The body of Christ: uplifting, not excluding, the saints in Nigeria
Logan Pinalto, Contributing Writer
Feature Photo courtesy of Unsplash
Imagine that every day of the past seven months, you have witnessed religious persecution happen in the country that you live in. Every day, 30 people are murdered and 35 people are abducted. Now, imagine that you are a part of their religious group. You have seen your loved ones be murdered and your best friends are missing. The future is unsure. You now fear that you are next. This is not just an imagination; this is a reality for Christians in Nigeria.
The persecution of Christians in Nigeria concerns Christians in Greenville, South Carolina, according to several sources. Trevor Hoffman, an NGU alumnus and current pastor of Ridgewood Church in Greer, South Carolina pointed to 1 Corinthians 12 in the Bible, reminding Christians that they are a part of a “body” that includes their brothers and sister in Christ across the sea.
North Greenville University (NGU) Professor Joshua Styles noted that Christians in Greenville, South Carolina, can respond to the persecution in Nigeria by praying for the persecuted church and by not running from suffering.
He elaborated on this, saying that if believers around the world are willing to joyfully submit to the consequences of not recanting their faith, Christians in Greenville can honor them by enduring ridicule they might encounter in the United States for the sake of the gospel. Christian persecution in the United States looks far different than in Nigeria, though.
According to a report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (Intersociety) made in August, “No fewer than 7,087 Christians were massacred across Nigeria in the first 220 days of 2025 … no fewer than 7,800 others were violently seized and abducted for being Christians.”
This statistic currently places Nigeria as the number one place in the world where Christians are killed for their faith.
Open Doors, a U.S. group that tracks Christian persecution, points out that various Islamic terrorist groups are responsible for these deaths and abductions. Jihadist violence (violence that uses blunt force to further the Islamic state) has continued to grow and spread in Nigeria. Islamist militants, such as Fulani fighters, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) have been listed as some of the groups that have contributed to the violence toward Christians in Nigeria.
The faith of the Christians who are persecuted in Nigeria can show endurance through hard times to Christians in Greenville. The same article posted by Open Doors shared the words of a man named Abraham who is currently a displaced Christian living in Nigeria.
He said, “We will worship God because He has preserved our lives… I still have God and He is still on the throne. He will surely deliver me.”
The faith of Abraham keeps him going as he claims that God will deliver him from the persecution that he faces.
In September, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz introduced the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act of 2025. In his bill, Cruz aims to protect Christians in Nigeria by holding accountable Nigerian officials who encourage the persecution from Islamist jihadist violence. The bill has not yet been passed into law, and it is still just a proposed bill.
Cruz said, “I urge my colleagues to advance this critical legislation expeditiously.”
Cruz has found significance in these recent events, and he believes it is a matter to address quickly.
Styles teaches legal studies and Christian studies at NGU, and he noted a couple things. First, Styles noted that persecution is to be expected in the lives of Christian believers.
He quoted a Bible passage from John 15:18 which states, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me [Jesus] before it hated you.” He says people can take hope in their suffering believing that God has good purposes for them, to refine them and make them more like Christ.
Second, Styles encouraged Christians in Greenville to live honorably.
He said, “How could I say, ‘Well, I’m willing to die for my faith overseas, but I’m not really willing to fully live for my faith here’?”
He connected this to sin and temptation, saying that people can be so willing to indulge sin but not be willing to resist temptation, whereas other people overseas resist temptation and continue to hold to the gospel even though they’re shedding their blood for it.
Styles emphasized that living in prayer and honor are some of the best ways that Christians in Greenville can respond to what is occurring in Nigeria.
Hoffman encourages Christians in Greenville to not overlook the significance of prayer. He said that people often think of prayer as the last resort when they cannot think of anything else to do, but he pointed to the biblical book of Acts where prayer is seen as the thing. He said it is important to identify with the persecuted Church in Nigeria and to weep with them.
Hoffman concluded by saying, “In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the body of Christ and the local church is the body. But that’s not at the exclusion of the body more generally.”
He gets to his main point which is that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers. Hoffman calls on Christians in Greenville to see themselves as a part of a body that extends beyond Greenville and beyond the United States.
Styles and Hoffman encourage Christians in Greenville to honor, uplift, and pray for Christians in Nigeria, as they are all a part of the body of Christ.
