FORT ERIE, Ont. (INS)—More than 130 Christians, including several indigenous missionaries, were brutally slaughtered on November 11 when members of a fanatic Islamic sect viciously attacked the mostly Christian community of New Jerusalem in Yobe State, Nigeria. But one of the terrorists has become a committed Christian, after meeting with an indigenous Christian missionary. The Muslim extremists, belonging to a terrorist group called Boko Haram, demanded that Christians recite the Islamic creed. Those who would not were butchered on the spot. Among the devastation and destruction left in the wake of Boko Haram were 10 church buildings, set aflame while Christians remained trapped inside.
Boko Haram literally means “western education is sin.” The group's terror campaign grows increasingly violent, bold, and more frequent with little resistance from authorities. Hundreds of Muslims have also been killed as fanatics carry out near daily attacks in the remote northeast of Borno state, where Nigeria borders Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
Their goal is to force Sharia law on all of Nigeria. Boko Haram targets secular education by bombing schools and universities. Most factions are focused on local issues and carry out politically-motivated attacks, but the group also threatens anything perceived to be foreign influence. They recently suicide-bombed UN headquarters, killing 23 people. Embassies and hotels have increased security and are on high alert.
As one of the Boko Haram terrorists was poised to slit the throat of his Christian victim, he was suddenly struck with the weight of the evil he was about to commit. Dropping his machete, he ran to the nearest church, asking a pastor for help. The pastor referred him to an Intercede International-supported indigenous ministry—Missionary Crusaders Ministry.
Terrorist Becomes Christian
When the call came, the ministry leader, Gabriel Barau, was grieving the loss of several close missionary friends who were murdered in the Yobe State slaughter. He immediately met with the confessed killer and joyfully led him to Christ. He is discipling him in a secret location because of the extreme danger.
After meeting the Lord, the converted terrorist/murderer called his former colleagues to testify what had happened to him without disclosing where he was. Upon discovering the man's conversion to Christianity, Boko Haram members invaded his home, kidnapped his two children and informed him that they were going to execute them in retribution for his disloyalty to Islam. Clutching his phone, the man heard the sound of the guns that murdered his children.
Though severely traumatized, the man is growing in the knowledge of Christ through the loving care he is receiving from his brothers and sisters in the ministry that is sheltering and training him. He knows he is called to become a missionary to Nigerian Muslims.
For years, MCM has been working tirelessly to take the Gospel to Nigeria's unreached Islamic northern states which are dominated by the mostly-Muslim Hausa and Fulani tribes. Many are illiterate and remotely located, and millions have never even heard that Jesus died for them.
In the last three years, 45 new converts have been baptized by MCM missionaries in northern Nigeria. “The Lord has opened his door of harvest here and no one can resist it,” declared Barau in a recent message sent to Intercede. “Pray that MCM will; keep bringing sinners to the Master through this work. If we do not evangelize, the devil is bringing hostility closer to our homes through killing and bombing. We can attack the enemy by bringing the message of love to their doors and populating the Kingdom. We ask you pray for us as we do this enterprise of God.”
Despite the extreme difficulties involved in reaching Muslims with the Gospel, MCM has made incredible inroads into several Islamic communities. Former Muslims who have made a commitment to follow Christ face the danger of persecution or death from the Islamic community and even family members. The ministry shelters these believers in a safe location while they are discipled and trained in the Word of God. These missionaries and the people they help need our prayers.
