Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Map compiled by World Evangelical Alliance

American Christians enjoy a remarkable degree of freedom of worship compared to many of our brothers and sisters around the world. Use the resources below to find out more about the situation, how to pray for the persecuted church, and practical things you can do. Some include email alerts and newsletters to keep you posted.

• Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is "a Christian human rights organization [based in Switzerland] for religious liberty helping victims of religious repression, victimized children and victims of disaster."
• Friends of the Martyred Church was "founded in Finland in 1982 to help Christians who are suffering because of their profession in Jesus as Lord."
• Frontline Fellowship serves the persecuted churches in Africa.
• International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted church occurs in November of each year. The site has resources that are updated throughout the year, as well as a weekly email alert. See the Prayer Requests PowerPoint (in pdf format) for 36 nations from the 2008 Day of Prayer.
• International Christian Concern maintains a monthly prayer list for the persecuted church around the world.
• Light for the Peoples "was founded in Sweden in 1903 by the Swedish missionary Nils Fredrik Höijer. Today Light for the Peoples works in the CIS, Eastern Europe, Turkey, Mongolia and China." (The main site is in Swedish, with more limited content in English and Russian).
• Middle East Concern is "a network of concerned Christians involved in assisting the Church in the Middle East and North Africa when it faces discrimination or persecution."
• Open Doors seeks to "strengthen and equip the Body of Christ living under or facing restriction and persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ, and to encourage their involvement in world evangelism."
• Release International "serves the persecuted church around the world in five ways: showing God's compassion, serving God's church, sharing God's love, spreading God's Word, and speaking for God's advocates."
• Voice of the Martyrs is another source for keeping up-do-date on the persecuted church. They also have a site just for children, Kids for Courage, as well as a blog, Bible mailing program, writing to Christian prisoners, online discussion, "underground reality" videos and support for pastors in restricted nations.
• World Evangelical Alliance is "a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the Good News of Jesus in their communities." The website covers the whole range of WEA activity, including a section on Religious Liberty issues.