CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 21, 2026 /Christian Newswire/ — Assaults by Islamic extremists have increased across northern Nigeria in recent days, and indigenous missionaries are among those affected, according to a locally based ministry in Nigeria.
A Charlottesville-based nonprofit, Christian Aid Mission, is in direct communication with the leader of the Nigeria ministry and has fundraised for the ministry’s work for over three decades. In addition to training and deploying thousands of indigenous missionaries in the mostly Islamic northern region, the ministry has provided free education, medical care, clean water, and relief aid in underdeveloped communities.
Since the rise of Islamic terror groups throughout the country, the ministry has served tens of thousands of people who have fled to camps for internally displaced people after extremists destroyed their villages and threatened their lives.
“This year has been especially difficult for our missionaries serving in high-risk zones,” the ministry leader said. “It is a deeply distressing and unstable situation.”
More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world, and targeted attacks on indigenous missionaries are increasing.
A missionary with the ministry wrote:
“Bandits and Muslims worked together and came and stopped us from worshipping God in our church. They didn’t want to hear the name of Christ in this place. All of them gathered with their cutlasses and with their sticks to fight me and my family. It was by the grace of God I escaped that. They even beat one of my members in my presence. They tried to kill him. I was begging them, ‘Please don’t kill this man. He’s innocent, he’s innocent!’ We are here for Christ!’
“Now, sometimes, they will come in the night and they’ll pursue us. I will run and sleep in the bush with my family. In the morning, I will wake up and continue preaching the gospel of Christ. Even in the face of adversity, we remain committed to the mission, trusting God to bring beauty out of ashes.”
Christian Aid Mission’s Area Director for Africa is available for interviews upon request.
About Christian Aid Mission
Christian Aid Mission assists indigenous ministries based in areas of poverty, persecution, and that are inaccessible to foreign missionaries. Since 1970, the Charlottesville-based nonprofit has built a network of hundreds of trusted contacts among indigenous ministries around the world. Funding is sent directly to these ministries for immediate use.
References
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