terrorizing innocent citizens, especially the killing of Christians,” Hayab continued.

No churches or religious places were affected by the strike, Hayab reported. And “no record of any attempt for retaliation was recorded apart from a few elements” who politicized the U.S. strike “but did not gain ground and have since [gone] mute,” because the majority of Nigerians want the killing of fellow Nigerians stopped, he added.

Impact on churches

Asked what churches in the region anticipated ahead of the U.S. strike, pastor and peace advocate Gideon Para-Mallam said churches in the area of the strike did not expect anything “and were not afraid to meet on Christmas Day for service, but they were security conscious.”

Some churches did anticipate “possible terrorist bombings and attacks on Christmas Day, especially during Christmas Day church services and in Christian communities,” Para-Mallam stated. “So, news of the strike by America was seen as a welcome development in the fight against terrorism.”

Though churches are located where the U.S. strike occurred, “none was affected by the air strikes,” Para-Mallam said.

Echoing Hayab’s comments, Para-Mallam said “the U.S. Christmas Day attacks came as a pleasant surprise. Nigerians, both Christians and Muslims, are tired of the deadly activities of these terrorists’ killers. … Make no mistake about it, both Christians and Muslims in the area welcomed the air strike targeting terrorists.”

“There are concerns about possible retaliations by the terrorists in response to the air strikes,” Para-Mallam acknowledged.

Nigerian security failures

Many Nigerian Christians believe the Nigerian government has failed to maintain security in their country.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency in Nigeria on Nov. 26, three weeks after Trump issued his threat of military action in Nigeria.

One source who must remain unnamed for security reasons said he “wholeheartedly support[s] this action as the Nigerian security authorities [have] clearly failed to protect its citizens, both Christians and Muslims.”

“If it will take the U.S. intervention for [the Nigerian government] to sit up and prioritize the safety of their citizens, then this is most welcome,” he added.

This support does not extend to “the U.S. military on the ground,” which the source is concerned “may escalate the conflict and turn Nigeria into a theatre of war. But targeted airstrikes to demobilize these terrorists or weaken their capacity to do evil is most welcome and appreciated.”

The source went on to describe the complexity of “handl[ing] the terrorists who have assimilated into local communities” and elsewhere.

“Any attempt to go after this category of terrorists will result in high civilian casualties and can turn the civil populace against the U.S. and Nigerian government. It’s a dicey situation,” he stated.

Baptist world leaders are responding to the developments taking place in Venezuela after the U.S. entered Venezuela to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

The Baptist World Alliance released a pastoral statement in response to the event:

“We recognize that these recent developments have drawn public attention and given rise to diverse and multifaceted opinions at a time when polarization is too often accepted as normative. We urge churches as well as religious, social and political actors at the local, regional and multilateral levels to exhaust all resources and means to promote civic responsibility, safeguard human life and dignity, and uphold a firm commitment to democratic values.”

The National Baptist Convention of Venezuela issued a statement via Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas:

“These events, framed within a political and military scenario, have a direct impact on a population that longs to live in calm, in order to contribute to the progress and well-being of the family.

“And in the midst of the situation currently being experienced,” according to the statement, “the fervent desire of the faithful Christian for a Venezuela that recognizes God as sovereign Lord and Savior is highlighted—one capable of providing health and integral life to every person who submits to His Word.

“The prayers of the Christian people are for a country that places its trust in the Lord Jesus Christ,” the statement continues, “while at the same time assuming personal and family conduct marked by prudence and caution in light of the events occurring throughout the national territory.

“To believers and nonbelievers alike, our exhortation is to remain attentive to developments and to foster an atmosphere of tranquility—first within the family environment and also within the community. In this regard, Christians are called to be a blessing to others,” the statement adds.

President Trump gave U.S. forces the signal to initiate a surprise U.S. strike on Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in the capital of Caracas in the early morning on Jan. 3.

Details regarding the U.S. strike on Venezuela and Maduro’s ouster by the U.S. were discussed at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, Jan. 4.

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio continue to emphasize the U.S. will run Venezuela until the transition of power to a new leader takes place.

Maduro appeared before a federal court judge in Manhattan on Monday, where he pled “not guilty” on U.S. drug trafficking charges and added, “I am still president of my country,” the Associated Press reported.

Debate continues over the intent of the U.S. strike on Venezuela, who will run the country, and whether Maduro’s removal was for the purposes of ceasing the traffic of illegal drugs into the U.S. or to take control of oil reserves within the region.