Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also (John 15:20). In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Ti 3:12).
Christ followers around the world are facing growing hostility. The persecution of Christians is nothing new, but it is intensifying. According to a report from the Esther Project, the number of martyrs for Christ throughout church history is over 70 million, with over 1 million of those deaths occurring between 2000 and 2010.
Open Doors USA tracks the persecution of Christians and releases its annual World Watch List, citing “the top 50 countries where Christians experience the most persecution.” Below are statistics for the 2021 list:
• Over 340 million Christians living in places where they experience high levels of persecution and discrimination
• 4,761 Christians killed for their faith
• 4,488 churches and other Christian buildings attacked
• 4,277 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned
Fleshing Out the Numbers
Though the numbers boggle the mind, the stories of the individuals, families, churches, and communities who make up the statistics touch the heart.
Often families mistreat, disown, or even kill a family member who has come to faith in Christ. Many people face persecution from their jobs or civil leaders when they leave the religion of their birth and become Christians. They may be beaten, fined, or arrested; their homes may be burned; their children may be harmed.
Churches may be bombed, as on Easter Day in 2018 when three churches and three hotels were bombed, killing 250 people. Many face imprisonment for their faith. Often the families of prisoners or the martyred suffer persecution as well.
My go-to websites for information and updates about the persecuted church are Open Doors USA and Voice of the Martyrs. Here is what you will find on their websites.
Powerful Resources
Open Doors USA If you want to know where Christians are experiencing the greatest persecution, Open Doors is a good place to start. Their free World Watch List identifies these countries, including basic information about the nation, the persecution Christians face, and prayer requests for the church. Presence, Open Doors’ magazine, a bi-monthly online publication, as well as the Open Doors website, share stories of our brothers and sisters and provide ways to support them through pray, letters, sending Bibles, and other financial gifts.
Voice of the Martyrs offers a Global Prayer Guide that gives an overview of a country where Christians ae persecuted, who the persecutors are, what it means to follow Christ in that country, their access to Bibles, and several prayer requests for which readers can write a prayer. Through VOM Radio, the weekly podcast hosted by Todd Nettleton, I hear stories of God’s power and presence in the lives of prisoners, ministries, churches, missionaries, martyrs, and the families of those martyrs and prisoners. Their monthly magazine shares the stories of the persecuted, as does their website. We have attend two in-person conferences and one online event which have nourished our souls and taught us more about the plight of so many in the church. Like Open Doors, VOM provides opportunities for people to participate in ministry through prayer, financial support, and volunteering.
Remember the Persecuted
Hebrews 11 tells of those who suffered for God faithfully, facing torture, jeers and flogging, imprisonment, stoning, death by sword, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them (see verses 35-38). Are not today’s persecuted believers the modern counterpart to these heroes of Hebrews 11?
The world considers them dispensable. But that’s not how God sees them. Let their stories bless us as we see their faith and courage. Let them call us to praise the Lord for the ways in which the church continues to grow through persecution. Let our hearts be moved to prayer as we cry out for their continued steadfastness. Might the world see Jesus high and lifted up through the lives of those who suffer for him. And may many be drawn to him.
Ginger
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