On September 23, a mob of approximately 60 people led by a Buddhist monk and a local politician set fire to a partially constructed church hall belonging to the Prayer Tower Church in Mailankulama, Puttlam district, Sri Lanka, according to a September 25 report from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. Several Christians who tried to intervene in the attack were assaulted. Police officers were eventually able to disperse the mob. However, around midnight some of the attackers threatened to kill Christian children if they attended school the next day. Another church member who had tried to protect the building was also threatened with death by the militants on both September 23 and 24. The arson attack was the second in the district in recent months as another church building was burned down on August 17.

Pray that attacks on Christians and church buildings in Puttlam district will cease (Psalm 33:14-22). Pray that those who act with hostility against Christians will repent and be drawn to faith in Christ.

To learn more about the struggles Christians in Sri Lanka face, go to the Sri Lanka Country Report.