Taunted Christians Attacked by Mob

Pray that many Buddhists will come to know Christ.

A pastor and his family were attacked recently by an angry mob after filing a complaint with police on behalf of four Christians who were threatened at a prayer meeting held at their home. The four believers were confronted on May 11th by about 30 people who warned them that they would be assaulted if they came back to the village for future prayer meetings.

The next morning, the pastor went to the police station to file a complaint and was asked to meet with police at his home later that day at 4 p.m. The police also asked the four Christians who were accosted to attend the meeting. While the Christians were waiting for the police to arrive at the pastor's home, approximately 150 people surrounded the house and began shouting out slurs. The family immediately called the police who told them that they were on their way.

At around 5:30 p.m., roughly 40 people from the mob broke through the security fence surrounding the house. Taking poles from the fence, they smashed the pastor's van while others poured into the home and attacked those inside. The pastor was knocked unconscious after receiving a harsh blow to the back of his neck with a pole. Afraid that they had killed him, the crowd immediately fled. The police, having finally arrived 10 minutes after the crowd dispersed, took the Christians to the police station. The believers were then held for questioning for seven hours, while their attackers were neither questioned nor arrested. The pastor spent four days in the hospital recovering, and three others were hospitalized for two days.

The Christians filed a case against their attackers two weeks later. When the case was heard on May 29th, a magistrate reprimanded the police and instructed that all the attackers be arrested immediately.

Please join us in praying for these fellow believers as they recover from this unwarranted attack. Ask God to grant physical and emotional healing to all who were injured. May our Lord encourage them in their faith so that they will not give in to fear or discouragement but rather entrust themselves fully to Him. Please also remember the perpetrators of this violent assault, praying that the Holy Spirit will work mightily in their hearts and lead them to salvation in Jesus Christ.

For more information on the trials our Christian family faces in Sri Lanka, visit our Sri Lanka country report.

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    VOMC supports persecuted Christians in Sri Lanka as they witness for Christ in hostile environments through Biblical training, legal aid, and advocacy, as well as rehabilitation and emergency assistance.

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  • Country Information

    Population
    23,326,272 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Sinhalese (74.9), Sri Lankan Tamil (11.2), Sri Lankan Moors (9.2), Indian Tamil (4.2), other (0.5)

    Religion (%)
    Buddhism (70.2), Hinduism (12.6), Islam (9.7), Roman Catholic (6.1), Evangelical Christianity (2.0)

    Leader
    President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (Sept 2024)

    Government type
    Presidential republic

    Legal system
    Mixed legal system of Roman-Dutch civil law, English common law, and Jaffna Tamil customary law

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Sri Lanka

    Let's unite our hearts in prayer for those in Sri Lanka who are being persecuted for their faith, thanking God for what He is accomplishing despite the opposition. Ask that His people will be encouraged, strengthened and equipped by the promises of the Bible – the Sword of the Spirit – knowing that He is watching over His Word to perform it (Ephesians 6:17; Jeremiah 1:12). May they not only overcome the strategies of the enemy, but also serve as effective witnesses to those in need of eternal salvation and deliverance from spiritual captivity.

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