Pastor Nicolas Carraway got here to Odessa and Belmont Baptist Church in January from a background of missionary work in hostile territories of the world the place “squeeze persecution” and “smash persecution” make it harmful to be a Christian.
Pastor Carraway, new pastor of Belmont Baptist Church, defined that squeeze persecution includes males getting fired from their jobs, kids being expelled from faculty, pets being poisoned, drivers’ licenses being revoked and electrical energy being lower off in Laos, Vietnam, China and different nations.
He mentioned smash persecution in Colombia, Pakistan, India, North Korea and Nigeria contains imprisonments, murders and sexual assaults.
“Nigeria is the global hotspot,” he mentioned. “An average of 17 Christians were killed every day there in 2022.”
Including that Christians are persecuted in additional than 70 nations on the planet, Carraway mentioned, “The world has changed and it’s harder to be a Christian now in the United States than it was in 1995 because the culture here has also changed.”
He mentioned america is diplomatically detached to the struggling of Christians in international nations.
Carraway is a Del Rio native who usually moved in an Air Pressure household, his father being an officer. He graduated from Pensacola Christian School in Florida and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Price. His spouse Kaitlyn teaches piano and violin.
Carraway’s 1200 W. Eighth St. church averages 80 folks at 11 a.m. Sunday.
“I’m an expositional preacher,” he mentioned. “I select a e-book of the Bible and stroll by it. We at the moment are within the Gospel of Mark and will probably be in it for a couple of 12 months and a half.
“The Cross is our ladder as much as Heaven. The a method we have now entry to God is the loss of life of his son Jesus Christ. It’s an previous story, nevertheless it’s ever new. It’s as related now because it was 2,000 years in the past.
“Jesus loved and obeyed his father perfectly and he finished his life hanging naked on a cross in front of his mother,” Carraway mentioned. “We all know it may not go nicely for us on this life, however we all know this life will not be the ending as a result of we have now the hope of the resurrection.
“We should be prepared for persecution and be comfortable in light and darkness.”
The Rev. John McLemore, retired pastor of Belmont Baptist Church, mentioned Carraway is an outgoing, pleasant man with nice vitality.
“Nick has taken his missionary experience and brought into the pastorate,” the Rev. McLemore mentioned. “He has been to a number of totally different locations and has seen a number of cultures and the methods folks stay.
“He will be successful because he gets along with people. He cares about them and is able to reach them.”
Associated
“Well bless their hearts.”
