by Manik Corea, C4SO Global Consultant
The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is Sunday, November 14. On this day, weĀ honor the practice of remembering saints and martyrs. How can we best remember the persecuted church this month and often?Ā
I grew up, like most of you I suspect, never knowing outright persecution for my faith. I had my fair share of comments and jokes made at my expense for my Christian faith while at school. But growing up in safe Singapore, I never had to worry about physical harm, verbal threats, emotional pressures, community exclusion and government oppression and action against me or my loved ones because I professed to be a follower of Jesus and was attempting to live that out.
Through my years working with NAMS[1], however, I came to see how real the persecution of Christians was in many parts of the world. One of my colleagues, who works in a country where Christians are a minority, was once so brutally attacked that he suffered a broken arm and was left for dead by a violent mob. (He quips when telling the story that he must have missed that particular class on persecution while at Bible college.) Today, despite the continued threats and very real experiences of persecution, he is leading a church-planting movement in those same unreached areas where he was first attacked.
Another NAMS leader from another South-Asian country was chased out of the village where he had been sharing the Gospel. His attackers tried to run him down a steep slope at night, but he climbed a tree and hid to evade them. He spent a night in the trees, tying himself to the tree trunk with his belt for fear not only of the villagers looking for him, but of tigers that roamed the area. Today, a church meets in that same village which he later helped to found.
A third NAMS colleague is in hiding his home country in the Middle East after arrest and physical torture by religious police for sharing his faith with someone from the majority religion. Despite understandable caution, my colleague continues to serve where he is.
These accounts are sadly not isolated experiences among many Christians around the world.
Did you know that on average, 13 Christians were martyred each and every day of last year?[2]
Additionally every day, 12 church or Christian buildings are attacked, 12 Christians unjustly arrested or imprisoned and another 5 abducted.[3]
The latest World Watch List published by Open Doors reported that 1 in 8 believers worldwide live in places where they face high level persecution.[4]
Ought we not as Christians to do something about all this? Should we not care? āBut what can I do?āāwe sometimes respond. There is, in fact, a lot we, individually and communally, can do to take action to help and improve the plight of persecuted Christians.
Hereās a short list of 4 specific things you can do in light of increased global persecution:
Reflect.
Reflect on the fact that persecution is not an anomaly in the Christian experience. What do the Scriptures tell us? Jesus and apostolic teaching instruct us not only to expect it, but what we are to do when it happens. Here is one noteworthy Scripture passages from the lips of Jesus, that we ought to be familiar with and to reflect on:
āIf the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: āA servant is not greater than his master.ā If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. iIf they kept my word, they will also keep yours.ā (John 15:18-20)
There are many others.[5] In the light of these Scripture, let us never be surprised at the persecution of Christians, or if we ourselves experience it. Indeed, while persecution in America may not (yet) be in the form of outright violence, it can often take more subtle forms like ridicule, prejudice, social ostracization or legal action. Regardless of the form, we must be clear what form our reactions should be. We would be wise to remember Jesusā words to us to always respond with love ā expressed in prayer and blessing for our persecutors (Matthew 5:44; see also Romans 12:14).
What then can we do to help relieve the persecution and suffering of other Christians worldwide? How can those of us privileged to live in societies with the rights and freedom to live and practice our faith, do for the sake of those who donāt? Let us think deeply and be people of action for the sake of our suffering brothers and sisters.[6]
Plan.
Plan for specific activities during or before/after the service of Sunday, November 14. Make it time of education, reflection and remembrance, in prayer and contemplation, the plight and reality of persecuted Christians worldwide.
For some specific ideas, you can go to the Anglican Persecuted Church Network (APCN) page at https://newwineskins.org/apcn You will find news, resources, articles and newsletter inserts and ideas on how to organize a mini-program to observe a time of focused prayer and sharing on the needs of persecuted Christians and churches.
Pray.
Perhaps the greatest thing we can commit to doing on behalf of the Persecuted Church in to make time to pray for them. This can happen during service time ā litanies and guides for doing so are readily available.[7] Or you can commit to praying individually or with others in a small group, occasionally or regularly, for specific affected countries or particular situations and requests.[8] Open Doors has a Prayer Calendar and even a Prayer App that will send specific prayer requests and keep you updated on the most current prayer needs.[9]
Get involved.
There are actually practical things that can be done to pray and support the persecuted church and to take action. This could involve raising funds to relieve families that suffer, being an advocate in America for Christians in persecuted communities by writing letters, posting on social media, signing petitions etc. Or you could give towards organizations that are specifically helping the persecuted church. See the Open Doors website for some ideas and resources:
Why not start by planning (or suggesting to your church leaders) to join in the Global Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church on Sunday, November 14th, 2021? Let us stand with our brothers and sisters around the world who have not been ashamed of His name.
Revd Manik Corea, a Singaporean, is a missionary priest of C4SO and our Global Consultant. If you need his help in any way to equip or support you for November 14th Day of Prayer, or further on to care and serve the persecuted church or indeed, to get involved in global mission, feel free to reach out to him at manikcorea@namsnetwork.org
Footnotes
[1] NAMS is the New Anglican Missionary Society, a global missionary order that I lead as Global Executive. It is a community of disciple-makers, leaders and church-planters committed to teach and model obedience to the final command of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20. We are working in 15 countries worldwide. www.namsnetwork.com
[2]4,761 in 2020, compared to 2,983 in 2019. See https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/ andĀ https://lifewayresearch.com/2020/01/17/4-disturbing-trends-in-global-christian-persecution/
[3] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-01/report-open-doors-christians-persecuted.html
[4] The list could be downloaded from here: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/2021-world-watch-list-report/ Of this 1 in 8 people, according to Open Doors, 1 in 6 live in Africa, 2 out of 5 live Ā in Asia, and 1 in 12 live in Latin America.
[5] Matthew 10:19 and 22; 24:9; Mark 4:17; 2 Timothy 3:10-13; 1 Peter 3:14; 1 John 3:13, etc.
[6] The following website has a lot of material to help individuals and small groups awaken to and care for the followers of Jesus who are persecuted: http://lumenlife.org/
[7] See for example: https://newwineskins.org/s/Prayers-of-the-People-for-the-Persecuted-Church.pdf
[8] Resources for prayers can be found on the APCN page here: https://newwineskins.org/persecuted-church including video clips to watch. Open Door prayer resources can be found here: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/prayer-resources/
[9] The Open Door Prayer Calendar and emailed alerts can be signed up for here: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/Ā The Open Door Prayer App can be found here: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/prayerapp/
[10] There are opportunities to give towards the needs of the persecuted church. Give to APCN here: https://newwineskins.org/give ; to the Voices of the Martyrs work here: https://www.persecution.com/donate/, to Open Doors here: https://secure.opendoorsusa.org/donate Ā Learn about advocacy and how to support The Barnabas Fund here: https://barnabasfund.org/get-involved/