Day 306 The Persecuted Church

 

11/2/2025 

 "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

Isaiah 52:7

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church, and we remember those who are suffering and who have given their lives for choosing to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord. Many have lost their lives and continue to be imprisoned just for speaking the Name of Jesus and for sharing the Good News. In some countries persecution is far worse than others, but the persecution, imprisonment, torture, and savage murders, and burning down of homes has increased, especially in Nigeria. Until recently when our President Donald J. Trump put Nigeria back on the list of those suffering harshly by their governments, the country had been removed by the former administration, causing things to become much worse. From a report I received today from the American Center for Law & Justice, "Over 7,000 Nigerian Christians have been killed in 2025 alone. Islamic radicals have decimated the nation. Encircling villages in the dead of night - massacring, raping, pillaging, and torching Christian communities. The Nigerian president has given cover to the ISIS-affiliated terrorists - brushing aside the targeting of Christians. At a mass burial site in Nigeria, Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo cried out: 'Nigerian Government (says): "There is no genocide of Christians in Nigeria." And look at it today. Is there any Muslim here?'" 

I have long followed the ministries of many who provide assistance and support to those areas that are heavily affected. Back in my younger years I became acquainted with Brother Andrew, a Dutch missionary, and the founder of Open Doors through his biography, God's Smuggler, that details how he smuggled Bibles behind the Iron Curtain in 1955. After the publication of his biography he became more concerned with the reaching other nations. This is an excerpt from a short biography from Open Doors:

"In 1975, Brother Andrew had a strong desire to bring together people determined to reach into communist China. With the help of Open Doors Asia he organised Love China in Manila, in the Philippines. This brought together more than 400 mission leaders, most of whom had served in China before Mao’s government kicked them out.

“Every time Andrew heard that word ‘impossible’ he perked up,” says Johan Companjen, the Founding President of Open Doors. “He had a vision to bring together people who were seriously interested in China. Andrew challenged the group that this was now God’s time for China, and our organisation paid most of the costs.”

"Within a year, Mao Zedong had died and most of the conference participants were able to start working once again in the People’s Republic of China."

"In 1981 Open Doors completed its most ambitious smuggling operation, delivering one million Bibles in a single night. Two thousand Christians were eagerly waiting for them on a secluded beach in China."

Brother Andrew continued his work until his passing in 2022 at the age of 94. 

Since early childhood I have been drawn to missionary work, and it had been my desire to travel to Africa once I retired, but God had a different plan. He showed me the world condition through other ministries - Voice of the Martyrs, International Christian Concern, and American Center for Law and Justice. I have been following Voice of the Martyrs for many years also, and more recently to others who rescue, assist, and support those persecuted to start a new life, live in safety, and grieve the loss of their loved ones while ministering the love of Jesus, for whom they gave their lives. Although Nigeria has been the hardest hit, North Korea has been listed as the number one country on the World Watch List provided by Open Doors, while Nigeria has been listed as #7. Many arrested for their faith in Jesus serve in severe, abhorrent conditions. Eritrea is listed as #6, and there have been several pastors who have been imprisoned for twenty years. A few years ago I received word that 350+ Christians had been released after serving ten years in Eritrea's prisons. On October 29, 2025 I received a communication from International Christian Concern informing of the kidnapping of American missionary pilot, Kevin Rideout, 48, from his home in Niamey, Niger, in the middle of the night by Islamic jihadists. The US Embassy in Niamey is working with local government, but so far I have not received an update. 

The photo I have included in the introduction is of Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, missionaries to Romania during Communist occupation. Richard was arrested and served fourteen years in the cruelest of prisons, suffering untold torture, and a witness of murders and extreme abuse leading to deaths of others. It has been said that his survival after the unspeakable atrocities he endured was miraculous. His biography, "Tortured for Christ," is the story of his and his wife, Sabina's amazing journey in Christ's service. His documentation of Communist interrogation and subsequent life in prison is very vivid, but because of the delicacy of some forms of punishment, he did not elaborate. Knowing quite a bit of the barbarism inflicted upon prisoners in other countries, like Vietnam and Japan in earlier years, as well as reports I have posted on my bulletin board of Christians now serving in various countries, obviously I could include many more stories of men, women, and children who have overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimonies, and who loved not their lives to the death.

Suffice it to say that the stories are widespread and numerous, and the cries for prayer, support, and for others to serve are overwhelming. Mostly, what these ministries and the people they serve would most appreciate is knowing that someone cares and prays, someone listens, and someone shares. This is the ministry of the church, but sadly, the church is silent unless it directly affects one the missionaries serving in safer countries that they support. I do not mean to be harsh, but sometimes the truth is hard to accept. I write, because I must, and when, if God opens the door and says "Go," then I will go, even if my age seems impossible in making a difference. I have lived my life loving the people no one sees, and I would gladly give my life to walk beside them. In the meantime, I will obey God, and I will write the stories, hoping someone will hear the cries of the persecuted and answer the call.