Church Planting in Jos, Nigeria: Progress and Needs

God’s work in Nigeria is moving forward even in a place marked by persecution, poverty, corruption, and deep spiritual confusion. Sabun Baraki Baptist Church began earlier this year in Jos, and God has already saved dozens of people, brought men to baptism, and raised up believers who are getting involved and growing. The gates of hell do not prevail in Nigeria. Churches are being started, people are getting saved week after week, and the Holy Spirit is working in ways that give real encouragement.

Nigeria’s great need is not only humanitarian help, though those works are good. Nigeria needs churches planted and laborers sent into a country of around 240 million people. Nigeria has many people who identify as Christian, but that label can include everything from false religion to syncretism, where people blend church attendance with charms, sacrifices, witchcraft, and traditional religion. Nigeria also has a rapidly growing Muslim population, especially in the North, yet Islam does not stand up well to scrutiny when people hear the gospel and are willing to listen.

Persecution is real and close. Believers have been chased from villages, cut off from spouses and children, threatened by their own families, and killed for following Christ. Christians in Nigeria need protection, comfort, strength, and grace to continue in the race God has called them to run. The danger does not mean the gospel cannot be preached. Muslims are being witnessed to openly in markets, Bible studies, and ordinary conversations, and many are being saved.

Romans 3 has become especially useful because it gives the whole picture. Romans 3 shows sin, guilt, what man deserves, the death of Christ, and justification by faith. The light comes on when people see that salvation is not a matter of being born into a Christian tribe, practicing religion, or trying to be good enough. Christ saves sinners who understand their need and believe the gospel.

Nigeria’s needs show up in broken homes, polygamy, poverty, sickness, limited medical care, and a lack of Bibles. Many people work hard with very little, farm tiny patches of ground by hand, and still struggle to provide for their families. God’s grace is not limited by any of those conditions. God’s people can pray for laborers, persecuted believers, growing churches, available Bibles, and strength for those carrying the weight of ministry in a hard place.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The gates of hell do not prevail. God is building His church in Nigeria in the middle of real opposition. New believers are being baptized, growing, and taking part in church ministry. Persecution does not prove that God is absent. It often shows that the gospel has reached places where darkness does not want to give ground. [31:28]
• 2. Nigeria needs laborers and churches. Nigeria’s population is massive and continues to grow quickly, while church planting missionaries remain few. Humanitarian help can meet real needs, but churches bring the gospel, discipleship, biblical families, and faithful pastors into communities. The need is not vague. Many more laborers are needed in and around cities like Jos. [32:38]
• 3. Persecuted believers need strength to continue. Following Christ can cost Nigerian believers their homes, families, safety, and sometimes their lives. The call to pray is not merely for danger to disappear, but for believers to be comforted and strengthened in the race. Christ is worthy of costly faithfulness, and suffering saints need churches elsewhere to remember them before God. [41:30]
• 4. Romans 3 makes the gospel plain. Romans 3 brings sinners face to face with guilt, judgment, Christ’s death, and justification by faith. Religious background cannot save anyone, whether that background is Islam, nominal Christianity, or traditional religion. The gospel becomes clear when people see both the depth of sin and the sufficiency of Christ. [70:47]
• 5. A Bible in someone’s hands matters. Many Nigerians do not own a complete Bible, or they share an old copy with others. A Bible is not treated as a casual item when people have little access to one. God uses His Word to give believers truth they can return to long after an event, a visit, or a conversation has ended.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [24:20] - Missionary Family Introduction
• [25:35] - Church Planting in Jos
• [30:56] - Salvations and Baptisms at Sabun Baraki
• [31:59] - Nigeria’s Need for More Laborers
• [33:13] - Religion and Syncretism in Nigeria
• [39:05] - Persecution of Nigerian Christians
• [42:17] - Muslim Converts and Discipleship
• [45:22] - Families, Polygamy, and Broken Homes
• [47:40] - Islam’s Growth and Gospel Opportunity
• [51:23] - Languages and Ministry in Jos
• [54:33] - Daily Life, Farming, and Poverty
• [57:38] - Culture Shock and Ministry Burdens
• [63:45] - Prayer for Isaiah’s Adoption
• [70:30] - Romans 3 and the Gospel
• [72:32] - The Need for Bibles

Bible Reading

Romans 3
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” [01:10:47]

Matthew 16:18
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [30:56]

Matthew 9:37-38
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”

Hebrews 12:1-2
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” [41:30]

Observation questions

1. According to Romans 3, what does the law reveal about every person, and what can no one gain by works of the law?
2. What evidence shows that Christ is building His church in Jos even though persecution and attacks occur nearby? [30:56]
3. What examples show the difference between identifying as Christian and truly trusting Christ for salvation? [33:42]
4. What specific losses and dangers can a person face after leaving Islam to follow Christ? [40:23]

Interpretation questions

1. Romans 3 says that every mouth is stopped before God and that all have sinned. Why is it important for a religious person—whether Muslim, nominal Christian, or involved in traditional religion—to understand personal guilt before hearing about justification by faith? [01:10:47]
2. If Christ promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, how should believers understand persecution, hardship, and opposition without pretending those things are small or unreal?
3. Jesus commands His people to pray for laborers because the harvest is plentiful. What kinds of laborers are needed for churches to become healthy, growing, and lasting in a place like Nigeria? [32:18]
4. Hebrews 12 calls believers to run with endurance while looking to Jesus. How can that command give strength to someone whose faithfulness to Christ has cost family relationships, a home, or personal safety? [41:46]

Application questions

1. Nigeria has millions of people and very few church-planting missionaries. How can this group pray more specifically for God to send laborers—not only in general, but for particular cities, churches, pastors, and future missionaries? [32:38]
2. Persecuted believers need more than a quick prayer for danger to end; they need comfort, protection, and strength to continue following Christ. What could it look like for you to remember suffering Christians regularly rather than only when you hear a difficult story? [41:43]
3. Romans 3 makes clear that religious activity and good works cannot justify anyone before God. Is there any part of your own background, habits, morality, church involvement, or reputation that you can be tempted to trust instead of Christ alone?
4. Many people blend Christian language with charms, sacrifices, superstition, or other beliefs. Are there subtle ways people in your own community blend faith in Christ with fear, superstition, materialism, or self-reliance? How can you lovingly point someone back to the sufficiency of Christ? [33:42]
5. Muslims are being openly witnessed to, studying the Bible, and coming to Christ despite real risks. Who in your own daily life might be more open to a genuine conversation about the gospel than you assume? [49:19]
6. Many believers treasure a Bible because they do not own one or must share an old copy. How does easy access to Scripture affect the way you value, read, carry, and obey God’s Word? [01:12:46]
7. Poverty, sickness, broken homes, and hardship can make ministry feel heavy, yet God’s grace is not limited by any of those conditions. What burden in your life or in someone else’s life do you need to bring before Christ with greater faith and endurance? [01:00:00]