Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Chinese Pastor brutally beaten in police station – June 2nd 2021

Church in Chains, 25 May 2021

On 23 May, Pastor Yang Hua (44) of Huoshi “Living Stone” Church in Guiyang, Guizhou province was brutally beaten after local Chinese Communist Party police learned that he planned to make a visit next day to Christian friends in Qingdao, Shandong province. Pastor Yang, whose birth name is Li Guozi, previously spent two and a half years in prison for “divulging state secrets” and was released in June 2018.

The perpetrator of the attack in the police station in Guiyang was in plainclothes and said he represented the district level Committee of Political and Legal Affairs. The attack took place in front of three other local officials.

Pastor Yang’s injuries included scratches to the head and neck and the authorities sent him to the local A&E by ambulance. The attack also triggered a flare up of his pre-existing pancreatitis, for which he is to undergo a medical check-up.

Pastor Yang’s imprisonment was part of a crackdown on Living Stone Church that included the house arrest of co-pastor Su Tianfu, with whom he had founded the church in 2009. It grew to become Guiyang’s largest house church and resisted the authorities’ pressure to join the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement, resulting in raids, fines, confiscation of church property and detention of members.

While the pastor was in prison, he reported that government prosecutors had threatened the lives of his wife and children as well as his own life.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Reaching an Unreached Group in Iraq – May 19th 2021

Voice of the Martyrs, May 13, 2021

The three majority-Muslim groups (Shiite Arab, Sunni Arab, and Sunni Kurdish) that compose modern-day Iraq have been in conflict for centuries. Attacks by the self-proclaimed Islamic State (ISIS) forced tens of thousands of Christians to flee the country, leaving a small but bold and faithful remnant.

For many of these Iraqi Christians, much of their day-to-day life is focused on survival, and yet they faithfully advance the gospel. Many of Iraq’s Muslims have rejected Islam and become open to Christ for a variety of reasons, including the corruption and violence rampant among both radical Sunni Muslims (including ISIS) and Shiites (including the Iraqi government, backed by Iran).

These circumstances provide a unique opportunity to share the gospel with Iraqis searching for hope and truth. The violence and instability have also led to a revival among traditional Christians, many of whom have come to saving faith and become bold witnesses for Christ.

Voice of the Martyrs workers see doors of opportunity open for ministry to an unreached and unengaged people group in Iraq. The Shabak of Iraq are Islamic with very little Christian presence among them. They experience harsh discrimination from other Iraqis and Kurds, including violent attacks, which presents a barrier to reaching them with the gospel. But VOM workers now see signs of opportunities to share the gospel with this group.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

China extends state control over religion – May 19th 2021

Church in Chains, 12 May 2021

China continues to tighten its grip on religion, the State Administration for Religious Affairs has introduced new “Administrative Measures for Religious Clergy”, which came into effect on 1 May.

Under the new Administrative Measures, those who “engage in religious teaching activities” must register on a database of religious clergy and will be given an identification number and a clergy certificate. Anyone not registered on the database will not be permitted to undertake ministry.

To qualify, according to Article 3, “Religious clergy should love the motherland, support the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, support the socialist system, … practice the core values of socialism, adhere to the principle of independent and self-administered religion in China, … operate to maintain national unity, religious harmony, and social stability.”

Registered churches must sing patriotic songs, fly the national flag, install surveillance cameras, listen to pro-Communist Party sermons, put up portraits of the president and display quotes from his speeches extolling “core socialist values”.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

The Jeremiahs of the Church – May 19th 2021

International Christian Concern 05/15/2021

Believers who have a deep passion for the persecuted are few and far between in the Church. Often, those who have a heart for the persecuted find themselves alone in their congregation.

Jeremiah was called as a prophet by God to call out the sins of Israel in a nation filled with idolatrous practices. Though he suffered much for his calling, he never stopped revealing God’s messages to Israel.  Jeremiah was known as the lonely prophet and we know his pain.

Like Jeremiah, we who carry the burden of the persecuted are compelled to share their plight with those around us in the Church. Sadly, much of the Church cannot be bothered with the persecuted.

We pray that you will be encouraged by the words of others who share your burden.  For we have also seen and been transformed by their faith and are encouraged by their courage, sacrifice, and growth.

The Western Church needs the persecuted for they are the antidote to Western Christianity in all its weakness and lack of depth.

Together, we will continue to call out to the Church to remember those in prison and to learn from and be transformed by them. We must obey the Father’s call to care for His suffering children.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

The Church in Myanmar (Burma) – May 5th 2021

The Voice of the Martyrs, April 29, 2021

Most Christians are from the Chin and Karen tribal groups, while relatively few of Myanmar’s Burman ethnic majority have come to faith. Myanmar has many Bible schools even though most are illegal, and indigenous church planters and missionaries boldly proclaim the gospel. Churches are growing despite widespread persecution by the government and the Buddhist majority.

Rohingya Muslims are a small but significant group that has suffered devastating human rights violations in recent years at the hands of the military government.

The widespread, long-running civil war directly affects Christians when they are targeted for attack by the warring factions. Villagers with animistic beliefs take vengeance against Christians, claiming they are angering the local spirits. Church gatherings and church buildings are allowed in many parts of the country, but tolerance varies from state to state. Active believers who share their faith face difficulties. Within tribal groups, families oppose conversion and new believers are subject to close government monitoring. Buddhist monks have actively opposed new Christian converts and evangelists. Pastors face arrest and are usually held for a few days at a time.

Eleven families of believers from the Palaung tribe in Shan State have experienced pressure from villagers to leave their new Christian faith. Villagers grew angry because the believers had gathered to worship and pray.  Pray for the persecutors to experience the love of Christ, and to hear and see the gospel displayed in the lives of the Christian families.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Muslims Allegedly Poison Pastor – May 5th 2021

Morning Star News, May 2, 2021

Muslims in eastern Uganda upset with a pastor’s plans to build a church on land they sought to buy are suspected in his death by poisoning.

Pastor Oduchu was poisoned on April 5 after he declined to sell a five-acre lot to Muslims who wanted to build a school and mosque on the land, said his brother.

“Opeduru and a number of Muslims had approached my brother to sell them the land several times, but my brother declined because their offer was small, and he also wanted part of the land set aside for constructing a church.  Later my brother received a threatening message from Opeduru saying he would not negotiate with him again.”

Opeduru told Pastor Oduchu the Muslims did not want a church building close to their proposed mosque, but a week later the pastor began clearing the parcel of land.

Pastor Oduchu usually ate at a small hotel when visiting his land. The hotel is owned by a Muslim.

The pastor’s wife said after a light meal at the hotel on April 5, he arrived home complaining of severe stomach pains, diarrhoea and started vomiting. “We rushed him to a nearby clinic, and he succumbed to poisoning.”

When angry residents questioned the hotel owner, he confessed that Muslims had given him poison to put in Pastor Oduchu’s food.  Police arrested Opeduru in connection with the killing.

Mary Oduchu requested prayer and financial help for living expenses and the children’s school fees.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Imran Khan calls for international blasphemy laws – May 5th 2021

Church in Chains, April 29, 2021

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has pledged to lead a campaign of Muslim-majority countries to “convince” Western countries to introduce laws to outlaw blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed.

He made the call in a televised address to the nation from the capital, Islamabad, on 19 April as his government continued to negotiate with the Islamist TLP political party, following days of violent protests. The TLP protests called for the French ambassador to be expelled for the perceived “blasphemy” by French President Emmanuel Macron in defending, on grounds of free speech, the re-publication in 2020 of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons controversially depicting the prophet Mohammed.

Four policemen were killed and over eight hundred people were injured in the violence between 12 April and 19 April. Property worth tens of millions of Pakistan Rupees was damaged.  Several police officers were kidnapped, while TLP leader Saad Hussain Rizvi was arrested.

Prime Minister Khan said, “We need to explain why this hurts us, when in the name of freedom of speech they insult the honour of the Prophet… when fifty Muslim countries will unite and say this, and say that if something like this happens in any country, then we will launch a trade boycott on them and not buy their goods, that will have an effect. I assure you that the purpose of the TLP for which they’re bringing people out, that is my purpose as well and that of my government.”

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

They Thought They Could Wipe Out the Church – April 14th 2021

Voice of the Martyrs, 8 April 2021

The gospel was first brought to Ethiopia in the first century, but many Ethiopian Christians still face persecution today.

In southern Ethiopia, political unrest and the rise of an extreme branch of Islam among the Oromo people have resulted in attacks against Christians across the region.

Eastern Ethiopia has one of the largest Somali populations in the world, and Christians there are persecuted by both their communities and their families.

In northern Ethiopia, some Orthodox Christians persecute evangelical believers. Several majority-Muslim tribal groups throughout Ethiopia also persecute Christians.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed under Ethiopian law and the government generally protects the rights of Christians.

However, vestiges of Communist rule lead authorities to monitor the activities of churches and evangelical Christian organizations. Still, evangelical churches in Ethiopia continue to plant new churches and send missionaries to difficult areas.

When Muslims in eastern Ethiopia forced a small congregation out of the home used for meetings, they expected the Christian presence in their area to cease, but the number of believers has increased in the last year.

The church had no place to meet, and the believers were in great despair. However, with assistance from believers outside Ethiopia, the small church purchased a piece of land and built a worship space. Today, the church has grown from 58 people to more than 70.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Reaching Muslim friends during Ramadan – April 14th 2021

Open Doors, 8 April 2021

Naida doesn’t celebrate Ramadan in the same way anymore. As a Christian from a Muslim background in Central Asia, she knew that leaving the practices of Islam behind would expose her to exclusion and discrimination from angry relatives and friends.

Naida, now in her 70s, came to know Jesus through her children. When they first became Christians in the ‘90s, Naida was angry and upset: “I was so worried for their safety because we had a lot of relatives and they were all Muslims. I thought my daughter and sons could be beaten or even killed by their Muslim father and uncles.”

Naida came to know the Lord herself when God healed her after a period of ill-health. Her children prayed with her, and that’s when she chose to invite Jesus into her life. “Since then, my life has completely changed,” she says.

For several years after becoming a Christian, Naida didn’t celebrate Ramadan – a festival which used to mean so much to her when she would visit neighbours and relatives, cook many traditional dishes and host a lot of guests in her house during Ramadan.

When she stopped celebrating Ramadan, her relatives were angry. They stopped inviting her to their homes and wouldn’t come to her house. She was upset and worried.  It was important for her to reach her Muslim sisters and brothers, cousins and other relatives with God’s love.

After a lot of prayer, study and advice from her pastor, Naida decided to celebrate Ramadan in a completely new way. Naida cooks different traditional dishes and invites her Muslim sisters, brothers, cousins and neighbours. In this way, she shows them her respect for their religious traditions and values, and at the same time she is able to share the gospel. She has found these celebrations really fruitful and an effective way to reach her Muslim friends and family – while remaining true to her faith and to Jesus.

Missions, The Persecuted Church Across the World

Malaysian woman wins right to call God ‘Allah’ – April 14th 2021

World Watch Monitor, 17 March 2021

A Malaysian woman’s campaign for Christians’ right to use the word “Allah” for “God” has succeeded after almost 13 years of court hearings and delays.

Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill has campaigned for the right to use the word since immigration officials at a Kuala Lumpur airport seized 8 Christian CDs from her in May 2008 because they used the word “Allah” in a Christian context.

After a 7-year legal battle, Ireland was given back the CDs in 2015, but maintained that the court had failed to address her constitutional right as a Christian to use the word.

In October 2017, her lawyer noted that 60% of Malaysia’s Christians speak the Bahasa Malaysia (‘language of Malaysia‘), which uses “Allah” for “God”. The word (which predates Islam) has been used by local Christians for hundreds of years, since Europeans first spread the religion, long before Malaysia even came into existence.

He said Christians were never consulted when in 1986 the country banned Christians from using the word, and that the government’s blanket ban was unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The Court of Appeals judge Nor Bee ruled in Ireland’s favour  that the 1986 directive by the Home Ministry to prohibit Christians from using four ‘prohibited’ words, including ‘Allah’, was not a blanket ban.