House church persecution continues in Beijing
By / Apr 24

If the government prohibited you from gathering with God’s people, what would you do? For decades, this has been the question that many Chinese Christians have faced. Faithfulness to Christ in modern-day China looks a lot like faithfulness to Christ in ancient Rome. Christians who would not bow the knee to Caesar quickly learned what Jesus meant by “take up your cross and follow me.”

When the government attempts to rule over the consciences of its citizens, Christians must be reminded that they are exiles and sojourners in this world, which is precisely what Chinese Christians have been exemplifying for years. Sadly, it does not look as though the church in China will be enjoying “the peaceful and quiet life” that the apostle Paul prayed for in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 in the near future.

As Samuel Smith reported on March 27, “an influential house church in Beijing was shut down on March 23rd after 20 government and police officials raided Bible classes at two different locations, changed the locks and demanded congregants vow never to worship as a congregation again.” The name of the church is Shouwang Church, which claims to be made up of over 1,000 members. The forced closure of such “unregistered churches” is nothing new for Chinese Christians. Just this past September, the Chinese government shut down Zion Church, which was believed to be the largest house church in Beijing.

While reading Smith’s report, I was reminded of Peter and John before a council of “rulers and elders and scribes in Jerusalem.” Acts 4 retells the story of Peter and John’s boldness in the presence of an oppressive government. These two disciples were ordered by the governing authorities “to speak no more to anyone in the name of Jesus.” Peter and John, however, recognized that the government had no legitimate authority to stop them from “speaking in the name of Jesus.” What was their response?

“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

The willingness of the Chinese Christians of Shouwang Church to continue to meet demonstrates the same faithfulness that is seen in Peter and John. They knew that the government did not approve of their meetings. They knew that their church was “unregistered” in the eyes of the government. However, they also knew that human governments do not have the authority to recognize or register the true church of Jesus Christ.

The authority to recognize the church belongs to Christ himself, who promises to build his church among people of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation (Rev. 5:1-14). Shouwang Church might not be registered with the Chinese government, but the names of its members are written in the Book of Life, the official registry for the Kingdom of God, which was written before China and its government ever existed (Rev. 13:8, 17:8). The Chinese government might continue to disperse Christians while tearing down or boarding up their meeting places, but as sure as the stone that was rolled in front of the tomb of Christ could not stop the resurrection, neither will the Chinese government prevail against the church of Jesus Christ.

As Christians looking upon the suffering of their Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ, we should pray for them to remain faithful during this time of persecution. Furthermore, we should pray that as the church is dispersed throughout the country, so also the gospel will spread throughout the land. Finally, we must remember that no matter what evil is intended by the Chinese government through the persecution of the church, God sovereignly intends “to do good to all those who love him and are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). God’s purpose will not be thwarted or frustrated by the opposition of man.

While the Chinese government may believe that they are stopping the advancement of God’s purposes in China, we must never forget what King Nebuchadnezzar declared about our God:

“His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitant of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, ‘What have you done?’” (Dan. 4:34-35).

The God of Daniel 4:34-35 is the God of these Chinese Christians. And if this God could control and transform the heart of an evil ruler like Nebuchadnezzar, then God can certainly change the hearts of Chinese rulers through the gospel of Christ, “the power of God unto salvation for all who believe” (Rom. 1:16).

The Church on the Margins: The Gospel and the World’s Most Vulnerable
By / Feb 6

How does the Gospel change the way we advocate for the most vulnerable people around the world? Mindy Belz delivers a keynote on the church on the margins at Evangelicals for Life 2019.

Explainer: What you should know about the persecution of Kachin Christians
By / Nov 2

What just happened?

Last month the United Nations (UN) released a 440-page report examining the “infringement of fundamental freedoms, including the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful association, and the question of hate speech” of minority groups in Myanmar. This report highlighted the problem of genocide perpetrated against the Rohingya people (see also: What you should know about the Myanmar genocide). But it also shines a spotlight on the persecution of Kachin Christians in the war-torn country.

“Although international attention has focused overwhelmingly on the situation in Rakhine State,” notes Marzuki Darusman of the UN, “the report also sets out the findings of its detailed investigation into violations perpetrated in the northern states of Shan and Kachin. The report finds that the actions of the Tatmadaw in both Kachin and Shan States since 2011 amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Who are the Kachin people?

The Kachin people are an ethnic group that primarily lives in parts of northeastern Myanmar (mostly in the Kachin State) and areas of India and China. There are approximately 1.6 million Kachins. About 90-95 percent of Kachins are Christians, mainly Baptist and Roman Catholic.

Where is Myanmar/Burma?

Myanmar or Burma (Myanmar is the formal, literary form and Burma an everyday term), is a country in Southeast Asia that is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east, and China to its north and northeast.

According to the 2014 census, 87.9 per cent of the population of Myanmar is Buddhist, 6.2 percent Christian, and 4.3 percent are Muslim. The country’s constitution, adopted in 2008, recognizes the “special position of Buddhism as the faith professed by the great majority of the citizens of the Union” but also “recognizes Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Animism as the religions existing in the Union at the day of the coming into operation of this Constitution.”

According to the UN, Myanmar has seen an increase in Buddhist nationalism since 2011, with virulent anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence between Buddhists and Muslims.

What war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed?

According to the report, violations against ethnic and religious minorities in northern Myanmar are “committed in a context of severe discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds, often with persecutory intent.”  The Myanmar military has destroyed and ransacked churches (sometimes replacing them with Buddhist pagodas), and “during the commission of gross human rights violations,” treats the Kachin people as inferior or even “sub-human.”

This has led to the deaths and injuries of civilians, as well as the destruction and burning of homes and property during military operations. The Myanmar military has also been accused of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, often against women and children, to obtain information or confessions regarding the activities of insurgent groups.

The UN’s fact-finding team found various torture techniques being used, including beating with a bamboo stick or metal rod, killing other detainees in front of victims, pouring hot wax on skin, and performing sexual violence, including rape.

The team also found credible accounts that over 200 churches have been attacked, ransacked, or destroyed since June 2011.

What is the response of the American religious community?

Last month the Faith Coalition To End Genocide In Burma sent a letter requesting the U.S. State Department officially designate the recent atrocities committed against the Kachin, and other ethnic and religious minorities, as “genocide and crimes against humanity.”

“The Trump Administration’s leadership on this issue is critical to stand against ethnic and religious persecution,” notes the letter. “It is critical to act now, as the same military divisions that attacked the Rohingya, have relocated to Kachin State where they are positioning themselves to commit the same atrocities against the Kachin Christians.”

The letter was signed by many religious leaders and human rights activists, including J. D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Travis Wussow, vice president for public policy at ERLC.

Explainer: Chinese officials burn Bibles and close churches in latest round of persecution
By / Sep 14

What’s going on in China?

Over the past few weeks, the Chinese government has escalated its persecution of Christians by destroying crosses, burning Bibles, confiscating religion materials, and closing churches.

This week the Beijing city authorities banned Zion Church, one of the largest unofficial Protestant “house” churches in the city and confiscated “illegal promotional materials.” The crackdown started in April, after the church rejected requests from authorities to install 24 closed-circuit television cameras in their building.

Bob Fu, president of China Aid and the recipient of ERLC’s Religious Liberty Award in 2007, told the Associated Press that the closure of churches in central Henan province and a prominent house church in Beijing in recent weeks represents a “significant escalation” of the crackdown.

“The international community should be alarmed and outraged for this blatant violation of freedom of religion and belief,” said Fu.

Fu also provided the AP with video footage of what appeared to be piles of burning Bibles and forms stating that the signatories had renounced their Christian faith. Fu said that marked the first time since Mao’s 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution that Christians had been compelled to make such declarations, under pain of expulsion from school and the loss of welfare benefits.

 Chinese law requires Christians to worship only in congregations registered with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, but many millions belong to so-called underground or house churches that defy government restrictions.

 What is the Three-Self Patriotic Movement?

 The Chinese Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) is a state-sanctioned Protestant body for the organization of all Protestant churches in China. The organization was created in 1951 to promote a strategy of “self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation” to remove foreign influences from Chinese churches, and to profess the member church’s loyalty to the communist government. For churches registered with TSPM, the government pays for many of their buildings and funds the education of its pastors.

 Many Chinese congregations refuse to join the TSPM for various reasons, including that TSPM promotes liberal theology while the faith of the house churches is generally evangelical theology.

 What are “house churches”?

 Churches in China that are not part of either the state-sanctioned China Christian Council or the Three-Self Patriotic Movement are considered “house churches.” The term can be misleading, though, since it can refer to any unauthorized church, regardless of size or meeting location. Some “house churches” in China are mega-congregations. The Zion Church in Bejing had 1,500 members.

 Since many house churches are allowed to exist, does China have freedom of religion?

 Freedom of religion is technically guaranteed in the Chinese constitution. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China of 1982 specifies that:

Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.

 The constitution protects the right to hold or not hold a religious belief, and protects "normal religious activities," that is, religion groups that submit to state control through the State Administration for Religious Affairs. China has five officially sanctioned religious organizations: the Buddhist Association of China, the Chinese Taoist Association, the Islamic Association of China, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement.

As Brian C. Stiller, the Global Ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance, says, “The issue isn’t so much freedom of religion as it is freedom of assembly. The government seems not as concerned about what people believe, as they are over people gathering in large groups or by becoming too public.” [Emphasis in original]

 How has the U.S. government responded to the crackdown?

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad, issued a statement earlier this week saying:

USCIRF is highly concerned by reports of Chinese authorities’ escalating religious freedom violations. On the same weekend as national media in the United States revealed the horrific detention of countless Uighur Muslims in extra-judicial “re-education camps,” the Chinese government also reportedly raided and shut down Zion Church in Beijing. These collective actions, coupled with abuses against other religious communities, such as Tibetan Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners, signal an alarming escalation in persecution of citizens in China under Xi Jinping. USCIRF condemns the Chinese government’s ongoing brutal and systematic targeting of religious communities for their beliefs.

To the ends of the earth: The Great Commission, the global persecuted church, and racial unity.
By / May 22

The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” shouldn’t be a reality in the lives of Christians as we think about others’ suffering. This is especially true of the persecuted church. So, at our MLK50 conference Karen Ellis shared a message titled “To The Ends of the Earth: The Great Commission, the Global Persecuted Church, and Racial Unity.” We hope this message leads you to pray consistently for our brothers and sisters around the world.

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Praying for the persecuted church: Eritrea
By / Jan 29

“He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Cor. 1:10-11).

During the times of Paul’s persecution, he trusted in the prayers of Christians he knew, and did not know. It was this prayer that gave him hope to continue preaching the gospel in difficult places. Likewise, may we not forget to lift up our persecuted brothers and sisters, that they might continue to find hope in God.

The persecuted church in Eritrea

After gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, a communist party, took power and began ruling the Eritrean people with an iron first. A constitution was ratified in 1997 that is supposed to give individuals the right to believe and practice any religion of their choosing. However, the Constitution has never been viewed as a binding document, and thus has been consistently ignored by the Isais Afwerki regime.

A state-controlled church

In 2002, Eritrea declared that it would recognize only four religious organizations: The Evangelical Church of Eritrea, the Roman Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and Sunni Islam. Each of the four churches have faced strict oversight by the Eritrean government. Each church has government-appointed leaders, must submit activity reports twice a year, and cannot accept funds from foreign religious groups. Churches must receive authorization from the Office of Religious Affairs before they can print and distribute papers. Those who do not comply face jail time.

Abune Antonios, the Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch, was appointed by the government to his position, but began speaking out against their authoritarian practices. As a result, he has been under house arrest since 2006. On July 16th 2017, he was allowed to attend his first church service in over a decade. The next day, he was re-detained.

Those who have different religious backgrounds from the four recognized groups have no legal basis to practice their faith. They are not able to build churches; they cannot gather for Bible study; and their pastors face threats of fines and imprisonment. Reliable news reports of the internal affairs of Eritrea are sparse, because there are no private newspapers, opposing political parties, or internal non-governmental organizations. Nevertheless, some smaller Christian new outlets are reporting that Eritrean forces are going door-to-door and asking citizens which religion they are, and arresting those who name something other than the four permitted religions. More than 200 people have been arrested in the past several months.

Human rights abuses

The United Nations reports that since its inception, the Eritrean government has committed crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, torture, persecution, rape, and murder against its citizenry in order to instill fear and establish a sense of impenetrable authority.

In the military, religious practice is prohibited. Soldiers who are found with religious materials, or are discovered to be attending religious gatherings, are severely punished. This issue is worsened by the government's mandate on every citizen, between the ages of 18 and 70, to work a full-time and indefinite national service position, either in the military, development, or civil service. Those who do not participate in the civil service are imprisoned.

It is estimated that 1,200-3,000 individuals are suffering in Eritrean prisons for religious reasons. Once detained, Christians are not allowed to pray, sing, preach, or read the Bible. Often, religious prisoners are kept in solitary confinement for indefinite time periods, and undergo extreme temperature changes. If they ever are released from prison, Christians are coerced into recanting their belief in Jesus Christ and are warned to not engage in religious services.

The only option for Christians who wish to worship freely is to flee to neighboring states, or to seek refuge in Western Europe or the United States. Since 2014, 6 percent of the population has fled the country. The dire situation is contributing to the global refugee crisis and is threatening to destabilize the entire region of the Horn of Africa.

Prayer points

  • Pray that prison guards come to faith in Christ through imprisoned Christians’ testimonies
  • Pray that government officials will recognize that by imprisoning and killing Christians, they are persecuting Jesus Christ
  • Pray that President Afwerki will allow for open diplomacy and will engage with the international community in discussion about human rights abuses

Further resources

Pray for the persecuted church in Sudan and South Sudan
By / Aug 2

May we pray that the people of Sudan have the peace & joy that only comes from Christ, no matter the circumstance.“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Ephesians 6:19-20

Praying for the persecuted church in Sudan is a chance to pray for boldness and faithfulness for a fiercely persecuted people. May we pray that the people of Sudan have the peace and joy that only comes from Christ, no matter the circumstance.  

A war-torn government committed to persecution

Islam is the prominent religion in Sudan. Of the 42,166,000 people who live in the African country, 90.1 percent identify with the religion of Islam. The remaining 10 percent is split between other religions, with five percent of the population identifying as Christian.

The country is being torn apart by constant tribal war. Sudan is currently run by President Omar al-Bashir who came to power during 1989 when, as a Brigadier in the Sudanese Army, he led a group of military officers in a military coup that overthrew then democratically elected Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi.

Sudan has had long-running internal conflicts stretching back to the 1960s. The conflicts have mostly arisen in the Western Darfur region between the Arab-Muslim north and the black-Christian south. The struggle between these two parts of the country led to the succession of South Sudan in 2011.

After the succession of South Sudan, the newly formed country was quickly stricken with a massive famine and civil war. The UN ambassador Nikki Haley explains, "The famine in South Sudan is man-made. It is the result of ongoing conflict in that country.” The World Food Programme has reported that 40 percent of the South Sudanese population is in need of food urgently, and according to the UN, 100,000 people are in imminent danger of death because of starvation.

May we pray that the people of Sudan have the peace & joy that only comes from Christ, no matter the circumstance.

South Sudan is predominantly Christian, but Sudan continues to be heavily Islamic. The government of Sudan applies a strict interpretation of Islamic law and uses that to harass the Christian community of the country. Conversion from Islam to any other religion is considered apostasy and is punishable by death. The government of Sudan continues to publicly support the assault of churches and even carries out their own assault. Recently, in a Sudanese Air Force bombing raid, the government targeted a church in the Nuba Mountains, completely destroying the compound and killing 11 people.

Another more prominent example of persecution in Sudan and Miriam Ibrahim. On May 15, 2014, she was sentenced to death after being tried and convicted of apostasy from Islam. During the trial, the Sudanese judge had given her three days to renounce her faith. When she refused, her death sentence was issued. Miriam had been arrested while pregnant with her second child, and two weeks later, on May 27, 2014, Miriam gave birth in prison. Although Miriam was later freed as a result of tremendous international pressure, her case stands as an example to the Christian minority in Sudan and, particularly, to followers of Jesus with a Muslim background.

The Naivasha Agreement, which ended the Second Civil War in Sudan, “accomplished” a few things.  It is supposed to protect Non-muslims in the North, but some interpreters of Muslim law in Sudan refuse to recognize this as actual law. They still consider anyone converting from Islam to any other religion as apostasy and will not follow this part of the agreement. Sudan continues to be one of the hardest places in the world to be a Christian. As of right now, Open Doors ranks Sudan as the fifth most persecuted country in the world.  

Prayer Points

  • Pray for the Christians in Sudan and South Sudan who risk everything they have for the sake of the gospel and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
  • Pray for Christians who could face with the death penalty if their conversion from Islam is discovered.
  • Pray for the ending of all apostasy laws in Sudan and the end of all religious persecution to Christians.
  • Pray for the ending of government-sanctioned persecution of Christians across Sudan.
  • Pray for the leaders and non-Christians of Sudan, that their hearts would be radically changed for the gospel.

Further Resources

Policy intern Mitchell Dorris contributed to this article.

Prayer for the persecuted church: Uzbekistan
By / Sep 16

But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13).

Our ultimate hope for ourselves and our brothers and sisters who suffer around the world is the hope for a new heaven and a new earth, “in which righteousness dwells.” In the meantime, let us join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in Christ who face an uncertain future in Uzbekistan.

An authoritarian regime at a transition point

Two weeks ago, Uzbekistan’s first—and only—president, Islam Karimov, died from a stroke. President-for-life Karimov ruled Uzbekistan since 1991 when the Republic of Uzbekistan emerged from rubble of the Soviet Union.

Karimov was an exceptionally brutal dictator from a region exceptional for its brutal dictators. The U.S. State Department has designated Uzbekistan a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act. Between 5,000 and 15,000 individuals are in prison today for alleged “religious extremism,” a nebulous charge used to combat terrorism and political dissenters alike.

Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev has been appointed interim head of state and will lead the country until elections are held later this year. These elections will hardly be open and free; the entire political transition will be overseen by the most powerful figure in Uzbekistan after Karimov’s death, Rustam Inoyatov, who heads Uzbekistan’s most prominent secret police. (Uzbekistan boasts three other repressive internal security agencies.)

From Foreign Affairs:

In many respects, today’s Uzbekistan is in the same condition as it was after the Soviet Union’s collapse. There are no independent media outlets, organized civil society is restricted, and access to information is highly controlled. Most of Karimov’s closest allies were members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or are the adult children of former party leaders. At the elite level, the closed, repressive structures of the Communist era have survived into the twenty-first century.

Few commentators believe that the death of President Karimov will provide any hope for a more open Uzbekistan. Indeed, in Central Asia the trend seems to be that the successors to Presidents-for-Life simply become Presidents-for-Life themselves. Uzbekistan has arguably never had a legitimate election, and the current political elite have little to gain from an open Uzbekistan.

The church in Uzbekistan

Christians are a small minority in Uzbekistan. At least 88 percent of Uzbeks practice Sunni Islam. Of the remaining 12 percent, nine percent practice Eastern Orthodox Christianity; the majority of these adherents are ethnic Russians. Small numbers of evangelical Christians, Jews, Shia Muslims, Bahai, and others make up the remainder. There are several Baptist and other evangelical churches in Uzbekistan.

All religious groups must be registered with the government; otherwise they are considered to be “illegal.” Some religious groups, especially radial Islamist groups, are prohibited outright by the government. Uzbekistan has a 25-year history battling Islamic extremism from within its country; many of these groups now operate in secret. The governing elite tends toward atheism and treats all religion as a destabilizing force.

Because of the discrimination associated with being a Christian, many practicing believers have gone underground, and their house churches are raided regularly. Choosing to not register with the government makes their religious activities illegal. While it is not illegal to convert to Christianity from Islam, ethnic Uzbeks who convert to Christianity face enormous societal pressure, sometimes with the assistance of elements of the government, to recant and return to Islam. However, proselytism is a crime, punishable by up to three years in prison.

Stories of persecution

In June of this year, an Uzbek Baptist was arrested for the “illegal possession” of religious material in his home. If he is convicted, he will face up to a three-year prison sentence.

Last February, a gathering of Baptists in a local believers home was raided by authorities. The host was charged with illegal possession of religious materials.

In May 2015, four Protestants traveling together were stopped at a traffic checkpoint. The group was detained, and one was tortured until he lost consciousness. Authorities threatened to rape one of the members of the group.

Torture, threats, and trumped-up charges are routine and almost mundane in Uzbekistan. Our brothers and sisters in Christ there face the daily fear of detention, house searches, and torture.

Prayer with the persecuted church

Here are a few specific ways that you can pray with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Uzbekistan.

  • Pray specifically with the Baptist church, whose churches are raided, pastors are arrested, and leaders are harassed by local and federal authorities.
  • Pray for new believers from Muslim backgrounds, who suffer significant pressure from a variety of sources to return to Islam.
  • Pray for native Uzbek speakers to write and develop a rich body of Christian literature and hymns, as the importation of religious material is virtually banned by the government.

Further resources

For more information on the church in Uzbekistan, check out the following resources:

Prayer for the persecuted church: Iran
By / Aug 10

“Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matt 9:38 ESV)

God commands believers to pray for laborers to be sent into his harvest. This is true even in times and places where persecution is deadly. For Iranian believers, the labor continues despite frequent intense persecution.

Iran has seen much news coverage in recent months due largely to their nuclear negotiation with the United States and the recent capture and release of American sailors. The Islamic Republic of Iran is located in the Middle East with the Caspian Sea to its north and the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman to its south. Its population totals approximately 82 million and only 0.2% of the population is evangelical Christian. It borders the countries of Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Since 1979, the country has been ruled by Islamic law after the Shia clerics assumed power under the ayatollah. Presently, the Islamic Republic of Iran acts as a religious dictatorship and stands as one of the most hostile countries towards Christians.

Since President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in 2013, there has been a sharp increase in religious oppression, especially toward professing converts to Christianity. Approximately 90 professing Christians are currently either imprisoned for their faith or are awaiting trial. Iranian courts hold the power to impose the death sentence[2] on men who leave Islam and life imprisonment for the women who do.

Voice of the Martyrs records that in Iran “[a]lmost all Christian activity is illegal, especially when it occurs in Persian languages—from evangelism to Bible training to publishing Scripture and Christian books. Yet the regime’s harsh treatment of Christians only further fuels the flames of church growth.” Encouraging stories like this demonstrate how the Lord is working in the midst of persecution.

Here are some ways that you can pray for the persecuted church in Iran:

  • Pray for boldness, that believers will remain strong and influence many others to trust Christ.
  • Pray for those believers who may be imprisoned at this moment and for their captors.
  • Pray that Iranian Christian may have adequate financial provision despite economic pressures placed on them due to their faith.
  • Pray that more laborers will go to the people of Iran.

Further resources:

The history of Bob Fu and China Aid
By / Jul 26

A few months ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with Bob Fu, CEO of China Aid. China Aid is one of the world’s preeminent NGOs focused on religious freedom and rule of law issues in China. This organization is one of the most reliable sources of information on the situation of the church in China today. I highly recommend that you follow their work as you labor to pray for our brothers and sisters in China.

Bob’s passion for the persecuted church in China is deeply connected to his own story, which he shared with us in this video.