Praying for the Nations

Pope Francis visited South Sudan in February of 2023.

It was the first time a pope had ever been to South Sudan (which only became a country in 2011), so it was a big deal. More than 100,000 people gathered to attend a huge open-air mass conducted by the pope in Juba, the capital city. The purpose of the trip was to promote peace in the world’s newest nation, which has been plagued by conflict since it achieved independence.

Four years earlier, Pope Francis received a number of top South Sudanese leaders in a state visit at the Vatican. The pontiff, already elderly and pretty frail in 2019, surprised everyone by repeatedly getting down on his knees and kissing the feet of the African dignitaries as he pleaded with them to seek peace.

A few months after that, in January 2020, I was in Bangui, Central African Republic, and visited the rustic central cathedral where I saw photos from Pope Francis’s visit there some years earlier. Over his five journeys to the continent during his papacy, Pope Francis visited ten African countries, most of which are among the poorest and most neglected in the world.

It was not a particular surprise when Pope Francis died in the early-morning hours of Monday, April 21, 2025. He was an old man of 88 and had been ill for a long time. Yet his death did come as a sort of shock to many, especially in Africa, who felt that this pope truly identified and empathized with the world’s most marginalized populations.

Some of Pope Francis’s statements and positions were controversial even within the Roman Catholic Church, to say nothing of the significant differences between Catholic and Evangelical understandings of Scripture and doctrine. These differences are real, and they are worth paying attention to and understanding. But even as a non-Catholic, I appreciated the pope’s evident heart for the nations. Yes, I disagreed with him on a number of important theological issues, but I admired his tireless striving for peace.

At Tyndale, we have many partners who live and work and minister in the African countries the pope visited, including South Sudan. Some of our friends and partners even met the pope during some of those visits. They didn’t always agree with him theologically either, but they were grateful for his attention and care and for the spotlight he shone on their struggles.

As Catholics around the world mourn Pope Francis’s death—and as the world watches with cautious interest to see who will be selected to succeed him—let’s remember to pray for peace in the parts of the world where peace has been elusive for so long. Despite our legitimate differences, the biblical longing for peace is one thing Catholics and Evangelicals should be able to agree on, work toward, and pray for together.

Here’s what’s happening.

Pray for North Africa
Three weeks ago, a young husband and father working with a THF partner in North Africa was on his way home from an outreach event in a nearby village when his motorbike was struck by a car. The young man was thrown from the bike and killed instantly. Initially the collision appeared to be a terrible accident, but this young man was known to be an outspoken Christian in a context where speaking about Christianity is illegal, and the person driving the car had attacked him twice before. It soon became clear this was no accident but an intentional attack. When they learned about his death, the community of believers attempted to give him a Christian burial, but the leaders of the majority religion dug up the body and publicly desecrated it as a warning to everyone not to convert to Christianity or have anything to do with Christians. They even filmed their actions and posted the video on social media. The murdered man leaves behind a wife and two young children, who have now been evacuated from the country and are being cared for while they grieve. Obviously I’m omitting lots of details here, because the situation is still very volatile, and unfortunately, this kind of attack is far from rare in the region. According to Open Doors, violence against Christians is increasing globally, including in the country where these events took place earlier this month. Please pray for our partner organization and its leaders, for the believers in the country who are still reeling from this attack, for the young widow and her children, and for Christians around the world who face persecution because of their faith yet don’t hesitate to speak about Jesus even when threatened with death.

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Pray for Myanmar
It’s been less than a month since a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake violently shook the country of Myanmar, toppling buildings, killing thousands, and displacing tens of thousands of people from their homes. Weeks later, aftershocks continue from time to time, and many people are afraid to sleep indoors. Food and water are in short supply. Damaged and destroyed buildings need to be demolished and cleaned up, and it is up to homeowners and business owners to take care of the debris themselves with no assistance from the military government. Thousands of families are mourning the loss of family members, some of whom haven’t even been found yet. The situation remains desperate, to say the least. As usual, it is the Christian communities who are stepping up and doing their best to provide assistance and relief in the form of food and water, basic supplies like mosquito nets (needed for sleeping outdoors in Malaria-heavy areas), and relocation services for those who have lost their homes. Christians in Myanmar are a persecuted minority, so the fact that they are the ones boldly lending a helping hand in the name of Jesus when the government will not is notable. Just yesterday, the THF Executive Committee authorized emergency grants to two partner organizations in Myanmar to help with relief efforts. Please pray for the people of Myanmar and especially the believers there who want to provide physical care for their neighbors but even more importantly want to proclaim the gospel in a context where people are desperately looking for hope.

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Pray for Congo
At the end of January, paramilitary forces from a rebel group known as M23 launched a campaign against government troops in the regional capital of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After a week of intense fighting, the city—along with the entire North Kivu region—had fallen under rebel control. Almost three months later, the situation remains incredibly tense, with other countries including Rwanda and Uganda getting involved both diplomatically and militarily. I’ve been in contact with a THF partner who lives in Goma. He is safe for the moment but obviously concerned for his friends, family, and church members who are under threat. Here is how he described the situation a couple of weeks ago, in his own words: “The last week of January 2025 was very bloody in Goma. 5 days of shooting and shelling. People were hiding under beds and mattresses. 9000 loved ones were killed. More than 4000 wounded. 4000 criminals run away from prison. The rebels are recruiting boys by force, and we fear. The cost of living is high. Banks and financial institutions have not opened. Salaries have not been paid since 3 months. Urban criminality has increased. Every night shooting. People are targeted and kidnapped even during the day. Our area has been at war since 32 years. The war generation that represents 75 percent of the nation is highly traumatized.” Please pray for the people of Goma and the entire DRC and especially for the Christians there who are already responding to needs even though the threat of violence is still very real.

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Pray for Stateville
Much closer to home (for those of us in Illinois), THF partners are celebrating answered prayers in Stateville Correctional Center outside Chicago. A group of men from some local churches has been visiting the prison one Sunday per month for several years, conducting church services, praying with inmates, and distributing Bibles. Tyndale has provided several cases of English and Spanish Bibles, and the team took a few dozen Bibles with them when they visited just two days ago on Easter. One of the team leaders wrote yesterday, “WOW. The day started with answered prayer. The guard who was processing our entrance was one tough cookie. She had an older gate sheet, and a couple of us were not on the list. I produced an email from the former chaplain which included the names, but she wasn’t having it. However, on the way to Stateville, the Lord prompted us to pray for the warden. Incredibly, as we entered the unit, who was standing there with the guard? You guessed it. The warden. There was a joyous greeting with hugs and handshakes. Once the warden departed is when we realized how strict the guard was. However, in the end, I saw her soften, and she let us in. I don’t believe that would have happened had it not been for the warden being there (which has never happened before). To God be the glory!” The team leader also wrote, “One of the interesting dynamics of the Minimum Security Unit is that men are there for a relatively short time, so we have men ‘graduating’ out of our service on a regular basis. They are taking their Bibles with them to their homes, which is fantastic.” Please pray for this prison Bible distribution project and for the inmates whose lives are being transformed as they encounter the God of the Bible and experience true freedom in Christ.

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That’s it for this week’s briefing. Please send any questions, comments, and any stories of papal encounters to [email protected]. I send out this email resource most weeks primarily for a Tyndale audience, but you should feel free to share it with others who may be interested, inside or outside of Tyndale. Thanks for continuing to pray for and support our partners around the world.

Jeremy Taylor
President | Tyndale House Foundation

The THF Weekly Briefing provides information about significant events happening in the wide universe of Tyndale House Foundation partner organizations as well as an occasional peek behind the scenes of THF’s operations. It is available to anyone at Tyndale who’s interested in learning more about the Foundation side of the organization. Was this email forwarded to you? Contact [email protected] to be added to (or removed from) the distribution list.