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Your support helps persecuted Christians continue to courageously follow Jesus.
Together, we can reach those where persecution hits hardest.
“‘Tell Archippus: See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.’ (Colossians 4:17) These words have driven me to serve and kept me moving forward.” These are the words of Sube* (39) from Ethiopia. This Bible verse has kept her going in the midst of difficulties as she follows her evangelistic calling. Sube has been a Christian since she was 15 years old, when God healed her from an unknown illness. Thanks to your support, she has been able to receive theological training through Open Doors partners, and has since equipped and trained more than 100 evangelists, pastors and elders in her local area to lead churches and preach the gospel.
“‘Tell Archippus: See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.’ (Colossians 4:17) These words have driven me to serve and kept me moving forward.”
These are the words of Sube* (39) from Ethiopia. This Bible verse has kept her going in the midst of difficulties as she follows her evangelistic calling. Sube has been a Christian since she was 15 years old, when God healed her from an unknown illness. Thanks to your support, she has been able to receive theological training through Open Doors partners, and has since equipped and trained more than 100 evangelists, pastors and elders in her local area to lead churches and preach the gospel.
Sube’s journey of discipleship has not been easy. She comes from a remote area north of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where Christians suffer from violence, isolation and denial of certain rights. When her father found out that she and her sister had become Christians, he was furious, and chased them both from the family home. But this did not deter Sube. She went on to share her faith with the rest of her family, and brought them to Christ. She even planted a church! Her passion for evangelism meant that when Open Doors brought theological training to her area, she enrolled without hesitation.
She says, “The course shaped me and my ministry… Every time I attended a class, I was more convinced how vital this knowledge was to all Christians and I wanted to teach others.”
Put the Word of God into the hands of more believers like Sube - every £25 could provide Bibles for five believers in the Horn of Africa.
Sube sees her completion of the course as just the beginning. “If God wills, I want to establish training centres for such people where I and other teachers can deliver training. This is my passion. I would like to acknowledge Open Doors for accepting me into the theological training. It has had a great impact on my life.”
Alem* is a mother of three, and has also benefited from the course and Sube’s teaching, going on to start teaching Sunday school and working in women’s ministry. She says, “The course moved me to keep on learning… [Sube] always taught me to embrace difficulties, saying, ‘No storm, no change.’ I thank Open Doors for making this course available and Sube for teaching it to me.”
Your support has also helped Dinke*, whose husband abandoned her and their eight children after they became Christians.
She says, “All my life I had been a Muslim. I first did not know Christianity. However, because of my son, Jesus Christ visited our family. Even though I knew little about Jesus, He still accepted me. I thank God for that and for leading me into true life…
“Afterwards my husband came to see me as his enemy. He took the land, chased us from the house, placed locks on our property and left us. It forced us to find shelter far from our home area.”
But your support has helped Dinke and her family get their lives back on track.
“The Lord helped us a lot through Open Doors,” she explains. “When my husband took everything from me, Open Doors covered the costs of the lawyer who defended my case. I was able to get back my home and land, my children’s inheritance. You also helped me with money for food and other urgent expenses like medicine. God really heard our prayers.”
Ethiopia is part of the Horn of Africa – one of five countries that make up the most easterly point of sub-Saharan Africa. It is number 29 on the 2018 World Watch List, Open Doors' annual ranking of the 50 countries in which it is most dangerous to be a Christian.
Ethiopia is a Christian-majority country, yet Christians face persecution from the government, extremist Muslims, and even each other. The Ethiopian government is suspicious of religion in general, and so continues to restrict religious freedom – religious broadcasting and religious activities in schools are banned. Christians who leave the Ethiopian Orthodox Church – which considers itself the one true church – to join Protestant churches have been physically attacked.
Christians in Ethiopia also suffer from Islamic oppression as Islamic extremism is on the rise; believers from Muslim backgrounds face the most persecution, and they risk facing violence and rejection as a result of their decision to follow Christ.
Open Doors has been active in Ethiopia since the late 1980s, working through local church partners to equip Christians for ministry by preparing believers for persecution and offering relief in certain cases, and providing livelihood support, cross-cultural evangelism training and support, management training for church leaders and theological and discipleship training.
Sube, Alem and Dinke are just three of our sisters you have strengthened in their faith and helped to be effective witnesses for Christ in their community – thank you!
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Your support helps persecuted Christians continue to courageously follow Jesus.
Together, we can reach those where persecution hits hardest.
