Source: www.christianaid.org
Date: February 12, 2026
At least 50 believers have been arrested in Yemen in recent months as persecution against Christians here increases, particularly against those from a Muslim background. The recent wave of arrests is something not seen here in years, and an indigenous ministry that supports Yemeni believers through online channels has received reports of not only increasing imprisonments, but also intense pressure on those who are arrested to provide information on other believers. Now, this ministry requests your prayers.
“Because of harsh punishment, information is being forced out of them,” the ministry leader said. “As a result, the arrests keep spreading. Families are carrying heavy fear and grief, and many are living under intense surveillance and threats.”
Khaled’s Story
Khaled* is the 17-year-old son of a wealthy Sunni Muslim and his wife. As a teenager, Khaled grew increasingly disillusioned by Islam, and one day, after stumbling across a ministry’s social media page, he began chatting with a missionary.
“I contacted him,” the ministry leader said. “I shared the gospel, and he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The ministry leader advised Khaled to be wise how he handled his new faith around his family, but Khaled was so excited that he refused to participate in Islamic prayers and fasting, and his parents discovered his secret.
“They mocked the Messiah and cursed Christians.”
“They started persecuting him,” the ministry leader said. “They mocked the Messiah and cursed Christians. They forced him to pray and fast.”
“Through all this, the church was continually praying for him.”
Eventually, Khaled stood up to his father. As a result, he was expelled from his home. Though relatives took him in, he was forced to flee after his cousin—also a strict Muslim—persecuted him. The only place he was able to find shelter was in a local mosque that gave sanctuary to homeless people, but his parents discovered him there. “They threatened him with weapons, beat him, and forced him to perform all Islamic rituals,” the ministry leader said. “Through all this, the church was continually praying for him.”
Though Khaled returned to his family, he maintains secret correspondence with the ministry leader, who prays for him constantly, recognizing his difficult circumstances and knowing the importance of maintaining a relationship with him as he continues to live under his family’s observation.
Trusting in the Lord’s Protection
The ministry leader grieves over Khaled’s suffering, but he is also unsurprised by it, nor is he shocked by the rise in believers’ arrests across the country. “This is evidence that the Lord is moving powerfully,” he said. “When darkness reacts this strongly, it is often because the light of Christ is advancing. I truly believe the reason this is happening is because more Yemenis are coming to Jesus—and the enemy is trying to stop what God is doing.”
“Even while prisons are filling, hearts are opening. The gospel is not chained.”
As evidence of this, the ministry leader also praised God for 11 people who recently contacted the ministry wanting to know more about Christ. “Even while prisons are filling, hearts are opening,” he said. “The gospel is not chained.”
You Can Help Share the Gospel in Yemen
You can assist the online ministry that disciples Yemeni believers and shares the gospel in their country through a donation today. “I believe this is a quiet revival,” the ministry leader said. “But I am praying it will become a loud revival. We are asking the Lord not only to sustain His people, but to shake Yemen with salvation.”
“The Lord is working. We will not be silent.”
Will you lift up this ministry leader’s prayer alongside him and all Yemeni believers? “The Lord is working,” the ministry leader said. “We will not be silent.”
*Name changed for security
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