Afghanistan (MNN) — Many Afghan Christians have fled from the cities to remote regions to escape Taliban detection. See our full Afghanistan coverage here.
“The Taliban right now are hunting Christians door to door,” World Mission’s Greg Kelley says,
“I just heard [about] a Christian leader the Taliban caught, and on his phone was a sermon. They executed him in public after torturing him.”
Now, with the borders to neighboring countries closed, believers have nowhere to turn. With winter approaching, Christians in Afghanistan face extreme difficulties.
SAT-7 PARS executive director, Panayiotis Keenan, told Release International:
“Since the Taliban has taken over, we are receiving many messages from Afghanistan that the persecution is getting harder. Afghan Christians are contacting us on a daily basis, describing how difficult the situation is. They are hiding and meeting in secret locations. But winter is coming and that will soon become more and more difficult.”
Helping Afghan Christians now and tomorrow
World Mission is coming alongside the Church in Afghanistan in two ways. First, a short-term approach. Some Afghan Christians want to leave because they’re “known” to the Taliban or other extremists. More about that here. World Mission helps these believers find a safe way to escape.
“We need to get these Christians out as quickly as we can. World Mission has been a part of dozens of extractions of Christians and others who are threatened,” Kelley says.
Help Afghan believers and other vulnerable groups survive another day.
“As difficult as it is to get these Christians outside of Afghanistan, it’s equally difficult to get resources in. However, we can get our solar-powered audio Bible in the Pashto and Dari languages inside Afghanistan,” Kelley continues.
“It may be the only pastor someone has.”
(Photo courtesy of World Mission)
World Mission’s second method is long-term. “There are tens-, and even hundreds of thousands of Afghans inside neighboring countries as refugees. When they are reached with the Gospel message in these countries, they will be heat-seeking missiles taking the Gospel back into Afghanistan,” Kelley says.
“From a long-term standpoint, we feel the strategy to making disciples in Afghanistan is in India, Pakistan, and even Iran. We’re making disciple-makers through training centers in India and Pakistan.”
Find your place in the story
Advocacy is an easy and immediate way to help. Use buttons at the bottom of this page to help spread the word. “We need people talking about these things,” Kelley says.
“We need people talking at the watercooler at their office, sending emails, using their social media to inform other followers of Jesus of the realities in the world today.”
World Mission needs prayer warriors, too. “Pray for the safety of people coming out and resources going in. It’s incredibly complicated, sensitive, and dangerous for both sides of the coin,” Kelley says.
“Pray the Word of God, as it [enters] Afghanistan, [will cause] transformation and [help] people grow in their knowledge of Jesus.”
Header and story image courtesy of World Mission.
