Shortly after last week's Persecution & Prayer Alert went to press, Christian Solidarity Worldwide issued a correction to their July 11 release. New reports indicated that Pastor Humberto Mendez and Pastor Joel Cruz Garcia were not abducted during an open-air service but rather taken from their homes and killed.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Colombia, go to the Colombia Country Report.
Population
49,336,454 (2023 est.)
Ethnicity (%)
Mestizo and white (87.6), Afro-Colombian (6.8), Amerindian (4.3), unspecified )1.4)
Religion (%)
Christianity (92.3), other (1), unspecified (6.7)
Leader
President Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (2022)
Government type
Presidential republic
Source: CIA World Factbook
Please uphold all those in Colombia who’ve been victimized through acts of violence, asking the Lord to meet their needs, heal them of their brokenness, and bring about renewed hope and restoration. Also intercede for their persecutors so that they, too, will witness the love of Christ and experience His forgiveness and salvation.
Police are currently investigating the drive-by assassination of Pastor Marlon Lora and his family, which took place on December 29th. Pastor Marlon, his wife Yurlay Rincon – along with their two children, Angela and Santiago – had been finishing lunch when they were suddenly gunned down by men on a motorcycle. The violent attack occurred just metres away from the police station in Aguachica, northern Colombia.
Sources in Colombia are calling for urgent prayer, as organizations endeavour to ban Christian evangelization among Indigenous communities. Within the Colombian constitution, Indigenous communities are granted special rights of self-governance. As a result, Christians have encountered significant persecution, with little or no recourse.
Currently, a group from within the Paez community of Huila are in the capital city of Bogota fighting for a law to ban evangelization and give the Paez people complete control over education. The proposed law would then prevent the operation of Christian schools in Indigenous communities.
Pastor Leider Molina, 24, had just finished preaching at his church in Caucasia (northwest Colombia) on Friday, February 9th. As he stepped out of the building, he was shot with five bullets. The young man was known as a passionate preacher and active youth leader in his church and city.
Death threats have been a typical part of ministry life for "Xavier," a partnering church planter who works in one of Colombia's most dangerous regions; a poor, rural area currently being ruled by paramilitaries. Before his involvement in ministry, Xavier had a successful career in broadcasting. Yet, in 2009, God directed him to begin a church in one of Colombia's poorest cities, a call that Xavier couldn't deny.
