Pray for the Persecuted Church

Seventy five percent of religious persecution in the world is against Christians, reports a British watchdog group, which says 100 million Christians are facing official oppression. China, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia are the worst places for Christians to practice their faith, reports Aid to the Church in Need. Also making the list are  Egypt,…

The plight of Christian inmates in North Korea’s huge network of concentration camps has been denounced by the human rights group Amnesty International, which unveiled new satellite photos that show the camps have grown dramatically in size. Testifying about the terror of growing up in one of the camps was Kim Hae-sook, who was 13 years old when…

North Korea is using Christians as guinea pigs to test chemical and biological weapons. Christians caught possessing Christian literature, conducting Bible studies or gathering for prayer meetings are subject to imprisonment – and so are their entire families, including children and elderly grandparents. “Christians are the target of fierce government action, and once caught, are…

Priests and church members in China’s immense underground Catholic Church were arrested this weekend in the community of Tianshui — as the Chinese government continues its persecution of Christians. Among those rounded up were the administrator of the underground diocese, Father John Baptist Wang Ruohan, retired Bishop Casmir Wang Milu, Father John Wang Ruowang, as well as several other priests…

A Pakistani court has convicted a Christian couple, Munir Masih and Ruqqiya Bibi, to 25 years in prison for allegedly touching the Koran without washing their hands — an incident they deny ever occurred. According to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, Muslim Judge Ajmal Hussein convicted the couple. The husband was locked up in Kasur’s…

Sitting alone in a Chinese jail cell gives poet and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo plenty of time to contemplate.          “Faraway place,” he writes in Experiencing Death,      “I’ve exiled my life to     “this place without sun     “to flee the era of Christ’s birth     “I cannot face the blinding vision on the cross     “From a wisp…

Amid the turmoil of a world gone mad, we have the wonderful assurance that He is with us. As we hear of the terrible persecutions of our Christian brothers and sisters worldwide, there is one thing that we know. He is there with them.   Will you pause for a moment and ask the Lord’s…

Since January 19, members of Al-Shabaab, an Islamic Somali extremist group, have confiscated five farms from Muslims who converted to Christianity. Three other farms were confiscated from Muslims who merely showed an interest in Christ. They had attended Bible studies in the cities of Afgoye and Baidawa. The eight landowners have fled their homes and remain in hiding. There…

  Is it foolish to ask God to send His angels to protect the persecuted? Back in the 1950s, an American missionary and his wife accepted an assignment where two missionaries had been killed by tribemen – not the most encouraging prospect for the newly arrived husband-wife team. They said as they took up their…

Christians in Islamic republics are experiencing a growing legal nightmare. Muslim shari’a law prohibits Christians testifying against Muslims in court. As a result, in Pakistan and Iran, Christians are without rights in any court case involving a dispute with a Muslim.  Likewise in criminal court, Muslims are guaranteed impunity for crimes committed against Christians. In…

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