“Will the Church Respond?” On Giving Tuesday, EPW Issues Urgent Call: Nigerian Pastors Are Under Fire. The American Church Must Act Now.

FAITH NEWS SERVICE – CARY, NC — As millions of Americans prepare to give generously this Giving Tuesday, one organization is sounding an alarm that demands attention: the pastors holding the future of the Nigerian Church together are being hunted, kidnapped, and killed—often without ever receiving a single day of theological training.

Equipping Pastors Worldwide (EPW) is calling on churches, ministries, and individual believers across America to respond to this moment with conviction, compassion, and partnership.

“We are training men who live under the constant shadow of danger,” says Dave Holdt, EPW’s Global Training Director. “Despite the threat of attack by armed bandits along the roads, pastors come—some risking their lives—to receive training to become more faithful expositors of God’s Word. One pastor told me: ‘Whatever the cost, I am committed to being faithful to the truth.’“

A Nation in Crisis—A Church Under Siege

Nigeria, once considered a relatively stable nation in the Global South, has become one of the most dangerous places on earth to follow Christ. Armed insurgents systematically target Christian communities. Pastors are kidnapped for ransom. Churches are burned to the ground. Entire congregations have been scattered into hiding.

And yet—they come. They walk dangerous roads. They gather together, in secret. They urgently seeking to be trained by EPW trainers so that they can teach truth faithfully.

This is not a distant crisis. This is the front line of the global Church.

EPW’s Strategic Response

EPW answers that call with a clear, courageous, and proven mission: training indigenous pastors in the world’s hardest, hungriest, and most hostile regions. In Nigeria, this means meeting pastors where they are—in their language, in their context—with resources that equip them to shepherd faithfully under fire.

The results speak for themselves:

• More than 10,000 pastors trained across the Global South
• Over 1 million biblical resources distributed
• Active training programs in 24 countries
• Materials translated into 42 languages

Why Partner with EPW This Giving Tuesday?

For churches and ministries seeking to extend their gospel impact into the most urgent and underserved regions of the world, EPW offers a strategic partnership that multiplies Kingdom investment.

Nigerian pastors are under fire—literally and spiritually. They lead flocks living in fear, often with no formal training, facing real threats daily. Your partnership changes that.

Biblical truth is being twisted and drowned out. The Church in the Global South is growing—but so is confusion. False gospels are spreading. EPW brings clarity and theological depth where it’s needed most.

Your gift equips leaders, not programs. Every $100 trains a pastor. Every $1,000 strengthens an entire region. This is high-impact, low-overhead stewardship.

EPW goes where others won’t. Remote villages. Dangerous roads. Persecuted zones. They’re already there—and they need partners who will stand with them.

This Tuesday: A Moment for the American Church

Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for the Body of Christ to demonstrate that we have not forgotten our brothers and sisters who suffer for the Name.

Holdt says, “David’s prayer in Psalm 56, is one that rises from the hearts of believers in an ever increasing, volatile region of our globe, ‘Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me; he fights and oppresses me all day long. My adversaries trample me all day, for many arrogantly fight against me.’ But his prayer doesn’t end there! It goes on, ‘When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God whose Word I praise, in God I trust.’ There is the hope for burdened and suffering pastors and their flocks in the Global South, ‘God whose Word I praise’. Will you help EPW put that hope in the hands of those who lead God’s people.”

Give today at www.epworldwide.org

About Equipping Pastors Worldwide

Equipping Pastors Worldwide (EPW) trains indigenous pastors in the most spiritually distressed and least-resourced regions of the world—equipping them to preach with boldness, disciple with clarity, and shepherd faithfully where the Church faces its greatest threats. EPW operates with a commitment to theological depth, cultural sensitivity, and strategic efficiency.

Media Opportunities

EPW executives are available for interviews to discuss the crisis facing Nigerian Christians, the state of the persecuted Church globally, and strategic approaches to equipping indigenous church leaders in hostile regions.

To schedule an interview, contact: Carl | carl@goodwillmediaservices.com www.epworldwide.org