Rwanda: Government shuts down nearly 10,000 churches in three months

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Pastor Foley

Voice of the Martyrs Korea CEO Pastor Eric Foley recalls meeting Paul Kagame in Denver, Colorado when the President of Rwanda visited the United States in 2003.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame (Photo: World Travel & Tourism Council).

“My wife and I were working with a Bible distribution ministry at that time, and President Kagame told us his country needed Bibles,” says Pastor Foley. “It was about a decade after the Rwandan genocide in which more than half a million Rwanda Tutsis were killed. President Kagame said he believed his country needed as many Bibles as possible.”

Now, Pastor Foley says he and his wife regret supplying the Bibles to Kagame. Kagame’s government has shut down nearly 10,000 churches in the past 3 months, citing building code violations, hygiene dangers, noise pollution problems, and leaders without theology degrees. The closures, which affect mainly small independent and Pentecostal churches, are in addition to 7,000 churches the government shut down for similar reasons in 2018, when it passed a series of laws requiring church leaders to meet minimum education standards, limit the length of church-mandated fasts, and disclose financial information.

According to Pastor Foley, that early ministry experience is one of the reasons why his organization does not work with governments but only partners directly with local Christians in places where the practice of their faith is restricted.

“Kagame has created regulations that may sound like reasonable ways to protect the public, but anytime governments define what the church should be and look like and do, and who can lead it, then the church becomes an organization that is created in the image of the government, serving the government’s purpose,” says Pastor Foley. He says he is disappointed that Rwanda’s state-sanctioned churches have stood with the government and against the churches the government is closing, and that churches around the world have mostly been silent about the crackdown.

“The national and denominational associations of churches in Rwanda have pointed to the government’s giving churches five years to comply with the new laws as a sign of reasonableness,” says Representative Foley. “They’ve been urging the independent and Pentecostal churches to meet the government’s educational requirements and to stop meeting in places like caves and riverbanks. But Jesus and his disciples themselves would not meet the Rwandan government’s educational requirements, and the book of Hebrews even talks about the faithful believers living in caves who we should emulate. The issue is not whether governments make reasonable legal requirements for churches but rather who can call the church into existence, set the standards for church leadership, and determine when and how and by whom the gospel is preached. The Bible is clear that those decisions belong to the Lord alone.”

Pastor Foley notes that President Kagame continues to call for a tax on church offerings, accusing churches of trying to, in Kagame’s words, “squeeze even the last penny from poor Rwandans”. The President also noted that Kigale, Rwanda’s capital city, had more churches than water boreholes or factories, calling the proliferation of churches a “mess”.

Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda since ending the 1994 genocide, has been widely cited for violations and restrictions on religious freedom, including in a 2023 US State Department report, which raised concerns over his negative comments about pilgrimages by Rwandans to Catholic holy sites, a practice Kagame called “worshiping poverty”. The State Department report indicates that about 40% of the Rwandan population is Catholic, 21% Pentecostal, 15% Protestant, and 12% Seventh-Day Adventist. 2% are Muslim, according to the report.

Pastor Foley says that while international religious freedom watchdogs are well aware of Rwanda’s ongoing crackdown on Pentecostal and independent churches, ordinary Christians around the world often know little or nothing about the situation.

“These kinds of persecution situations, where government-sanctioned churches say nothing while other Christian groups in a country experience restrictions, often happen without Christians in the rest of the world raising their concerns and prayers about it,” says Pastor Foley. “Often Christians around the world think, ‘Well, if some Christians in a country are free, then how bad can the situation be?’ So, faithful Christians in countries like China, Vietnam, and Eritrea experience a ‘double-suffering’: their sufferings are ignored by Christians in their own country, and also by Christians around the world.”

Pastor Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea is continuing to monitor the situation in Rwanda and to consider ways to directly serve and strengthen the local believers there, rather than working through the government or mission agencies. He urges Christians around the world to pray for the Rwandan Christians facing restrictions. “Pray for the Rwandan Christians in the government-sanctioned denominations to stand up for their brothers and sisters in the restricted churches,” Pastor Foley says. “Pray for winds of revival to blow from the caves and riverbanks where faithful Rwandan Christians have been meeting, into the air-conditioned government sanctioned church buildings led by government-approved leaders. Pray also for Paul Kagame to read and take to heart the teachings of the Bibles he received from us twenty years ago, teachings that make clear that the word of God cannot be bound to the times, places, and people approved by governments.”

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China: Authorities raid churches serving NK sex-trafficked women

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Pastor Foley

Search and seizures by Chinese authorities are on the increase for churches serving North Korean sex-trafficked women. That’s the word from Voice of the Martyrs Korea, which operates underground discipleship training programs in the region for North Koreans, including sex-trafficked women married to Chinese men. The ministry is emphasizing that discipleship groups of sex-trafficked North Korean women led by the women themselves are the safest and most effective—and increasingly the only—means for North Korean sex-trafficked women to grow in their Christian faith.

“The Chinese government’s continued crackdown on local churches across the country is well known, but its specific efforts against churches serving minority populations, like churches ministering to North Koreans in China’s northeast region, has largely escaped international notice,” says Voice of the Martyrs Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley.

She says that during one recent raid, a Chinese house church had all their Korean language Bibles and papers with Korean writing on them confiscated. “All the North Korean women who had been attending that church were required by a state security official to show their faces every morning through their phone,” says Representative Foley. She adds that the North Korean women were also restricted from traveling to other regions.

According to Representative Foley, Chinese authorities are now closely watching North Koreans who may have the intent to defect to South Korea and has renewed repatriation of North Koreans back to North Korea.

“Chinese authorities are seeking to isolate North Korean women from foreign influence by encouraging them not to interact with South Koreans or even ethnically Korean Chinese people,” says Representative Foley. “The government is now rolling out new programs to grant benefits to North Korean women who quietly support their family in the home, including rewarding them with valid Chinese residency ID cards.”

Representative Foley says that in the midst of authorities’ crackdown on churches, individual North Korean women remain the primary stable ministry to other North Korean women in China.

“The most effective ministers to North Korean sex-trafficked women have always been other North Korean sex-trafficked women, not foreign missionaries or Chinese churches,” says Representative Foley. “It’s much harder for authorities to catch and stop individual North Korean women who are ministering to other North Korean women in their area, and Chinese officials are much less concerned about North Korean women interacting with other North Korean women.” She says that’s why her ministry focuses on training and resourcing North Korean women to share their faith with their North Korean sex-trafficked neighbors.

“One of the North Korean women we trained told us, ‘We are still doing worship. I shared the [Voice of the Martyrs Korea sermons] that you sent and people said, “Where did you learn this good word?” Everyone heard and said they received grace’,” says Representative Foley.

Letter [pixelated for security reasons] from a sex-trafficked NK woman in China to VOM Korea about the current crackdown and her participation in a discipleship group led by other sex-trafficked NK women.

She shared the following additional testimonies from North Korean sex-trafficked women who had been evangelized by other North Korean sex-trafficked women trained by her ministry.

“In Chosun, I never knew the name of God or even knew that God existed. Facing the March of Suffering and the growing challenges each day, my only thought was how to feed and save my family. As soon as I opened my eyes, I would take up my merchant’s bag and lived only by striving. How can I describe it? At that time, I tried to defect from North Korea and came to this land of China after experiencing a painful separation from my beloved hometown and my beloved brethren. Nothing was forgiving to me upon my coming. First of all, I couldn’t do anything because I couldn’t understand the language, and I couldn’t even eat a spoonful of rice that I wanted to eat because my lifestyle was different, and it was really a hellish life. In this way, I blamed myself every day. I had no choice but to go through life, and I spent 15 long years without thinking. However, as I lived for a long time, I met fellow Chosun compatriots, and in the process of meeting them, I was invited by one of my compatriots to join this [discipleship group of other North Korean sex-trafficked women]. I didn’t even know what it was, but I was so happy to meet my compatriots and rediscover the Korean language… Finally, I understood, I came to know what God is like. Later, I realized that my escape [from North Korea] was God’s calling… I am grateful to God for giving me the bright light of heaven when I was wandering in the world, and for finding the language I almost forgot and for finding songs, and dances. I pray that, in the future, I will praise more, make dances for those praise songs, and to only believe in and follow God alone. Amen.” – Sister A

“When I came to China, I felt a lot of sadness, pain, and sorrow. I was always lonely, but my friend introduced me to this [discipleship group of North Korean sex-trafficked women] and I learned to sing hymns and received God’s grace. I learned many hymn songs, and I was able to express my troubled heart and pain to God in prayer, and I had peace in my heart. I will continue to give thanks to God and live my life believing in God alone. Amen.” – Sister B

“Thank you, Heavenly Father. Before I knew God, I was wandering on the path of straying. Through this [discipleship group of North Korean sex-trafficked women], I learned God’s praises and received God’s grace to know Jesus better, who washed away my sins. I will continue to give thanks to God infinitely through God’s praise, and I will do my best to dedicate my body and soul to the Lord.” – Sister C

“I couldn’t speak properly because of language differences living in a foreign land and I always lived as a sinner. Sometimes, I even thought about taking my life because I didn’t want to live. One day, I was introduced to this [discipleship group for North Korean sex-trafficked women] by a friend. From then on, I came to know God through praise songs to God, and I received a lot of God’s grace. I loved it. Praising God gave me great strength and I relied on it very much. Thank you for strengthening my heart and changing me to stand in faith, in the midst of constant tribulation and temptation. From now on, I will not forget God’s grace and love, and I will overcome the hardships and difficulties of the world with praise.” – Sister D

North Korea viewed from China border.

Individuals or churches interested in supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s North Korea ministry can make a donation at www.vomkorea.com/en/donate or wire transfer to:

국민은행 (KB Bank) 463501-01-243303 

예금주 (Account Holder): (사)순교자의소리 

Please include the phrase “NK Ministry” with the donation. 

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Pakistan: Wife of elderly Christian shoemaker murdered by mob dies of grief

Posted on August 20, 2024 by Pastor Foley

Alla Rakhi, the widow of an elderly Pakistani Christian shoemaker who was murdered in May by a mob on accusations of blasphemy, died of a heart attack less than a month after her husband’s death. Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr Hyun Sook Foley calls the death tragic and says it highlights the “chain reaction” of persecution and the need to care for families of martyrs and the communities they leave behind.

The news follows a previous report by Voice of the Martyrs Korea and other Christian aid groups that on May 25, up to 2,000 gathered in the city of Sargodha in Punjab Province in response to an accusation broadcast over mosque loudspeakers that Nazeer Masih Gil, a 72-year old Christian shoe factory owner, had burned a copy of the Quran.

“According to reports from our partner Release International, Nazir’s son tried to reason with the mob, apologizing if his father had mistakenly done anything wrong,” says Representative Foley. “But the mob would not listen.”

She says members of the mob filmed themselves kicking and beating the elderly Christian until he was unconscious and then looting his shoe factory and ransacking his house. They allegedly posted these videos on social media.

“Our partner, Release International, reported to us that the same mob stoned police when they tried to intervene and hurled bricks at the ambulance when it took Nazeer Masih Gil to hospital,” says Representative Foley. He died from his injuries nine days later.

Representative Foley says that 72-year old Alla Rakhi, Nazeer’s widow, was so traumatized that she was unable to speak.

“The couple’s son, Sultan, said that from that point on, ‘The tears in her eyes never dried,’” says Representative Foley.

Reports say that on Friday June 21 the family called for emergency medical aid in response to Alla Rakhi experiencing chest pains. The emergency team gave her medicine but told her that no doctors would be available because of the Islamic weekly holy day, so she remained at home. Family members say she died of a heart attack an hour later.

“In less than a month, as a result of a false accusation of blasphemy likely motivated by jealousy over a Christian’s business success, this family lost both parents and its shoemaking factory, which was burned to the ground by rioters,” says Representative Foley. “This leaves behind two grieving sons, five grieving daughters, and families now without work due to the damage to the business.”

Representative Foley says the granting of bail to the murder suspects and the limited investigation by the police into the crime also add to the family’s burden.

Martyred Christian shoemaker Nazeer Masih and his wife, Alla Rakhi. (Family photo)

“There was even a rally after Nazeer’s death in which organizers showed their support for the killings, demanded that suspects be freed, and warned that others should expect to die like the Nazeer for their alleged blasphemy,” says Representative Foley.

The claim of blasphemy against Nazeer is the ninth blasphemy claim made in the city of Sargodha since 2023 according to sources.

“There is a ‘chain reaction’ where one act of persecution in a community often leads to more acts of persecution in that same community,” says Representative Foley. “All Christians are called to faithfully witness to the Lord Jesus Christ even at the cost of our lives. The Bible tells us that suffering for Christ is an honor. But this subsequent death of Alla Rakhi due to grief is a tragedy. It shows how persecution impacts not only the one who is persecuted, but their family members and even the whole religious community. It highlights the need for Christians globally not only to honor the martyrs but to care for the families and churches they leave behind, and to stand with them and help them make sense biblically of what they are experiencing.”

Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea sent 10,000,000 KRW in aid last month through Release International to support persecuted Christians and their families who choose to stay, or who have no choice but to stay, in settings of persecution in Pakistan.

“Often when Christians around the world hear stories like this one about Nazeer Masih Gil and Alla Rakhi, their first thought is to help them escape the country to go somewhere ‘safe’. But in cases like these in Pakistan where Christians are falsely accused of blasphemy, helping those Christians flee often makes attackers more bold to assault the Christians who remain. It can also make the Christians look guilty and weak, and the witness to the gospel is silenced in the very places where such a witness is sorely needed. Supporting persecuted Christians to stand firm where they are helps make their communities safer for other believers in the future, and it helps make a positive witness for the gospel. But it means we have to be vigilant to stand with them and to share the stories of their faithful, suffering witness around the world.”

Donations to Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s Families of Martyrs and Prisoners (FOM/FOP) fund can be made at http://www.vomkorea.com/donate or via electronic transfer to:

국민은행 463501-01-243303

예금주: (사)순교자의소리

Please include the name “FOM/FOP” on the donation.

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