“Pastors in Burkina Faso are responsible for the safety of the whole Christian community in their village,” says Voice of the Martyrs Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. “When the Jihadists move into an area, they don’t only kill the pastors. They know it can be even more effective to target everyone associated with the pastors, because this creates fear on the part of Christians and guilt on the part of pastors. Most pastors live with their extended families, which are very large. And pastors are always helping the members of their church to find work and support their families, so many church members are often around the pastor. So every pastor knows that by staying where they are, they put many Christians—including their own wives and children—in danger.”   

She says this is why many pastors in the most dangerous regions move with their families and sometimes their congregation members to nearby “safe towns”—areas outside of the control of the Jihadists. But according to Representative Foley, this raises new problems. “When a pastor and his family and some congregation members move, they typically are escaping at night. They have to leave everything behind,” she says. “When they get to a ‘safe town’, they have no way of supporting themselves.” 

Representative Foley says this is why Voice of the Martyrs Korea partnered with its sister mission, Voice of the Martyrs Poland, to help ten pastors and their families re-establish themselves economically in the ‘safe towns’ to which they fled.  

According to Representative Foley, the pastors have had to flee from their villages, but none of them want to give up their ministries. 

“These pastors aren’t just looking for ways to support their families,” she says. “They are looking for ways to continue their churches. That means they are looking for economic opportunities that can help support the members of their churches who have also had to flee. So they are interested in starting businesses that can provide jobs for other believers.” 

Representative Foley says this is why Voice of the Martyrs Korea and Voice of the Martyrs Poland work closely with local Christian leaders in Burkina Faso.  

“The goal was to help re-establish these pastors economically for the long term, not just to provide them aid like they would receive in a refugee camp,” she says. “We realize that helping these pastors get re-established quickly and well is the key to helping the church in Burkina Faso to remain strong for the future, in a situation where more than 10 percent of the country’s population has been displaced. We wanted to do that in a way that was integrated with the body of Christ overall in Burkina Faso. So we supported the plan of local Christian leaders rather than bringing in our own strategy.”  

According to Representative Foley, the project outcomes exceeded her own expectations.  

“At Voice of the Martyrs Korea, there are two things we always want to see: First, we always want to see the families of persecuted believers staying together. We don’t want to see pastors moving their families somewhere safe but then living separately from them in order to continue their ministry. We believe that biblically a pastor’s first and most important ministry is always to his own family. Second, we want to see pastors continuing their ministries as close as possible to the area they were serving before. We don’t want to move pastors out of their countries, because their countries need a faithful witness to Christ, and their church members need to see pastors modeling a biblical response to persecution. This project accomplished both those things well.” 

Representative Foley provided testimonies of three of the pastors who received help through the project: 

Pastor A: “I became a pastor in 2000. Since that time I have been serving the Lord. In 2024, I received the threat from the terrorist groups that they would kill me for my ministry. One of my family members had already been killed while he tried to feed the animals. The animals were taken away by terrorists. Knowing that these are not jokes, after discussion with other believers and prayers, I decided to run with my family (12 people that I’m taking care of) to the so-called safe town.’ At that time our home village was attacked multiple times. We used the opportunity and we ran away as a group.  Today, I want to express my gratitude to all of you who help me and my family. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I used to be a tailor in the past, but I lost everything. Thanks to your help, I could open a small sewing shop, with the machines, iron etc., so I can work. Being here and having the possibility to work changed our life. Slowly, slowly the work is growing.  I am also serving in the local church, helping here to preach God’s Word during the services. Thanks for what you have done for us. May God give us peace, may God bless you and give peace to you.” 

Pastor M: Pastor M became a pastor in 2011. In September 2023, there was an attack in his village, and around 20 people were killed. Together with his family (4 adults, 5 children), he had to flee. They did not have carts with donkeys or trucks, since everything had destroyed or taken away. Many villagers were evacuated by military planes that came to rescue them. As a result, they could not take anything with them. Pastor Marius said: “I want to continue my ministry here [in the ‘safe town’], where we are now. There are so many lost souls; they need to hear the gospel.” After receiving support, he said, “Thank you from my heart. You really made a huge thing for us. I could build a hen house and another small building. I have already some hens, we feed them, they grow, and I believe God will bless this work. And you did not forget us.” 

Pastor O: Pastor O is married. He is responsible for his close family members, 23 adults and 5 children in total. Pastor O became an assistant pastor in October 2005. In 2022, two of his male family members went to the hospital to get medical help. However, the hospital was attacked and they were killed. Attacks were

getting more frequent and violent. It was impossible to work in the field to grow food. Jihadists blocked the roads. The pastor and the people under his care decided that, when possible, they would move to the nearest “safe town” where one of the family members owned a plot of land. They managed to escape there, but they had to leave behind all of their belongings. Pastor O wanted to start a poultry farm. He continues his ministry to the Lord, but he says: “We have to be very careful; even here, in the so called ‘safe town,’ we have to be cautious, as terrorists can be everywhere.” He adds: “I thank God for the help I have received. We started growing pigs, sheep, and even chicken. It really encourages us. We thank you and we thank God.”

Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea and Voice of the Martyrs Poland are working with local Christian leaders to continue the project with other pastors over the next twelve months. Individuals interested in supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work with Christians in Burkina Faso can give at https://vomkorea.com/en/donate/.