Last week, the Persecution & Prayer Alert reported on the death of one of the Korean Christian hostages in Afghanistan (click here for more). He has since been identified as Bae Hyung-kyu, a youth pastor from Saemmul Community Church, a Presbyterian church in Bundang, South Korea of which the twenty-three captives are members. Apparently he was the leader of the team.
In the early morning of July 31, Afghan officials found the body of a second slain captive, Shim Sung-min (29). A Taliban spokesman said that he was killed because the Afghan government had not released insurgents captured on July 19. They are threatening to kill the remaining hostages if their demands are not met.
Continue to pray for the hostages and their families. Pray for those grieving the loss of their loved ones. Pray for safety for other Christians in Afghanistan, including aid workers who endeavour to help the suffering of the Afghan people.
For more information on the difficulties facing Christians in Afghanistan, click here.
Current Ministry Projects
VOMC works with ministry partners to provide Afghan Christians with evangelistic and discipleship radio broadcasts to equip followers of Jesus to present the Gospel in a specialized, culturally relevant, and context-sensitive way. VOMC is also helping our ministry partners to translate scripture into the Dari language.
Ethnicity Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and others
Religions (%) Islam (99.7), Christianity and other (0.3)
Government type Taliban takeover August 2021
Leader President (vacant)
Legal system Mixed legal system of civil, customary, and Islamic law
Source: CIA World Factbook
Pray for Afghanistan
Pray for the protection of these Afghan believers, and for the consistency of their witness, as God continues to build His church according to Matthew 16:18 ("the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it"). In addition to protecting them from physical danger and harm, ask God to insulate these minority Christians from the spiritual oppression surrounding them. May these dedicated followers of Christ mature spiritually and grow in both faith and number.
Last week, the Persecution & Prayer Alert reported on the death of one of the Korean Christian hostages in Afghanistan (click here for more). He has since been identified as Bae Hyung-kyu, a youth pastor from Saemmul Community Church, a Presbyterian church in Bundang, South Korea of which the twenty-three captives are members. Apparently he was the leader of the team.
Designation
