Top global countries for Christian persecution

 

Afghanistan tops Open Doors watch list of worst countries for Christians

Across the globe, Open Doors found that there has been a 24% increase in Christians killed because of their faith.

Religious Terrorism at Record Low, Government Persecution at Record High - CT and Pew

 

Pew: Religious Terrorism at Record Low, Government Persecution at Record High

Disturbing trends for Christianity in China

As China's president Xi Jinping continues to consolidate his power there are very troubling signs of the repression of the church. In recent days major house church movements have been banned, Churches have been told to replace pictures of Jesus with pictures of Xi Jinping, there is a plan to prevent on line ministries and China is seeking to restrict Christian activities with 26 new rules.

For an overview of these developments, read this article from Christianity Today

Putin crosses a line - bans Russians from preaching the Gospel outside churches. From Joel Rosenberg's blog.

Putin crosses a line — bans Russians from preaching the Gospel outside churches. Here’s the latest from Joel Rosenberg's blog.

Do not neglect to pray this Christmas for the places of greatest persecution of God's people

We celebrate this Christmas season. We can do so because of the freedom we have. There are many who do not share that freedom today but will be secretly celebrating Christ's birth. Check out this list of countries that need our prayer this Christmas.

Watch List of Christian Persecution

Pray for believers in Egypt

Once again, Christians are caught in the cross fire of conflict in the middle east. With the recent ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood from leadership in Egypt the Brotherhood has turned its wrath not only on the military and anti Brotherhood parties but against believers. Over one hundred churches have been destroyed and the businesses and homes of Christians have been targeted as well. And that is only what has been reported officially.

Unfortunately this simply displays the real agenda of the Muslim Brotherhood which is not "democracy" but the establishment of Sharia Law and the cleansing of Egypt of "infidel" believers. Just as there was an exodus of believers from Iraq in the aftermath of the war, many predict the same will happen in Egypt unless the Muslim Brotherhood is contained.

Egypt is a central country in the Middle East and the presence of Christians there is critical to a gospel witness in the entire region. Please pray for their safety and for peace and stability in Egypt for all people.

We will handle the beatings! Persecution in Khartoum

Guest Blogger

Kevin Kompelien

ReachGlobal Africa International Leader

In my role as ReachGlobal Africa International Leader I have been privileged to meet some amazing indigenous leaders and to see God do extraordinary things in the face of very difficult opposition to the Gospel. Many of these leaders are unknown to the world, but are heroes of the faith to me. In the following article from the ALARM August newsletter, Celestin Musekura, President & CEO of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), shares a powerful story of some of these modern day heroes of the faith.

In July I spent three days in Khartoum, and one afternoon I sat in the home of a fellow pastor who’d been tortured and persecuted for training and empowering the Christian community to preach the message of forgiveness and reconciliation. “How are you doing?” I asked him. “I am healing well,” he said, while lifting his shirt and showing me fresh scars on his back and chest. “My chest still gives me pain in the night, but I am at peace and thank God for the privilege of serving him.”

“How is your family?” I asked, trying to hide my tears but unable to disguise the emotion in my voice. “My wife and boy are scared, but we are committed to staying here.” 

That evening I met a dozen pastors and church leaders, some of whom have endured humiliation and persecution and yet are still asking for more training so they can be effective in their ministries. As one of them said, “The more we are persecuted and tortured, the more our torturers hear the Gospel. If this is the only way for them to hear and see the Gospel in us, then let us get our bodies strong and our minds equipped with biblical truths.” When I asked how ALARM partners and the American Church can help, one of the leaders said with a big smile, “Feed our bodies, feed our minds, and encourage our hearts. We will handle the beatings.”

How do we respond to stories like this? Do we feel bad, shed a tear, and then go on with our lives or do we commit ourselves to pray and seek ways that we can come alongside these brothers and sisters as they stand on the front line for the Gospel? Complacency is not an option for us! These are our brothers and sisters. We must honor them, cry out to the Lord on their behalf, and ask Jesus how we can come alongside them.

The heart of a Christian leader: sacrificial service

I have recently been mulling on the words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 and their implications for Christian leaders everywhere. The Corinthians were not an easy bunch to minister to. They were full of themselves it seems and rather ungrateful for Paul's ministry to them. He had opened his heart to them but they not to him (2 Cor. 6:11-13). All of us can relate to that at times in leadership.


Read carefully what he said about how he ministered to them.


"We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be descredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of god with weapons of righteousness in the right and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed: sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."


These themes stand out:


- A life and ministry that are above reproach
- Kindness and patience toward those he ministered to
- A life lived in the presence and power of God
- A willingness to suffer hardship for the sake of the Gospel
- A spirit of joy in spite of those hardships


There was no sense of entitlement on Paul's part. Rather, there was a willingness to endure hardship, misunderstanding and physical deprivation for the Gospel. He did not envy those who had more (the Corinthian church was wealthy) because he understood what he did have in spite of all his difficulties. He took a humble posture even toward those who had a posture of pride.

This is evident from the last sentence which is profound: "having nothing and yet possessing everything."  He fully understood that whatever his personal circumstances he actually possessed everything in Jesus. 


It is very easy in ministry leadership to feel sorry for ourselves, to think about what we do not have that others have and to feel a sense of entitlement and pride. But the heart of a true Christian leader is one of sacrificial service that gets its true satisfaction from the One we serve.


I want the heart of Paul because it is the heart of Jesus.

The cost of freedom

As a reader of history I am always amazed and deeply appreciative of the cost that was paid for the freedoms we enjoy and which most of the world does not. Men and women who willingly went into the line of fire knowing the risks and who were willing to pay the price - often the ultimate price. Memorial day is a sober day for anyone who has walked the graveyards of Normandy, Manila, Hawaii and others scattered around the world.


As one who regularly travels to countries where our freedoms are non existent, I am all too aware of what freedom means - or the lack of it. 


There is another kind of freedom that is even more important - that of the spiritual freedom that the Gospel brings. And there is a long list of God's servants who have given their lives, and do every day around the world. There is no freedom in this world, political or spiritual without a cost. 


Just as our world is in need of those like my nieces and nephews who are in the armed services defending our freedom, the church needs those who will go to hard places for the sake of the Gospel in spite of the risk. Political freedom brings temporal freedom. The Gospel brings temporal and eternal freedom.


I thank each member of our team in ReachGlobal who have given their careers to the cause of the Gospel. And to every member of every mission and every Christian worker in hard places. Your willingness to answer the call of Jesus is paying eternal dividends of men and women and children who have found freedom in Jesus.


Freedom is costly. It is also worth it. God's army is still waiting for those who will join it!

The church needs persecution to stay healthy

Persecution is good for the health of the church. In some ways I don't like that but my experience is and church history tells us that when the church is under pressure it sheds its baggage and rises to the occasion in serious faith. It also separates those who are cultural Christians and serious Christ followers. 


Serious Christianity brings persecution because it is a threat to Satan's territory. When the church is not challenged it often becomes stagnant and is no longer a threat to the evil one. The experience of the early church as recorded in Acts is evidence that persecution lights a fire under the church and the church on fire results in persecution.


In China the church under communism flourished. In Iran today, the church under pressure is growing. In Saudi Arabia under extreme pressure, cell groups are springing up. Indian Christians have significant persecution in many parts of their country and the church is growing regularly. 


Contrast that with the relative limited impact the church in the west has today where it is easy to be a believer and where there is little cost associated with following Jesus. When faith is easy, it is also often shallow. When it requires a cost, it goes deep and calls the question as to our sincerity in following our Lord.


There are many parts of the world where suffering for faith is considered a mark of honor. Paul expressed that sentiment when he talked about sharing in the sufferings of Christ. Jesus promised that those who followed him would be subject to persecution and ill treatment. That is why He spoke of taking up His cross and following Him.


I do not pray that the church would be free from persecution. I pray that God would build His church and whatever it takes for that to happen is to the church's advantage. I also believe that it is going to take pressure on the church in the west if it is going to become vibrant again. 

The Privilege of Persecution

I spoke yesterday to a group of church leaders and pastors from across India on the subject of ministering from a posture of weakness (my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness) from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. At the conclusion I asked for their response and heard some amazing stories of persecution, suffering and God's intervention. These men and women of faith understand what it means to minister from weakness and to share in the sufferings of Christ.

In one instance a church planter told about being surrounded by radical Hindu's on a road where he was travelling by bicycle. He had on him a Bible and some tracts. The men asked him what he was carrying and he told them, "I have the gospel of Jesus for you." They told him they were going to kill him and he said, "Before your do so, you need to know which God I am serving," and handed them a tract. His comment - coming with the lack of fear that they expected scared them and they quickly backed off and left him alone. The pastor said, "They were scared and I was calm." God was obviously with him.

The church in the west knows virtually nothing about the privilege of sharing in the suffering of Christ because of our faith but we ought to be praying for those who experience it day in and day out. These men and women are my heroes. They have nothing to gain by what they do and everything to lose but they live day to day trusting God for their very food and protection. And He shows himself to be faithful in small and large ways.

Recently I wrote an endorsement for a new book entitled, The Privilege of Persecution. It is a must read for those in missions, for mission supporters and for those who care about the global church. It opens our eyes to the realities of serving God in most places on the planet where persecution is a reality but it is a book of hope as one reads stories like the one above of men and women who not only endure suffering for the cause of Christ but count it a privilege. Do we?

Please pray for Southern Sudan!

I received this from one of our ReachGlobal staff today. This impacts many believers in Southern Sudan.

I just received this horrific string of emails from one of our Pastors and President of the EFCS William Laku. The conflict in the Northern part of Southern Sudan continues to escalate! As we near the July 9^thindependence day and birth of the world’s newest country “Southern Sudan” the country of Northern Sudan continues to bomb and plant land mines in Southern Sudan’s Unity State, Abyei and Southern Kordofan which has been a disputed area since the South’s almost unanimous vote for secession took place in January. 

The disputed areas are wanted by Northern Sudan because of their rich oil fields. These areas were promised, by the Government of Northern Sudan, that they would also have the opportunity to vote for secession from the North or to unify with the North. After realizing that these areas were most likely going to vote for secession, the North refused to allow them to vote and decided to take the land. This is the same scenario that took place before the 25 year war that ended in 2005. 

As with many disasters there is great opportunity to share the gospel and bring much needed help to these people. 

Please join me in prayer for the people of Southern Sudan and that these attacks from the North would stop. They have waited so long for their much deserved independence and to have peace in their lives. Many lives have been lost and many families devastated by the atrocities committed by the North. 

The following accounts are from Christians on the scene.

    

 From the 17Th -18Th June 2011, I was in Khartoum to attend the Board of Trustees of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC). During the meeting, we had two people who managed to escape from Kadugli. The lady who gave us her testimony painted an extremely bad picture of the killings of the Nuba people by forces of the SAF in Kadugli. She saw 360 dead bodies as she and her tree children were trying to escape killings. Hers was a rela miracle as women, children and men were being slaughtered.

Nuba youth have been targeted apart from  the aerial bombardments. After listening to their disturbing and lengthy testimonies, the meeting issued two statements to the International community and the other statement was directed to our ecumenical partners in form of an appeal, if they could begin to mobilise relief items; food, water, clothing, shelter and medicines as a matter of urgency to the 73,000 displaced of Southern Kordofan. Kindly share the info with as many people as you can.

At moment I am in Nuba Mountains. I am writing this email from Kauda . I want to tell you it is really Genocide. We are bombed daily by Northern government, even just few minutes before writing this email we were frighten by one of them and we runned away before writing this email. What I want you do is to pass this information on behalf of me and my people. Here is a link to the latest news if you are interested.     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43535068

Persecution: How God turns the tables

Whenever and wherever the gospel pushes boldly into new territory, the evil one pushes back resulting in hardship for believers and the church. Jesus warned His disciples that they would face opposition just as He had. And the stories of Paul's missionary journeys are filled with accounts of satanic "push back" in the form of persecution.

Satan's goal in persecuting believers is of course to halt the spread of the gospel. But in a great divine reversal, God turns the tables on Satan by using that evil push back to actually broadcast His name and turn the spotlight on the Gospel.

Take the state of Orissa, in India, for example. For some time, radical Hindu's have been killing and maiming believers, driving them from their homes and burning churches. Unfortunately for those persecuting, the world turned their spotlight on the plight of believers in Orissa and shamed the Indian government into intervening. Because of the publicity generated by persecution, the gospel and believers in that state have become more well known than ever before. And, the reputation of Jesus is held high by many who have seen how believers handled the persecution and became even more resolved in their faith.

In our own organization the evil one was certainly pleased when the Russian authorities withdrew visas for our staff working at a Bible school in Russia. It looked like the dream was going to die. Instead, the school went virtual, using DVDs. Because "copyright" in Russia means "the right to copy," for every DVD of a Bible course purchased it is estimated that their are 100 copies made and shared across the entire former Soviet Union. What looked like failure was actually the beginning of spectacular success for Bible training with thousands being reached who would never have come to the residential school.

There is nothing more powerful than the gospel of Christ and persecution, rather than hurting the church, actually propels the gospel forward in unexpected ways. It cannot be stopped and what looks like defeat is often the prelude to significant expansion. When you hear of persecution, pray for the believers involved, and pray that God will turn the tables on Satan and use that very persecution to propel His church forward.

Sayed Mossa Released

World Magazine is reporting that Sayed Mossa - previous blog - Dying for his faith - has been released and sent into exile. We rejoice with his family. It was the international Christian community which put pressure on the Afghan government.

See the report.

Dying for his faith

This is a portion of a letter to believers around the world that was written from a prison in Kabul. Sayed Mossa is a Red Cross worker from Afghanistan that has been condemned to death by the Afghan courts for converting to Christianity. In spite of the fact that Afghanistan is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its religious freedom clause (Clause 18) and the Afghan constitution that promises to uphold this right, Sayed has been condemned to death without legal counsel and in spite of pleas from governments around the world. His only crime is accepting Christ as his savior.

Please pray for Sayed and his family. May this be a reminder that across our globe there are believers who die for their faith weekly and as Sayed says in his letter - are willing to make a public testimony for their faith! This is also a reminder of the stakes in the current upheaval in the Middle East. Afghanistan claims to be a democracy yet it does not uphold the rights of the minority - in this case believers in Jesus. This scenario has already been played out in Gaza under Hamas, Iraq where Christians have been driven out in droves and numerous countries where it is a crime to convert from Islam to Christianity.

As believers in the west who have amazing religious freedom, we ought to pray daily for those around the world whose life is in danger daily because of their faith.

You can read Sayed's story on these sites:

International Christian Concern

World Magazine

National Review Online