Pastor Nicolas Carraway came to Odessa and Belmont Baptist Church in January from a background of missionary work in hostile territories of the world where “squeeze persecution” and “smash persecution” make it dangerous to be a Christian.
Pastor Carraway, new pastor of Belmont Baptist Church, explained that squeeze persecution involves men getting fired from their jobs, children being expelled from school, pets being poisoned, drivers’ licenses being revoked and electricity being cut off in Laos, Vietnam, China and other nations.
He said smash persecution in Colombia, Pakistan, India, North Korea and Nigeria includes imprisonments, murders and sexual assaults.
“Nigeria is the global hotspot,” he said. “An average of 17 Christians were killed every day there in 2022.”
Adding that Christians are persecuted in more than 70 countries in the world, Carraway said, “The world has changed and it’s harder to be a Christian now in the United States than it was in 1995 because the culture here has also changed.”
He said the United States is diplomatically indifferent to the suffering of Christians in foreign countries.
Carraway is a Del Rio native who often moved in an Air Force family, his father being an officer. He graduated from Pensacola Christian College in Florida and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. His wife Kaitlyn teaches piano and violin.
Carraway’s 1200 W. Eighth St. church averages 80 people at 11 a.m. Sunday.
“I’m an expositional preacher,” he said. “I choose a book of the Bible and walk through it. We are now in the Gospel of Mark and will be in it for about a year and a half.
“The Cross is our ladder up to Heaven. The one way we have access to God is the death of his son Jesus Christ. It’s an old story, but it’s ever new. It’s as relevant now as it was 2,000 years ago.
“Jesus loved and obeyed his father perfectly and he finished his life hanging naked on a cross in front of his mother,” Carraway said. “We know it might not go well for us in this life, but we know this life is not the ending because we have the hope of the resurrection.
“We should be prepared for persecution and be comfortable in light and darkness.”
The Rev. John McLemore, retired pastor of Belmont Baptist Church, said Carraway is an outgoing, friendly man with great energy.
“Nick has taken his missionary experience and brought into the pastorate,” the Rev. McLemore said. “He has been to a lot of different places and has seen a lot of cultures and the ways people live.
“He will be successful because he gets along with people. He cares about them and is able to reach them.”
