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Open Doors has learned that a 24-year-old pastor and youth leader has been murdered in Colombia.

On Saturday evening (February 9, 2019), Pastor Leider Molina, 24, was murdered as he was leaving the church where he had just preached a message in the rural community in Caucasia (the country’s northwestern region). He was shot five times.

Known for his passion for preaching the Word of God, the young pastor was a youth leader known for actively serving his community and church. The region where he was killed is also home to Pastor Galarza who was murdered in front of his family last September 2018.

Both pastors murdered in Colombia were known for their commitment to actively work for the betterment of their communities and to not succumb to the threats of criminal groups.

Over the last four months, the Caucasia area has suffered record-high violence, due to the presence of armed groups that dispute the control of drug trafficking routes and the ownership of illicit crops. These groups see the Christian church as an enemy to be eradicated.

Please pray with the family and church of Pastor Molina (he had no wife or children) and the widow and children of Pastor Galarza.

Pray with the church in the Caucasia area and throughout Colombia as they face this ongoing violence. Pray for protection and boldness as they continue to stay in the area and be a light in increasing darkness.

Pray with Open Doors children’s centers in Colombia that minister to young people who have been rescued from paramilitary and criminal groups; or are children of Christians leaders whose families are often targeted.

*Representative names and photos are sometimes used to protect identity.