2025 Ministry Year End Review – and Look Ahead
Thanks to God and our generous donors, we’ve had an amazing year in Africa Arise! God has brought us through many challenges, to finally elevate our cause to the highest levels and deliver unprecedented impact.
Our ministry remains focused on three related areas: Schools for the Displaced, Raising Awareness (Documentary+Media), and Advocacy.
Schools for Displaced Youth
We now have three Arise Academy schools for displaced children up and running, with a total of some 600 full-time students served by a full time staff of 19. A fourth campus is nearing completion, which will accommodate another 500 students.
These are children, many of whom are orphans, who live in horrific conditions due to being driven from their homes by radical Islamic jihadis. They are denied and neglected by their own government, which is in many ways complicit in the atrocities.
I must admit, this year started rough. And the end of 2024, due to inflation and a dramatic hike in the Nigerian minimum wage, the cost to run our schools doubled virtually overnight. Our fundraising, which had been adequate to keep them going through 2024, suddenly needed to double as well. This became a persistent task and challenge.
I cannot thank and praise our amazing staff team enough. Even their full paychecks are just enough to maintain a basic standard of living. Yet when we fell short, they persisted. Many went without pay for months, on faith. By God’s grace, we’ve recently been able to fully catch up and even grow!
It is impossible to overstate the importance of this work. Nigeria is home to as many as 10 million innocent citizens displaced by genocide, mostly women and children. It is from these youth that the radical groups recruit (including ISIS, Al Qaida, Boko Haram, etc.) – it is said that without intervention, 50-60% of them will likely be radicalized by 2030. This would be up to 6 million more jihadis – an apocalypse for Nigeria and Africa, and a real peril for the world.
Our work is quite literally rescuing children from the cycle of death. The testimonies we receive about our students are consistent — they show up wanting to go back and kill, and they leave wanting to go back and rebuild. This is world-changing impact. The underlying statistical fact is that, of our current students, we are quite literally preventing as many as 350-360 from becoming radical jihadis.
By God’s grace, we received a $10,000 donation live, on-the-air, during an interview from influencer Laura Loomer, which has enabled us to make significant progress on our Wassa Campus – the one which will serve some 500 students.
As our reach and impact grows, so does our need. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a year-end gift and/or increased monthly pledge, to help us continue this vital work. See more about our schools here.
Raising Awareness (Documentary + Media)
The iron is hot! After 6 years of trying to get the world’s attention – the Nigerian Christian Genocide is finally making headlines!
God’s timing is always perfect. Many of you know we’ve been working, in obscurity and often in dangerous situations, to document the ongoing genocide in Nigeria. The film we’ve had under development has been intended to bring this issue to the world’s attention – a vital yet daunting task.
By God’s grace, the Nigerian Christian Genocide has finally broken into mainstream attention. It’s now a massive issue, and is likely to only get bigger. This has caused us to back up just a bit and re-tool our strategic approach.
Since we don’t have to do the rudimentary work of introducing the topic in general, we are excited that Me & Ms. Hanatu is now crystallized to focus on the plight of these displaced Nigerians. This is the heart of our work, and makes the message more direct, focused and impactful.
We are presently raising funds to complete the film, and once funds are secure we believe we can have a world-class documentary film finished in 6-8 weeks. See more at the Me & Ms Hanatu website.
As part of this effort, we are nearly finished producing a fantastic soundtrack (and related music videos) with participation from some notable Nigerian performers. You can see the videos at Nikao Sound on Youtube. They available on all streaming services under Nikao Sound and the Me & Ms. Hanatu Soundtrack.
Advocacy
In a miraculous twist, God used me personally to shift the global narrative on the Nigerian Genocide and compel Pres. Trump to take action.
On October 14, I was brought to Nigeria on a red-carpet, government-sponsored PR “stooge” tour—designed to deny genocide and sanitize atrocities. Instead, I risked his life to hijack the moment.
At a packed press conference before Nigerian and international media, I exposed the genocide and the machinery behind it: jihadist ideology, political realignment, blood minerals, and mass displacement.
Within 72 hours, over 3 billion impressions ignited across the globe, flipping the narrative from 80% denial to 70% affirmation—and, according to observers, prompting Donald Trump to threaten military intervention.
It’s crazy, but I have now become the most talked about American in Nigeria, dubbed “The Tienanmen Square Tank Man of Nigeria” and “EarthShaker” by influencers and press. I went from relative obscurity to nearing 90,000 followers on Facebook and 35,000 on X, in just a few short weeks! A Nigerian cab driver in DC was floored when I entered his taxi – “Are you Mike Arnold!?”
Learn more here: select articles and select videos (TV + podcasts + DC keynote).
Since then, I have been busy with countless podcasts and other interviews (including Fox News’ Laura Ingraham) and I was recently invited to be the keynote speaker at the Dec. 1 Stop the Christian Genocide rally in Washington DC.
While there, I was able to meet with key leaders including the head of the State Department’s International Religious Freedom division, Rep. Chip Roy, and top staff for Reps. Riley Moore and Chris Smith and Sen. Ted Cruz.
I’ve also become personally connected with numerous significant players in the human rights space, most notably Sen. Mark Walker (nominated by Pres. Trump as Ambassador At Large for International Religious Freedom) and Sen. Sam Brownback, who previously held that position.
God is using me, and my six years on the frontline, to shape the policy of US intervention. Lord willing, I will be able to continue this vital work into the new year.
While the leaders I’ve met with in Washington have good intentions, they have limited attention spans, incomplete information, and are being bombarded with Nigerian-government-sponsored lies and spin. All I met with thanked me for the deep background and first-hand testimony, and with your help I believe the Lord can use me to help steer our US policy the right direction.
Please help
All of this is only possible thanks to our generous sustaining donors. As our ministry is growing, so is our financial need. Please prayerfully consider supporting our work with a year-end donation, and consider a sustaining monthly amount (which helps us budget). Click here to give now or learn more.
Also, I am always looking for opportunities to speak to raise awareness and share what God is doing. In addition to the DC rally keynote, I’ve been blessed with opportunities to travel and speak at multiple churches, conferences and organizations. The message is not only eye-opening, but energizing and edifying. Please consider inviting or recommending me to speak to your church or group. Click here for more information.
Thank you and God bless you!
Mike Arnold
Founder, Africa Arise USA | International
Africa Arise USA is a division of Mike Arnold Ministries, a 501c3 non-profit public charity. EIN 37-1497591. All contributions are tax-deductible.