Another Tragic Loss as Second Protestant Leader in Colombia Is Murdered
A second Protestant church leader was assassinated in Colombia after a church service last week. According to the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide, two individuals on a motorcycle stopped and opened fire on Iván García, a 28-year-old church leader and preacher, after he led a service in Northern Colombia last Wednesday. At the time, Garcia was walking with his 14-year-old stepdaughter and six other people on an unlit road when the two gunmen appeared.
Garcia was fatally shot six times, including twice in the head, before the assailants fled the scene, per The Christian Post.
A woman standing alongside Gracia was also injured after a bullet hit her arm.
He was married to Pastor Nierles, who leads New Rebirth in Christ Church in the village of Garital, in the Banana Cultivation Zone (Zona Bananera) of Magdalena Department, for six months before his death.
Nierles credited her late husband for helping the small church have a significant growth in membership, from seven to 30 committed members. She noted that Garcia was a former member of an illegal armed group before returning to their Christian faith but never warned of any threat prior to the attack.
"A few days ago, he told me that he was not afraid to teach the Bible, that he had a new life. He told me, 'For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.'" Nierles was quoted as saying.
About a month prior to the assassination, Garica and Nierles heard two gunshots as they were leaving García's job, according to Pastor Yimys Peñalosa, leader of the Church of Revival and Fire for the Nations, Under His Glory denomination — which includes Pastor Nierles' church.
However, they did consider the shots as a direct threat and quickly returned home.
The incident follows a recent assassination of another Protestant pastor just two weeks prior. As CrossWalk Headlines previously reported, Pastor Marlon Lora of Prince of Peace Villaparaguay Church, along with his wife, Yurlay Rincon, and adult daughter, Ángela, were killed on Dec. 29, 2024, after they were fatally shot by a gunman as they ate lunch outside a restaurant after a church service.
The pastor's son, Santiago, also died after succumbing to injuries from the shooting.
The Ombudsman's Office of Colombia revealed last October that between 2023 and 2024, there was a 31 percent increase in violations of religious freedom rights, including "discriminatory treatment towards churches and religious denominations, as well as death threats against religious leaders and authorities."
There was also a 50 percent rise in death threats between 2023 and 2024.
According to Open Doors International's World Watch List, Colombia ranks as the 46th worst country in the world where Christian persecution is most rampant.
Related Article: Heartbreaking Loss for Colombian Church as Pastor and His Family Are Killed
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Bruce Yuanyue Bi
Originally published January 16, 2025.
