American Christian Kidnapped By ISIS - Where Is The US Government?
Niamey, Niger — Kevin Rideout, a 48-year-old American Christian missionary pilot, was abducted from his home in Niamey, Niger's capital, on the night of October 22, 2025. Three gunmen raided Rideout's home compound, located approximately 100 yards from Niger's Presidential Palace.
Rideout had lived in Niamey since 2010, working as a pilot for Serving in Mission (SIM). His phone was last tracked approximately 56 miles north of Niamey, in areas where the Islamic State's Sahel Province maintains a strong presence. No group has claimed responsibility.
Rideout has been operating in Niger since 2010 as a missionary pilot engaged in training aviation pilots for evangelical, medical, church planting, and emergency humanitarian air transport operations across the Sahel.
The U.S. Embassy issued a security alert stating: "American citizens remain at a heightened risk of kidnapping throughout Niger, including in the capital city." The embassy modified security protocols and instituted mandatory curfews.
Evangelist Franklin Graham called for prayers, writing: "A missionary pilot with SIM International has been abducted. It is being reported that he was taken north to areas controlled by an offshoot of ISIS. Would you pray for his protection?"
Open Doors ranks Niger as the 28th most dangerous country for Christians globally in its 2025 World Watch List. Christian persecution has increased since the July 2023 military coup.
A Christian from Niger wrote for Fox News on October 26, 2025:
"I grew up in Niger. I spent my childhood in the Sahel region in a time when a Christian in a Muslim-majority region could expect to live in relative peace. Being a Christian in Nigeria is no longer a simple matter. Jihadist organizations, including Boko Haram, have exercised religiously implicated killings over the last 16 years, massacring 125,109 Christians and over 60,000 'liberal' Muslims. In that time, 19,100 churches have been sacked."
The author stated that more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world combined, and 16.2 million Christians across sub-Saharan Africa have been displaced from their homes.
THE CRUSADER'S OPINION
Kevin Rideout went to Niger to save lives. Islamic terrorists kidnapped him because they want to end his. That's Christianity in Africa today.
This missionary pilot spent fifteen years flying medical supplies and serving the poorest people on earth. His reward? Dragged from his home by jihadists who will likely torture, ransom, or execute him. This is what following Christ costs in Islamic State territory.
But Rideout's story is just one drop in Africa's ocean of Christian blood. A Nigerien Christian writing in Fox News told the horrifying truth: 125,109 Christians massacred in Nigeria. 19,100 churches destroyed. 16.2 million displaced. These aren't "conflicts." This is systematic religious cleansing by Islamic extremists.
Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa, Fulani militants. Different names, same mission: convert or die. They storm churches during worship. They burn families alive. They behead pastors. They kidnap schoolgirls into Islamic slavery. They tell Christians, "Deny Jesus or we kill you," and when believers refuse, they murder them on the spot.
More Christians are murdered in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined. Nigeria accounts for 69% of all Christian martyrs globally.
But there are no protests.
No media coverage.
No UN resolutions.
Because the perpetrators are Islamic jihadists and the victims are Christians, the world scrolls past.
What would happen if Christians formed terror groups and massacred 125,000 Muslims? If we burned 19,000 mosques? If we displaced 16 million people?
The international community would unleash hellfire.
But when Muslims slaughter Christians in Africa, it's explained away as "climate change" or "economic tension."
Kevin Rideout is in the hands of monsters right now. The world will barely notice because he's just another Christian martyr in Africa's endless bloodbath.
Wake up, Church.
Our brothers and sisters are being exterminated, and we're doing almost nothing.
TAKE ACTION
Contact Congress - Demand Action for Persecuted Christians:
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) - Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Africa
Phone: (202) 224-5922
Email: https://www.cruz.senate.gov/contact
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) - Chairman, House Subcommittee on Africa
Phone: (202) 225-3765
Email: https://chrissmith.house.gov/contact
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) - Co-sponsor, Nigeria Religious Freedom Act
Phone: (202) 225-4436
Email: https://stutzman.house.gov/contact
Support Organizations Helping Persecuted Christians:
- Serving In Mission (SIM) - Kevin Rideout's organization
Website: https://www.sim.org/donate
Phone: 1-704-587-1500 - Open Doors USA - Direct aid to African Christians
Website: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/donate
Phone: 1-888-524-2535 - International Christian Concern - Advocacy and relief
Website: https://www.persecution.org/donate
Phone: 1-800-422-5441 - Voice of the Martyrs - Supporting martyrs' families
Website: https://www.persecution.com/give
Phone: 1-918-337-8015
