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ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com, Web Site: www.assistnews.net

Monday, October 4, 2004

NIGERIA PERSECUTION HOT SPOT
Open Doors Plans Spiritual, Physical Support For Christians

OPEN DOORS USA
Jerry Dykstra, Media Relations Director
Phone: 616-915-4117
E-mail: JerryD@odusa.org

SANTA ANA, CA (ANS) -- Nigeria is at the forefront of the bloody conflict between Islam and Christianity in Africa.

Muslim militants want to impose sharia law (strict Islamic law and jurisprudence) upon everyone - including Christians. Already 12 Nigerian states have implemented sharia law. The militants want to turn Nigeria into a Muslim nation.

Up to 1,500 Christians have perished so far this year - including 10 pastors - in Muslim-Christian clashes. At least 1,000 women are now widows. And more than 9,000 children have lost their parents.

Compass Direct reported this week that an Islamic militant group that has been terrorizing non-Muslim communities in northern Nigeria since the beginning of the year struck again on Sept. 20. They burned down villages, killed four policemen and kidnapped seven Christians. Other raids on Christian villages resulted in death and destruction.

The nation is home to 130 million people, making it the most populous country in Africa. With an average family size of six, the population continues to grow rapidly. Nigeria is 49 percent Christian and 45 percent Muslim with Muslims dominating the north and Christians the south.

Open Doors, an international ministry to persecuted Christians, is committed to helping Christians in Nigeria and in other African countries such as Sudan and Ethiopia where Christians are suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ.

Specific plans to help Nigerian Christians include:

Rushing 30,000 Bibles to encourage our brothers and sisters. Many Christians lost their Bibles as they fled in panic from their homes.

Providing support for 1,000 new widows. These brave women are struggling to support their families on their own.

Reaching out to the 9,000 new orphans with trauma counseling. Many of these boys and girls saw their family members brutally killed by machetes. They are deeply traumatized.

Providing food, clothing and other relief aid for widows and orphans. Many are barely surviving in refugee camps.

Helping rebuild churches that have been destroyed.

Visiting our brothers and sisters in person to encourage them under the severe persecution they are facing.

"There are so many needs in Nigeria and the rest of Africa that have to be addressed," says Open Doors USA President Dr. Carl Moeller. "And Open Doors and the Body of Christ - the church - have an opportunity to respond in the name of Jesus. Pray for our struggling brothers and sisters. And join us in helping to support them with Bibles and spiritual encouragement while also addressing their emotional and physical needs."

An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors serves and strengthens the Persecuted Church in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development and prayer and presence ministry. To partner with Open Doors, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (524-2535) or go to our USA web site at www.odusa.org. To request a complimentary six-month subscription to our monthly newsletter Frontline Faith, call 888-5-BIBLE-5 or register on-line.

(If you would like to schedule an interview on this press release, please contact Jerry Dykstra at 616-915-4117)

Jerry Dykstra
Media Relations Coordinator
Open Doors with Brother Andrew
Telephone: 616-915-4117
E-Mail: jerryd@odusa.org
Fax: 616-667-8696
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.