NIGERIA: 130 YOUNG PEOPLE GET THEIR OWN BIBLES!

Earlier this year, Open Doors partners handed out more than 130 Bibles to young men and women in northern Nigeria to support and encourage them in their walk with God. This encouragement is vital as these young believers experience both discrimination and violence on a daily basis because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They are the minority in their communities, yet they continue to choose Jesus in the midst of increasing persecution. And as a result, many around them have come to faith!

Dorcas: “Being rooted in God’s Word is the best way to live”

Dorcas is one of the young women who received a Bible. She says, “I am so happy to have a new Bible that I can call my own! I believe the Bible will be of great impact in my spiritual journey because it is the foundation on which we should build our lives. Knowing God for yourself and being rooted in God’s Word will be the best way of living in this world.

“I pray for everyone that contributed in one way or the other for the Bible to reach me and other people in my community,” she adds. “I will share it with people who don’t have a Bible and win souls for Christ so that the name of Jesus will be glorified.”

Please pray for Dorcas as she searches for a job – and that many will see Christ’s light in her and be drawn to Jesus.

Matthew: “The Bible will help and change a lot in my life”

Before receiving his own Bible, Matthew shared one Bible with the rest of his family. But now he will be able to spend time in God’s Word whenever he likes. “To have my own Bible… I am so grateful to God,” he says. “The Bible will help and change a lot in my life, especially in my spiritual journey. I trust that reading the Bible and obeying the instruction of God will bring a lot of changes in my life because the Word of God is light.”

Matthew, who’s in his twenties, shared his favourite Bible verse – John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

He is grateful to Open Doors supporters for supporting him in his walk with Jesus. “May God open more doors for growth and to reach out to more people in need.”

Please pray that Matthew he will become deeply rooted in God.

Young people with their new Bibles

Rashida: “I am filled with joy because I’ve received a Bible”

For Rashida, a young woman in her twenties, receiving this Bible is an answer to prayer. “Whenever I see a Bible around, I will just start reading it because I love reading the Bible, even though I didn’t have my own Bible,” she shares. “But now I am filled with joy because I received the gift of the Bible. I believe it will enlighten me on so many things that I was doing in the past that are not God’s will. I have the Word now and I can read it for myself.”

Please pray that God will bless Rashida, and that she will have the strength to be salt and light in her community.

Please keep praying for our Nigerian sisters and brothers

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for these young men and women in Nigeria, which is number six on the World Watch List. Increasing levels of violence largely affect the north of the country, but it’s spreading south. More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in the rest of the world combined – 14 every day, on average. These Bibles will help to strengthen the next generation of Christians and church leaders.