Watch this powerful story from Nigeria

“I woke up to the sound of gunshots,” Pastor Josiah remembers. “Before I realized, the militants had scaled our fence. My wife was in the bedroom. She ran into the living room … that’s where she was shot.”

That night, Pastor Josiah and his three children were taken captive by the militants, groups of whom seem to operate without consequence in the part of Nigeria where Josiah lives. He and his family endured brutal treatment from their abductors. And they were mocked for their faith in Jesus.

Eventually, two of Josiah’s sons were killed. He and his daughter were let go after being told a ransom had been paid.

Josiah and his daughter returned home where they faced the pain of empty chairs at the dinner table, the quiet days where laughter and conversation used to ring out, the churches where songs of praise once bounced off the walls.

But his story isn’t only sadness and despair. It’s a story of healing and resilience—and a challenge for all of us to stop the violence and start the healing.

Healing and hope

Through your prayers and support, Pastor Josiah and his daughter have been able to access trauma care at a trauma center in Nigeria supported by Open Doors. Pastor Josiah receives one-on-one trauma debriefings with Philip,* a volunteer trauma caregiver. Each year at the center, trauma caregivers like Philip work with thousands of Christians who have suffered violent persecution because of their faith, helping them start to heal emotionally and spiritually.

“After I escaped, I was living life with anger and hatred. I wanted to fight the kidnappers and avenge what was done to me,” Josiah says. “I was traumatized.”

The counseling support he has received has helped immensely.

“If I hadn’t come for trauma healing, bad thoughts would have occupied my head,” he shares, “but after my times at the trauma center, I feel a lot better, and my heart is now at rest.”

Stop the violence, start the healing

This is what starting the healing is all about. But the reality that he and thousands of other Christians face in northern Nigeria and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa is that targeted violence is shaking the foundations of whole communities and threatening the future of the church in these regions.

In 2025, 4,491 Christians were killed for their faith in sub-Saharan Africa—an average of 12 believers a day, nine of which were in Nigeria.

Pastor Josiah shares his perspective and experience: “The attacks of Christians are on the increase. In my own opinion, they attack us because of our religion. They kill Christians.”

That’s why he has an overarching call for all of us as we stand with the church in Nigeria and the wider region. “I have noticed that if it’s Christians who are killed, the whole world won’t hear about it,” Pastor Josiah says. “Christians abroad should rise and talk about what is happening to Christians here, so we have peace, so that people start to worship again.”

The level of violence facing the church across sub-Saharan Africa is horrifying, yet the world is only starting to take notice. Pastor Josiah’s declaration is why Open Doors is running the Arise Africa campaign. The campaign calls all of us, as the Body of Christ, to support Christians like him, to pray with them and to speak out with them to help stop the violence and start the healing.

You can do your part: Sign and share the Arise Africa petition.

Please add your name to the Arise Africa petition. Or, if you’ve already signed it, please ask others to sign it too. These are the final few weeks to reach the goal of 1 million voices of prayer and advocacy from around the world to present to the African Union, European Union and United Nations with great impact—so that those in power will stand up, take notice and act to bring protection, justice and restoration for the church across sub-Saharan Africa.

And please continue to pray. “Those who are praying, don’t think your prayers are not being felt—they are,” Pastor Josiah says. “Through them, I have understood the love of believers. Prayers reach anywhere. Because through prayer, I was able to escape from the bush. I saw the devil eye to eye, but the believers’ prayers brought me out. There is power in prayer. So, I am pleading and praying that you keep on supporting through your prayers and help.”

*Name changed to protect security