The Chairman’s Report for October

In this issue of the newsletter
New: Charlie Kirk spoke out against Islamic terror in Nigeria
Update: Sunni Muslim terror in Nigeria claims more Christian lives
Update: Improvements at Nigeria orphanage – Better use of space
Update: Christmas programs for children displaced by terror

A Champion for the Persecuted is with the Lord

It has been one month since Charlie Kirk has gone to be with the Lord.

We lost a great warrior for the Gospel, a man who spoke out for liberty, free speech and for persecuted Christians all over the world.

The Christian world mourns the loss of Charlie Kirk; a man whose bold voice and unwavering faith were a source of strength for believers around the globe.

While he was a prominent figure in American politics, his primary calling, as he often said, was “winning souls for Jesus Christ.” His advocacy for liberty and freedom was not a political strategy, but a core belief rooted in his understanding that these are “God’s ideas.”

For the Christians we serve in Nigeria, Kirk’s death is a deeply personal sorrow. As Reverend Dr. Gideon Para-Mallam shared, many in the country’s persecuted Middle Belt saw in Kirk a “brother” whose words “echoed our struggles here.”

Charlie Kirk refused to ignore the brutal reality of Christian persecution, highlighting the plight of those who face daily violence and displacement in places like Plateau and Benue States in Nigeria where we work.

He was a champion for the oppressed, and his death is felt as a painful loss.

In a powerful testament to his faith, his wife, Erika, spoke of his passing, saying that he was “standing with his Savior.” It is this profound truth that brings comfort amidst our grief.

Charlie Kirk is not gone; he has been welcomed into eternal life, a reward for a life lived in service to the Lord. His example reminds us that our work must continue with renewed urgency.

The fight for religious freedom is a spiritual battle, and we must carry Charlie Kirk’s torch to ensure the persecuted are not forgotten.

Sunni Muslim Terror in Nigeria

The horror of persecution Charlie Kirk pointed to continues in Nigeria. The latest news from Nigeria’s Benue State is heartbreaking, confirming what we have witnessed firsthand on our trips to the region. The relentless persecution of Christians continues, leaving a trail of devastation that we, through your support, are striving to address.

Recent reports highlight the profound and tragic impact of attacks by Sunni Muslim Fulani Herdsmen in Benue State. The violence has left thousands of Christian widows and countless children orphaned, facing a future without hope or assistance.

We know these faces; we have delivered aid to their IDP camps, and we have seen the despair in their eyes. The situation is dire, with many of these families abandoned and left to fend for themselves after losing their loved ones and livelihoods.

One of the most powerful ways we are working in Benue State to restore hope is through education. Partnering with the Tiv Tribe, the Religious Freedom Coalition built a three-classroom school at an IDP camp there.

This school provides a safe, structured learning environment for displaced Christian children who previously had to learn under trees.

We also supplied desks, chairs, and educational materials, ensuring these children can continue their learning in a protected space, shielded from the elements.

Sadly, the IDP camp where the school is located has been attacked twice by Fulani Herdsmen leaving dozens of fatalities. The children were spared by the grace of God. The school has stayed intact and is in use as even more Christian farmers are run off their land.

For a broader perspective, a report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) estimated that over 7,000 Nigerian Christians were killed by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen Islamists in the first 220 days of 2025.

The need is immense. The attacks have not only claimed lives but have also destroyed farming and education, leading to widespread hunger and a generation of children without hope. We ask for your continued prayers and support.

Building Hope: An Update on Improvements at Nigeria orphanage Praise God! We are thrilled to share a powerful story of progress and provision from our orphanage in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.

Over the past six months, we have watched God work through your generosity to build a second floor on the orphanage classroom building. We started with architectural drawings in January, and by late February, construction was underway.

Our local team worked tirelessly, and by March, the second floor was at the roofing level, a visible sign of God’s grace and your faithful support.

Despite a brief delay in the delivery of roofing materials in April, the work was completed by the end of the month. The transformation continued with plastering, flooring, and the installation of windows and
doors throughout May and June.

By July, the entire second floor was completed “to the Glory of God”. Your gifts have helped create a safe and welcoming space for the orphaned children in our care.

Now, the focus has shifted to furnishing the new library. As of September, the new library furniture has been installed, filling the room with bookshelves and study carrels.

This furniture was not purchased; it was built by the older children in our wood shop class, a testament to their hard work and a wonderful example of building skills that will serve them long into the future.

The children will soon have new dedicated spaces to learn, read, and grow. The computer lab will allow expanded interaction with a Bible college that has offered courses for our students.

In the photos the new library and computer lab are shown. While the furniture is in place the computers and printers had not as yet been purchased. Prices vary, but big-name computers such as Lenovo and HP can be purchased at much lower prices than in the United States.

Why are costs so much higher for computers in the USA? The computers and printers are made in China, and prices are set by market conditions. Americans are willing to pay more, so prices are set higher in the United States.

This is the reason I have consistently been against buying materials in the United States and paying to ship them to Africa and the Middle East. Better value is obtained by buying in mission locations rather than in the United States. At the same time, we are supporting jobs locally by buying locally in mission locations. Food staples in particular cost much less in Nigeria than in the United States.

Will there be further construction? More space may be needed for administrative offices for our ministry including for workers who are assisting new orphans and IDP families who have been run off from their homes by Sunni Muslim Fulani herdsmen who are terrorizing Christians.

Those plans are for the future. For now, settling in and making the best of what we have built is our main objective.

AND … I continue to work in Washington, DC to move Congress and the Administration to pressure the Nigerian government to stop the slaughter of Christians in the belt states such as Plateau and Benue.

Christmas in the Holy Land

I started the Christmas for Refugees program in Jordan in 2014. The first programs were primarily for Iraqi and Syrian Christian Refugees in Jordan.

The armed Sunni Muslim revolt financed by the United States and Saudi Arabia to overthrow the secular government of Syria began in 2011.

The Syrian Sunni Muslim “rebels” targeted Christians while fighting to overthrow the Syrian government. The Islamic State was born out of the revolt against the secular government of Syria and spread in the Middle East and Africa.

The Islamic State incursion from Syria into Iraq made the situation for Christians worse. The Christmas for Refugees and Diapers for Refugees programs helped tens of thousands of Christians in IDP camps in Iraq and
Jordan.

The names of those aid programs for Christian families may be only a decade or so old, but my work in those areas helping persecuted Christians dates far earlier. Assistance to Christian schools in the West Bank and aid to Christians in the Holy Land began more than twenty years ago.

For Christmas, 2025 we will deliver various gifts including food, hygiene supplies, blankets and heater fuel along with the joy of celebrating a relationship with Jesus.

Christmas and aid programs will be expanded in the birthplace of our Lord where Christians now face extreme conditions of poverty. Christ has been officially banned in Bethlehem, but we will hold services and special events for Christian children there.

All gifts to our mission and aid programs will be doubled this year. How it works:

Matching Gift Fund: A group of resolute supporters of the Religious Freedom Coalition have set up a Matching Gift Fund. Gifts sent in support of Christmas and all other mission programs will be matched with an equal gift from the Matching Gift Fund.

Any gift to missions whether it is $5 or $500 will be matched. The part you play will help change the lives of Christian families for the better.

Your mission gift, of any amount, will be matched. Your gift will have double the impact on the lives of families in need.

William J. Murray, RFC President