Persecuted believers want the global church to not just remember them in prayer but also to extend love and friendship to them.
By Scott McConnell
The latest World Watch List from Open Doors reports more than 380 million Christians around the world suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith.
Recently, Lifeway Research asked Protestant pastors whether their churches had taken any of six actions in the last year related to persecuted Christians worldwide. More than 9 in 10 pastors (93%) say their churches have done at least one of these. Churches in the U.S. are most likely to engage by prayer. More than 4 in 5 pastors have encouraged their congregations to pray (86%) or prayed in a worship service for persecuted Christians worldwide (85%).
Understanding persecution
Understanding what Christians elsewhere are experiencing isn’t something people will likely learn from secular media. Less than a third of pastors have taken on this need by handing out information about persecuted Christians (31%). And about half that many have had an event (17%) or shown a video in worship about persecution (16%). If churches in the U.S. discuss Christian persecution, it typically happens in a sermon (66%).
In addition to Open Doors, organizations such as Voice of the Martyrs, International Christian Concern, and Alliance Defending Freedom work to help persecuted Christians worldwide. Interacting with their resources will improve churches’ understanding of persecution and allow pastors and church leaders to consider options for greater involvement.
Some persecution occurs in the name of the laws of the country. Other persecution happens despite laws that should prevent such actions. And the legal landscape changes. New regulations, referred to as anti-conversion laws, are being passed in numerous states in India, forbidding anyone from changing their religion.
Attacks against Christians and other religions can be physical, intellectual, and financial. In one state in India over a 16-month period, 50,000 Christians lost their homes and 600 churches were destroyed. In Hong Kong, where religious freedom is still the law, churches are slowly being closed and knocked down. And in Nigeria, the terrorism of Boka Haram has included gender-based violence. Last year, 9 in 10 people murdered for their faith were in Sub-Saharan Africa. These diverse glimpses of persecution only scratch the surface.
Last year, 9 in 10 people murdered for their faith were in Sub-Saharan Africa. Share on XThe attitude of persecuted Christians
Believers from around the world gathered in South Korea in 2024 for the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. Participants were from almost every country in the world, including Christians who live in countries where persecution is common.
As they told their stories, you would expect their words to be filled with trauma and grief. While their stories included harsh realities and pain, their outlook was fixed on the kingdom of God, not their present sufferings. My notes from that week include the following quotes.
Persecution is positively impacting our lives.”
Afflicted not crushed…”
Persecution… to purify and pursue His mission…”
The greatest manifestation of love is suffering.”
Christians in China have exhibited this kingdom focus. For more than 1,700 days straight, believers have rearranged their lives to have people praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For more than 1,700 days straight, Chinese believers have rearranged their lives to have people praying 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Share on XIran is one of 13 nations where Open Doors has recorded extreme persecution. In 1979, there were only about 500 believers in Jesus Christ who had converted from a Muslim background in Iran. Amidst ongoing persecution among thousands, it’s estimated there are now about 1 million Muslim-background believers in Jesus in Iran.
One woman had seen God at work amidst much prayer and fasting. Then she was arrested. After four days in jail, she heard God say to her, “Look at yourself. You are acting like I am dead!” She began to sing praises in Jesus’s name. After a month, she was released and took a bus to resume the work God had given her to do.
Persecution is part of the story. Not the end.”
We know the end of the story…because we are all part of the story.”
The sentiment of these words was not just expressed by one speaker. There was a widespread, genuine request that the global church not just remember persecuted believers in prayer but also extend love and friendship to them.
We need interdependence.”
Will the safe still stand?
For most of us, there’s much to understand about global persecution. But this is not another exercise in doom-scrolling; it’s the need to check in on family. Being informed is the first step in connecting with the persecuted church. These events are part of our story.
“For most of us, there’s much to understand about global persecution. But this is not another exercise in doom-scrolling; it’s the need to check in on family.” — @smcconn Share on XWe need to nurture a spiritual discipline in standing together with the global church and its persecutions. What begins with gaining information should lead to us offering encouragement and seeking to help others where they are.
The new short film The 21 tells the story of 20 Egyptians and one Ghanaian believer who were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ on a beach in Libya in 2015. As one is being beaten, he says, “Jesus said, ‘You will be hated by all because of my name…but the one who endures to the end will be saved.’”
While these words from Matthew 24 sound familiar, I’m convicted that in the safety of my American home I’ve never felt the need to memorize this promise to those who experience persecution.
Discipleship is needed to prepare for persecution.”
I’m early on my journey to stand with those who are persecuted around the world. Much like the servants in Jesus’s parable in Luke 24, I sense I’m a steward of what’s been entrusted to me while Jesus is gone—including these stories of persecution today.
For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.
