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Pastor Barnabas is clear: you are the reason he is here today.
Since he and his family were driven from their home, in northern Nigeria, by violent persecution, Pastor Barnabas has been struggling to survive in a displacement camp. Thanks to you, he's among 124,000 families who received relief aid, including food, medical care and shelter last year.
"We see glimmers of hope."
Arise Africa leadership committee
“I want to use this opportunity to say thank you,” he said. “If not for the help of your ministry, I don’t think it would be easy for us to live. They cared for us as a mother, as fathers and sisters. Many people were dying, sick, no food. They made provision. They took us along as brothers and sisters.”
In 2024, more than 545,000 Christians like Pastor Barnabas received vital help because of your gifts and prayers. You provided trauma care, education and training, as well as emergency aid. You stood alongside the church in Sub-Saharan Africa, and highlighted an issue no one was talking about.
More than 14,000 schools in Sub-Saharan Africa have closed because of violence – but last year, you helped 3,000 children return to school, by paying fees and buying uniforms. More than 700 young people in Mali and Nigeria received training to help them find work.
You also shone a light on the crisis facing the church. Nearly 100 people from African churches, Christian organisations and national governments attended an Open Doors conference in Kenya in November, to discuss pressures on Freedom of Religious Belief (FoRB). Now, we're seeing leaders start to proactively respond to the challenges of persecution.
One lawyer, Ibrahim*, set up a Christian Lawyers Fellowship in his country following the conference. "It has been a real success," he said. "Previously I was the only lawyer standing up for the persecuted church. Now we are more, and are getting better results."
Meanwhile, a report about displaced Christians in Nigeria, called No Road Home, caught the attention of politicians in the European Union and United Nations. In the UK alone, the report was distributed to 150 MPs.
"We see glimmers of hope," said the Arise Africa leadership committee, in a statement. "Because of the Arise Africa campaign, millions of Christians responded generously in prayer and giving. Thank you for joining hands with us to make the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Africa a priority in the hearts and minds of the global church."
*Name changed for security reasons.
