Imagine living in a country where it is a crime to evangelize, where being a pastor earns you the label of criminal, where churches and missionaries are under government surveillance and arrest, and Christians live with daily possibilities of being terrorized or simply kept from working and eating. This is true in more than 60 countries around the world. One out of twelve Christians worldwide face daily suffering in countries that are hostile to the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
That was the message shared by representatives with the organization Open Doors, during their recent visit to Lima Baptist Temple.
Who is Open Doors? Open Doors is an international organization on the “front lines”, reaching out to our brothers and sisters in Christ, ministering to the needs that they have, or simply bringing encouragement to them with the knowledge that there are others who know of their suffering and are praying for them to stand strong and shine brighter in the darkness they are facing.
Open Doors was started in 1955 by Brother Andrew who will be 91 in May of 2019. His heart was drawn to the plight of those behind the Iron Curtain who were in need of the gospel. Brother Andrew had no money, no contacts and did not know the language, but he trusted God to open the door and began to smuggle Bibles in behind the Iron Curtain.
God has blessed Andrew’s obedience and six decades after Andrew began smuggling Bibles, Open Doors is now on the ground in over 60 countries continuing to support Christians who are persecuted for their faith. “We provide Bibles, discipleship training, emergency aid, vocational skills, trauma counseling, advocacy and other assistance so the churches in their communities can continue to advance the Gospel.” said the organization representative, who needs to remain anonymous due to security measures.
“Open Doors considers it a privilege to provide aid to our persecuted brothers and sisters who minister in the world’s most hostile regions. And we hope you will join us in seeing this work as an area of ministry you can contribute to throughout the course of your life.”
There are many ways Christians in the U.S. can make a difference in the lives of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. Here are some ways you can serve our persecuted family:
Advocate
Encourage your congressmen, leaders and other policy makers to act on behalf of persecuted Christian by checking out our latest advocacy campaigns. You can also join
Pray
Sign up for the World Watch Prayer Alert and receive weekly prayer updates from persecuted believers. And download the monthly Prayer Force Alert calendar to pray for persecuted believers every day. Sign up for the “pray for the persecuted” app to come
Donate
Change the lives of persecuted Christians by donating today.
Volunteer
Serve persecuted Christians with your time and skills. Learn more about our volunteer opportunities online.