Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: June 6, 2026
Pastor Karen Nieles still feels unsafe in Colombia, after the devastating loss of her husband last year. Stories like hers show why religious leaders need protection – and why we need to pray.
‘I spent time with Pastor Karen during a recent visit,’ said Scot Bower, our CEO. ‘We sat and talked on her front porch, played with the kids and ate plantain... It all felt extremely normal. But less than 50 meters from where we sat, hidden from view by a tree, is the place where Iván was shot and killed – where the police refused to attend because they were too afraid.’
Iván, also a pastor, was 28 when he was killed in January 2025, after refusing to let a local armed group store drugs and guns in their church.
Pastor Karen shared how deeply her husband loved and served others: ‘If there was a lightbulb missing, he would get it. If someone needed something, Iván was always ready to help.’
‘A couple of days [before he died] he told me that he was not afraid to teach the Bible, that his life was new. He told me, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”’
It’s because of people like Karen and Iván that we’ve launched a new campaign: Total Peace.
We’re calling the Colombian government to urgently restore protection for religious leaders – recognising the unique risks they face.
Because of their peaceful influence in communities, religious leaders are obvious targets for illegal armed and criminal groups seeking total control. Yet the Colombian government stripped them of state protections in 2023, leaving them more exposed than ever.
Since December 2024, at least 11 religious leaders have been kidnapped or killed, including Pastor Iván. How many more lives will be lost before action is taken? Without protecting the vulnerable, can there ever be total peace?
Please join us in praying:
- For safety and stability for Pastor Karen, her children, and the church she led in Magdalena: New Rebirth in Christ.
- For Pastor Rodian and Pastor Kelly, whose home and church in Santa Marta was burnt to the ground by attackers who were angered by Rodian’s preaching.
- For all religious leaders under pressure from illegal armed and criminal groups. Pray that Colombia’s incoming government will restore the protection they so clearly and urgently need.
- That God would use our advocacy, prayers and campaigning to bring change.