Uzbek pastor jailed and deserted but still faithful

A Christian pastor in Uzbekistan has been describing how he was arrested and jailed for eight years just for conducting Bible studies and having Christian books in his home - freedoms most people take for granted.

The police have come for him three times, his congregation has deserted him, his youngest daughter almost starved to death, yet still Pastor Salavat Serikbayev remains faithful to the Lord, reports Christian persecution watchdog Release International.

Pastor Serikbayev leads an unregistered Pentecostal church in the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan. He tells his story on video in the latest edition of World Update on the Persecuted Church, the award-winning webcast from Release International.

Under Karakalpakstan's repressive religious policy only Muslim communities and a single Russian Orthodox parish are allowed to operate. All other religious activity is illegal.

Pastor Serikbayev, a former Muslim, was jailed in 1999 for conducting Bible studies, performing baptisms and having dozens of Bibles and Christian books in his home. But jail and several other brushes with the law have not stopped him from serving Jesus.

"I had a family including two children at that time," he says. "Still I was happy to suffer for Christ; this was something I could do for Jesus."

Undeterred he continued to lead a church. Then in February 2006, he was arrested again for his religious activities in Karakalpakstan. He was sentenced to two years of correctional labour, reduced to one year, and was made to cultivate plants in the desert.

He was in trouble again the following year when the police raided his church. Says Pastor Serikbayev: "I was at a monthly pastor's meeting at this apartment. After half an hour, 15 of 16 policemen raided the meeting and said, why are you here? Many had no passports, so everyone was arrested and taken to the police station.

"I was charged with illegally teaching in an illegal meeting," he told Release International's partners, The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada.

Pastor Serikbayev' wife Aitgul was confined to her home by authorities after her husband's arrest.

Out of fear, Christians refused to help the family and relatives rejected them because of their faith in Jesus. Their oldest daughter Rachel, just two at the time, almost starved to death.

"I was not mad at God," says Aitgul. "I found in the Bible that man does not live only by bread, but the Word of God. Of course it was a hard time, but it was also a time of blessing."

Following his return home from prison, Pastor Serikbayev sent out an invitation to his now disbanded congregation for a church service, but no one came.

"So I opened the Bible and started to worship by myself. I had prepared a sermon and I spoke to the empty walls, no one came. For two days I had sermons for nobody, but it was the most powerful and spiritual time in my life."

After a month, the majority of his congregation returned. By then the church had been stripped of its official registration.

"Our church is a cell church; every cell has three to five people. There are many groups. Once a week I gather together the leaders of these groups and preach to them," he says.

"I also go to the hospital with members of our church to visit the many ill people in our city, some have tuberculosis, and we try to comfort them with food, medicine and hair cuts.

"Because we have no registration we must do all charitable work illegally. If they catch us, it would be big trouble for us."

Pastor Serikbayev and Aitgul now have five children, and in spite of the dangers they face there is no thought of stopping their ministry.

"God put me here as a shepherd to care for his flock. As long as my heart beats I will care for the flock as a shepherd."

"Please pray for Pastor Salavat Serikbayev and his wife Aitgul," says Release International's CEO Andy Dipper. "And instead of just getting angry about persecution, let's get down on our knees. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Uzbekistan. Ask God to guide us in how we should provide for them, and to give us the courage and determination to live lives that are worthy of them and are just as effective for the gospel.

"In Uzbekistan and around the world Christians will face - not just mild ridicule but full-blown persecution for obeying the Great Commission of Christ, for being witnesses to their faith," says Dipper. "For those of us living in freedom, this is the crux. Is our witness worthy of persecution?"

Pastor Serikbayev told his story to Release International's partners, The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada. You can watch his story on the latest edition of World Update on the Persecuted Church, available for download on www.releaseinternational.org, or on DVD for screening in church.

The pioneering news bulletin was a world first for Release International. It is now also being screened on Revelation TV, The Omega Channel, and the web channel Premier.TV. Viewing numbers continue to climb, as through the webcast RI aims to give persecuted Christians - denied a hearing in their own nations - a truly global voice.

Through its network of partners, RI serves the persecuted church in 30 nations.