“The church in sub-Saharan Africa is feeling alone and unheard.”
That is the message Open Doors Canada would like us to hear – and they are inviting us to join them to learn more about the plight of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Africa and around the world.
Open Doors’ Church with No Home Tour will be at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Vancouver next Friday (October 10):
Picture worshipping in secret, with no church building to call home – facing closures, evictions or displacement. Yet, our brothers and sisters in Christ courageously gather to praise God in the toughest circumstances. Open Doors Canada will share their inspiring stories, reveal the latest insights on Christian persecution and highlight their vital work supporting these resilient communities.
A couple of recent articles in Christianity Today give a sense of how dire the situation has become in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan nations in Africa.
The first – ‘Pastor abducted in Nigeria Amid Escalating Kidnapping Crisis’ – was posted September 26. It begins:
After dinner on August 27, Pastor Audu Issa James bid his wife, Beshi, and two of his children good night. He then went to bed. By 11 pm, barking dogs woke him.
Four gunmen stormed Ekati village in Kwara State in north-central Nigeria and made their way to the parsonage. James resisted, but they proved too strong. The bandits demanded the money of Evangelical Church Winning All Ekati, but James didn’t have it. They tied his hands, covered his eyes and took him away.
James, 65, is only one among at least 145 Christian clergy in Nigeria kidnapped from 2015 to 2025. The Open Doors World Watch List recorded at least 2,830 Christians kidnapped in Nigeria in 2024, “far more than other country in the same year.”
The second, a really powerful testimony by Anglican Bishop Yassir Eric – ‘I was the Enemy Jesus Told You to Love’ – is part of the September/October issue of CT. It begins:
When I was 16, a new student named Zakariya showed up at school. His forehead bore fan-shaped scars that identified him as a member of the Dinka people group – south Sudanese minority rebels, many of whom were Christian. My enemies. Zakariya was nice to everyone and scored the top grades in class, which made me hate him more.
As devout Muslims, my family and I were committed to Islam’s central place in the government. But our application of our religion was radical, since we prayed for Allah to destroy those who opposed us.
For two years, I added a request for Zakariya’s destruction to my daily noontime prayers. One night, that prayer was answered. My friends and I climbed a tree with our bayonet-fixed rifles and watched as a flashlight approached in the distance. It was Zakariya, who we knew walked this way each evening.
Open Doors’ annual World Watch List points out that “more than 380 million Christ-followers face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith in Jesus” and provides “current information and prayer points about the 50 countries where faith costs the most.”
Sudan and Nigeria are in the top 10 most dangerous nations for Christians, though not all of the nations are in Africa.
The most dangerous is North Korea, followed by Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
The ‘Church with No Home’ invitation adds:
Together, we’ll lift these faithful believers in prayer, standing in solidarity as they hold fast to their faith. This evening promises to challenge, inspire and ignite our own walk with Christ!
For church congregations: Please encourage your congregation to mark their calendars, bring friends and join us for an unforgettable night that will deepen our faith and connect us to the global church!
Free parking is available. For details on accessing the church parkade, email at office@centralpc.ca, or phone the office at 604.683.1902.
Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia
Cappella Romana “brings to life these ancient and diverse traditions, especially of Byzantium.”
St. George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral on the west side of Vancouver is offering a unique experience this Friday (October 3):
Imagine standing in the greatest cathedral ever built, hearing voices echo for 11 seconds in the same space where emperors once knelt and empires rose and fell.
Through groundbreaking Stanford University technology, Cappella Romana’s Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia doesn’t just present medieval Byzantine chant – it resurrects the acoustic soul of one of humanity’s most sacred spaces.
Audiences are transported 1,500 years into the past, experiencing what one listener called “an almost out-of-body experience.” [Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul, Turkey, has been converted into a mosque.]
Cappella Romana is a vocal ensemble that transforms hearts and minds through encounters with the sacred musical inheritance of the Christian East and West, bringing to life these ancient and diverse traditions, especially of Byzantium, and their interactions with other cultures.
Tickets are apparently going fast.
Two worship gatherings
Do you enjoy worship events? If so, you are in luck; this Saturday (October 4) there are two. Almost too much of a good thing; too bad they didn’t check with each other ahead of time because they overlap. But a keener could fit them both in by shaving a bit of time off of each. And they’re pretty close to each other.
- Worship Conference: All My Inmost Being, Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed Church, 10 am – 5 pm
Join together with worship leaders, volunteers and church staff for All My Inmost Being as we reflect on how we bring our inmost being into the presence of God.
We will learn together from Brian Doerksen, Joshua Leventhal and Kaitlyn Rose Leventhal, all the while spending time in worship as the people of God.
“Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being praise his holy name.” – Psalm 103:1
Brian Doerksen is a songwriter, recording artist and songwriting instructor (founder of ‘Unlocking Your Songs’), but most of all he loves spending time with his high-school sweetheart Joyce. His songs are known and sung internationally in faith communities of all kinds including ‘Come Now is the Time to Worship’, ‘Refiner’s Fire’, ‘Hope of the Nations’ and ‘The River.’
Joshua Leventhal is American-born, Canadian-raised. He is a two time GMA winning, Juno nominated, eight time GMA nominated recording artist (Wins for Album of the Year, Song of the Year). He is married to a fellow creative, the love of his life – Kaitlyn Rose, who is a full-time abstract painter. He is Director of Worship at Main Street Church in Chilliwack.
Kaitlyn Rose Leventhal is a visual artist whose journey began in childhood with a love for creativity that was later constrained by perfectionism and realism, until she discovered the freedom of abstraction in college.
- Real Worship 2025, Calvary Worship Centre, Surrey, 4 – 9 pm
Real Worship
is a free, spirit-filled, interdenominational worship event for Christian believers, based on Psalm 67. This prophetic worship service . . . aims to ignite a genuine revival in the community.
Everyone loves music. It’s a universal language that transcends barriers and brings people together.
‘Real Worship’ is a free annual musical event designed to foster love, unity, networking, and spiritual awakening within our community, the body of Christ, and our host community here in BC.
This event has consistently promoted emotional health and stability among attendees, offering an evening filled with passion, devotion and heartfelt worship to God. It warmly welcomes individuals from all walks of life, creating an atmosphere where everyone can connect and feel included.
Real Worship is sponsored by Shalom House International Ministries.