Tribulation and testimony

Summary: Agnes lost her husband to a brutal killing on the mission field. Mark Lipdo lost his hatred for his persecutors and found a new calling instead. Their stories of grief, faith, and unshakable hope show what it takes to keep going after tragedy.

Isma and Agnes had a normal morning on 4th April 2011. After breakfast, Agnes went to gather wood in a nearby bush, while Isma left to see his family in a neighbouring town. At about 6 o’clock in the evening, people began trooping into their house. “Did your husband say he was coming back?” they asked. Soon, the dreaded news descended – Isma had been captured by a band of Hausa Fulani boys. He was taken into a mosque and asked to pray to Allah. When he refused, they took him to an abattoir, pierced his stomach, cut his tongue, and gouged out his eyes. After a slow and painful death, they buried Isma in a location still unknown to Agnes and her family. The seven boys who murdered Isma were eventually caught, but Agnes and her four sons were left devastated with no husband, no father, no corpse, and no burial site.

A missionary couple

Agnes met her husband, Isma Dogari, when he came on a mission trip to her village in Biliri, Gombe State, Nigeria. After they got married, Agnes joined Isma on his missionary journeys. They served together in Katanga and Kampani in Bauchi State, and in a small town close to Pokitsum in Yobe State. Their last mission field was in Muntokshi in Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi State. They began in each community by going about evangelizing and inviting locals for Sunday services – sometimes meeting under trees. As they taught week after week, people got converted and the congregation grew. They would then start a church building, hand it over to the Evangelical Missionary Society (the sending body of the Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA) where possible, and move to start over in another unreached community. They served many congregations alongside their four sons who were all born on the mission field.

Faith after persecution

Since Isma’s death, life has been difficult for Agnes and her sons. Her children have been unable to complete their education as they had to drop out at different levels. Ageing and other health conditions make hard labour tasking on Agnes. Nevertheless, she remains optimistic and full of faith. Despite her grief, she has developed a new conviction – to finish well and stand firm to the end like her husband did. She is still involved in missions, preaching fearlessly, and ministering to other Christians. God is using her to comfort and encourage missionaries and widows to persevere and stay strong. When people commend her and wish they had her kind of faith, she points them to God as her source.

At age 53, Agnes prays that God keeps her loyal to the end. She prays for God’s help to care for her children. She prays for the Church in northern Nigeria where persecution is rampant. She prays that God strengthens his children despite the storms, and she prays for guidance and wisdom for church leaders to speak out for the Church.

The toll and struggle

For Mark Lipdo, hating Muslims and wishing the worst punishments on them came from a place of deep pain – the pain they had caused many Christians, including himself. On the day he dedicated his daughter, militants bombed his church and one person was killed. But God instructed him to stop all his humanitarian work and learn how to love his persecutors like Stephen did in the Bible. Today, Mark runs the Stephanos Foundation which he initiated 25 years ago. He advocates for the persecuted Church and gives practical care and support to vulnerable victims.

After we were bombed, my church was full.

“For the past 25 years, I have documented the predicaments of persecuted Christians. I record daily occurrences and compile the figures at the end of each month. To date, 79,000 Christians have died and 3,000 have been kidnapped per my records. Millions have been displaced from their communities. Just this month of May, 129 incidents of violence were directed at Christians. Six hundred and twenty-two people died, 175 were kidnapped, and 80 sustained injuries. Just this morning, we woke up to news of an attack on students who were writing their exams in Lasa, northeast Nigeria. Their attackers are against Western education. There were killings, but we do not yet know how many were abducted. How do you survive and maintain your faith as a Christian amid such alarming rates of violence?”

Resilience within

Despite the suffering he has witnessed, Mark has seen what persecution accomplishes for Christians. “It pushes us closer to God and makes us stronger and fearless. The Sunday after we were bombed, my church was full. People stood together for what they believed. Those who are displaced spread the gospel wherever they go and plant new churches. I have lost many people who worked with me, and I have buried many corpses. I have faced threats, and whenever I’m invited by the police, I tell my family that may be my last day alive. But the Bible says we should not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but not the soul. If God is for us, who can be against us?”

“It is not about how bold I am in the face of persecution, but how strong I remain as a Christian. Sometimes, when trauma consumes people, they start to doubt God. I don’t want to stand ashamed before God. If you serve in a context of persecution, you had better be close to God because you don’t know who will be taken next. I’m scheduled for a meeting with 45 widows. Every one of them has seen their husband killed. But God is working everything for good. This is what keeps me hopeful. Those who miss this understanding have left the faith and taken up arms in retaliation.”

Missions amid persecution

“What we are facing in Nigeria is a complex, multifaceted form of persecution. It includes the imposition of other religious ideologies on us, laws that undermine the free practice of our faith, and atrocities committed in the name of religion, such as displaying dismembered bodies in public to instil terror. These pose a significant risk for the 120 million Christians living in the country. Persecution also comes through verbal abuse, social ostracism, imprisonment, forced conversions, and attacks on churches.”

“When you go to serve as a missionary in any place, first do some research and count the cost. Risks do not stop Christians from going where they are called to go, but we need to prepare to face them. Embrace a theology of suffering without romanticizing martyrdom and reckless risk. Take security and crisis management training, learn cultural adaptation and language, and develop contingency plans. Sending organizations should provide realistic pre-field assessments, ongoing support structures, trauma-informed care, and policies for crisis response.”

God is at work

“Be encouraged when persecution comes because God is doing something. Paul experienced persecution in his missionary journeys but his ministry brought the gospel to other nations. The early Church was greatly persecuted by the Roman empire; yet they thrived. A close friend was serving in a Boko Haram operated area when he was abducted. He stayed with his abductors who asked him to pray for their wounded colleagues and even came to him for advice. He remained in that situation for eight years.”

“If you are called to reach a specific people group, don’t let fear keep you from going. Obey God, respect the laws of your host community, pray for persecutors, and endure with joy and hope. God uses suffering for his purposes, including advancing the Great Commission.”