DRC: PASTOR AND HIS WIFE ABDUCTED DURING SERVICE

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Please pray with Christians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after an attack on a church saw the pastor and his wife abducted and their tragically children killed. 

On 30 January, the lead pastor of the Eglise Message du Temps Church, his wife and an unconfirmed number of Christians were abducted in Bayeti, Ituri Province, in the north east of DRC. During the attack, which took place in the middle of a worship service, five others were killed – including the pastor’s two children.  

This latest tragedy is part of a growing trend in DRC which is seeing more frequent attacks on Christian communities by the Islamic extremist group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). 

Christians are unsafe

This attack on the church is one of several that are targeting Christians. Between 28-30 January, the ADF killed at least 12 Christians in a series of attacks on the Mangadola, Makodu, Mangazi and Matadi villages. The militants, armed with guns and machetes, killed Christians while they were working on their farms. For many, farming is their main source of income.

“Christians cannot go to their farms anymore. We are now landlocked in Oicha; the cost of living is very, very expensive, God help us,” lamented Pastor Paluku, a pastor and teacher at the Oicha Bible Institute.  

ADF attacks have been recorded spanning from 8 January 2024 onwards, with 26 people known to have been killed and more than 30 people abducted. Some Christians, no longer feeling safe at home, are resorting to sleeping in open spaces with almost no protection. 

In ADF-controlled areas, expression of Christian faith is dangerous. Members of the group harass, abduct, and kill believers wearing Christian symbols or those meeting for fellowship. Children are abducted from school, forced to convert to Islam and married off to members of the ADF.

PRAY NOW… 

“We ask brothers and sisters around the world to pray for the consolation of afflicted families and implore God’s mercy for the return of peace to the territory of Beni,” asks Pastor Paluku. “Pray for the survival of Christians trapped in the community of Oicha. Pray for the resilience of the Christians of Ngite, Mangodola, Makodo, Mangazi and Matadi.”