Seth Udinski, FISM News
The church around the world continues to face persecution in a variety of ways. Early this past week, news broke from Nigeria that roughly 150 students at Bethel Baptist High School, a Christian boarding school connected with Bethel Baptist Church in the Kaduna region, were taken hostage at gunpoint in the early morning hours of July 5.
The latest update, according to Christianity Today, is that 28 students have returned to their families while 125 still remain in custody; this is now the fourth abduction of this kind in the region since the end of 2020. Parents of the children are in shock and praying that their loved ones will be released unharmed.
Many sources are unsure as to the nature of the organization behind this crime. There is conceivable evidence that it could be a clan of Islamic terrorists, based on the fact that Nigeria is a hotbed for persecution of Christians in a Muslim-dominated region.
Either way, the Church must lift up these children and their families in prayer. Elijah Brown, CEO of the Bapist World Alliance, said after the attack:
Today is a day of mourning, as we grieve over what is the most serious attack and greatest tragedy to impact the Baptist community in Nigeria. I echo the words of a Baptist leader from Kaduna, ‘Our church is in serious pain.’
FISM News will continue to follow this development.