Voice of the Martyrs USA

Isabella’s faith and conviction had a deep impact on Edgar when they met and eventually married, and that has set a tone for 20 years of their life and ministry together. It takes this kind of deep faith to live faithfully and boldly for Christ in the area of Colombia, a “red zone,” where Edgar and Isabella live and work. Red zones are dangerous areas where Marxist rebel groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces and other guerrilla and paramilitary forces dominate through terror and extortion, often funded by narcotics trafficking and other illegal activity. Christians in these red zones, especially pastors and evangelists, are often violently persecuted. Pray for believers like Isabella and Edgar as they share the gospel in one of the world’s most dangerous places to be a Christian.

📍 Location: Colombia
📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

9 hours ago | [YT] | 674

Voice of the Martyrs USA

Soon after the global body of Christ helped Galgalo and his church build a water well on their church property, a severe drought hit their region in Merti, Kenya, and devastated the community. All of the town’s water sources dried up — except for the church’s well. The church shared their water with the community, and not only with the people but with their livestock also. Elders from the Muslim community have apologized to Galgalo for how they treated him and the church, something that Galgalo says is rare in their Muslim culture. Despite still facing opposition, Galgalo remains in Merti because of the encouragement he has received from the global body of Christ and because of the great number of remaining unmet needs. “There are no missionaries, there are no evangelists, there are no full-time pastors. So I give my life full-time to the ministry of the gospel,” he says.

📍 Location: Kenya
📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

1 day ago | [YT] | 1,375

Voice of the Martyrs USA

In prayer, our persecuted Christian family members make their appeals not to the authorities of their government, but to the Authority of heaven and earth. Christ is King, always and everywhere, even in the most depraved and lawless of places. Christ is King, and he will ultimately set things right.

📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

5 days ago | [YT] | 2,382

Voice of the Martyrs USA

When Galgalo and his church in Kenya submitted a request to their local government to install a water access point by their new church property, their request was denied. They kept asking, and they kept being denied. The Muslim community had realized that the church was gaining influence in the community, and persecution increased. Then, in 2018, the need for water became more dire: Local Muslim leaders prohibited any church members from using the community water supply. Soon, front-line workers connected with Galgalo, and the global body of Christ helped the church dig a water well on their land.

📍 Location: Kenya
📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

6 days ago | [YT] | 1,395

Voice of the Martyrs USA

When Galgalo returned to his hometown in Kenya after college, Muslims in the community compelled him to take his Christian faith more seriously. “[Muslims] like to debate Christians,” he said. He endeavored to study God’s Word in earnest, and as he did, he made a life-changing discovery. “I realized I said I was a Christian, but deep inside I was not transformed. I had not accepted the gospel,” he said. “Once I realized that, I surrendered.” Galgalo continued studying God’s Word and growing in his faith. He shared the gospel with others and soon started meeting with other new Christians under an acacia tree. However, opposition from the local Muslim leaders caused the small group of believers to flee to Nairobi.

📍 Location: Kenya
📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,234

Voice of the Martyrs USA

Pastor Galgalo, 49, grew up in a devout Muslim household in Merti, Kenya. Merti’s isolated location and staunch Islamic influence have made it difficult to advance the gospel in this area, but when Galgalo was a young boy, an Italian missionary established a Christian school in the town. Since his parents struggled to meet the needs of their children and the school offered a feeding program and free education, Galgalo’s parents sent him there, despite the religious differences. “That is how I first heard about Jesus,” Galgalo said. As he advanced through school, Galgalo started to call himself a Christian. When his father confronted him and threatened to disown him if he didn’t renounce Christ, Galgalo stood firm. “He told me that I either convert to Islam, or I cease to be his son,” Galgalo said. “I chose the latter option. I chose the Lord.” Pray for pastors like Pastor Galgalo as they faithfully work to advance the gospel in Kenya.

📍 Location: Kenya
📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

1 week ago | [YT] | 2,219

Voice of the Martyrs USA

REMEMBERING MARTYRS: This month in 2018, three churches in Indonesia were attacked by members of a single family. There were 28 fatalities and 50 injured, making it the deadliest attack in the country for a decade. Please remember the members and leaders at these three churches, our brothers and sisters who survived this traumatic event.

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,803

Voice of the Martyrs USA

The courage of faithful Christians in Colombia’s “red zones” and in neighboring Venezuela is inspiring. Those who serve the Lord in these areas have never been able to petition government authorities for justice. In the U.S., we may fail to appreciate this, as we can appeal to local, state and federal authorities. Christians living in these areas know that no such earthly appeal can help them. They suffer theft, violent assault, abduction of their children and murder from wicked men and women who act with impunity.

📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,850

Voice of the Martyrs USA

“In South America, Christians are most frequently and severely persecuted — and therefore VOM most significantly serves — in Colombia and Venezuela. I am thankful that these countries have been in the news in recent months because as people better understand the grievous lack of security and prevalence of corruption in these nations, they can better pray and respond to the plight of our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters,” writes VOM President Cole Richards.

📖 Read more in VOM’s May 2026 Magazine

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,987

Voice of the Martyrs USA

VOM founder Richard Wurmbrand wrote, “Many Christians are concerned only with their own personal relationship with the Lord. But Christ is the life — the life around them. It is he whom you can see in hungry, thirsty, naked, sick and enslaved humanity. He has become its sin. For many Christians, religion is only he and I, forgetting that the love between a man and Christ is always a love in a broader relationship: he, his whole creation and me. A Christian, as an heir of God, shares his responsibilities. The whole world is his parish, including our brothers and sisters in [hostile areas and restricted nations]."

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,492