A group of Muslims recently entered Drake Haron’s church inside the Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan and assaulted him. Haron has expected such violence since he left Islam to follow Jesus.

The attack, which occurred on May 28, violated the sense of peace within the small refugee church.

Haron, a Sudanese Christian living in displacement at Gorom Refugee Camp, was assaulted within the walls of his church, a space that for this community represents not only spiritual refuge but one of the last remaining structures of safety, dignity, and communal identity in an already deeply vulnerable context.

“For me, being a Christian is a privilege,” Haron said. “That Jesus had to die for my sins for me to be saved means a lot to me. Based on that reality, I have chosen to follow him and to do his will, which is preaching the gospel.”

The perpetrators remain unidentified. The attack was unprovoked and carried out in what should have been, by every standard of human decency and international norms, a protected space.

For persecuted and displaced Christians, the church is not merely a building. It is the last standing institution of hope. It is where trauma is processed, where the displaced find brotherhood, and where faith is kept alive against overwhelming odds.

When violence enters a sacred space, it does not wound one person — it wounds an entire body of believers. It signals to a vulnerable community that nowhere is safe. Haron, however, expected to encounter violence when he left Islam to follow Christ.

“Becoming a Christian from a Muslim background puts me and many others at risk, but where God has delivered me is worth the risk,” he said. “From a flesh standpoint, there is fear, but when I remember the promises of God in Jesus Christ, I become bold and strong. But those threats have never made me change my mind to be a Christian.”

Despite the pain and uncertainty, Haron remains steadfast in his faith and has appealed for prayer and support.

“I ask that you always mention us in your prayers so that we remain strong in faith and do his will,” he said. “We are optimistic that our Muslim families will be saved one day by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, we will be diligent so that we cannot be attacked and persecuted while preaching the gospel.”

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