Partner’s in PrayerJanuary / February 2018

North KoreaWhile, in theory, North Korea is a Communist country, in practice

it’s dominated by a mix of personality cult and Communist rule.

Everyone must revere the leadership, making Kim Jong Un an irreplaceable

figure in society – not least because he rules the Workers’ Party, the army, the

country’s administration and all strands of society.

For three generations, everything in the country has focussed on the

reverence of the leading Kim family, and this has not ceased with the

youngest generation. Therefore, Christians are seen as hostile elements in

society; and they risk imprisonment, torture or death. Due to this danger, they

keep their faith secret from even their own family.

Please Pray• Pray for Kim Jong Un, that he would, like King Nebuchadnezzar, come

to know the one true God. Pray for changes within the regime, and that the

power of evil will be broken. Pray for protection for secret Christians, and for

strength and endurance for those in labour camps. Pray that Christians in the

country will have access to Bibles and fellowship.

8-19 Brownridge Rd. Halton Hills, ON L7G 0C6(905) 636-0944 | www.opendoorsca.org 1

Request your free copy of the 40 day prayer resource to pray for the North Korean Church. Extreme persecution is a daily reality for believers in North Korea and around the world. This resource will give you an insight to what it is like to live and pray like a North Korean during the Lent season.

W O R L D WATC H L I S T The 50 most dangerous places to follow Jesus

Persecution is led by the state which sees Christians as hostile elements that have to be eradicated.

Due to constant indoctrination, neighbours and family members, including children, are highly watchful and report anything suspicious to the authorities. If Christians are discovered, they are deported to labour camps as political criminals or killed on the spot; their families share their fate. Meeting for worship is almost impossible, so is done in utmost secrecy. The churches shown to visitors in Pyongyang serve mere propaganda purposes.

Open Doors supports the church in North Korea with emergency relief aid and Christian materials, and provides shelter and training to North Korean believers in China.

Pray

• For God to comfort and strengthen His followers, especially those who suffer in prisons, labour camps and remote areas

• That God would speak to Kim Jong-Un, giving him a revelation of Jesus, the servant king

• That the power of evil in this nation will be broken and its people healed and restored.

1

NORTH KOREALeader

PopulationChristians

Main Religion

Kim Jong-un25.4 million300,000Atheism/traditional beliefs

Violence Violence

Church life

National life

Community life

Family life

Private life

63%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Pressure

How bad is it? This chart shows the extremity of persecution against Christians

based on data from the Open Doors World Watch List 2018

0% 100%

W O R L D WATC H L I S T The 50 most dangerous places to follow Jesus

Persecution is led by the state which sees Christians as hostile elements that have to be eradicated.

Due to constant indoctrination, neighbours and family members, including children, are highly watchful and report anything suspicious to the authorities. If Christians are discovered, they are deported to labour camps as political criminals or killed on the spot; their families share their fate. Meeting for worship is almost impossible, so is done in utmost secrecy. The churches shown to visitors in Pyongyang serve mere propaganda purposes.

Open Doors supports the church in North Korea with emergency relief aid and Christian materials, and provides shelter and training to North Korean believers in China.

Pray

• For God to comfort and strengthen His followers, especially those who suffer in prisons, labour camps and remote areas

• That God would speak to Kim Jong-Un, giving him a revelation of Jesus, the servant king

• That the power of evil in this nation will be broken and its people healed and restored.

1

NORTH KOREALeader

PopulationChristians

Main Religion

Kim Jong-un25.4 million300,000Atheism/traditional beliefs

Violence Violence

Church life

National life

Community life

Family life

Private life

63%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Pressure

How bad is it? This chart shows the extremity of persecution against Christians

based on data from the Open Doors World Watch List 2018

0% 100%

Partner’s in Prayer 2

Analysis: Nepal is a new entry to the 2018 World Watch List at #25

In 2018, Nepal’s ranking jumped

from outside the top 50 to halfway

up the World Watch List at number

25.

The church has been growing

rapidly in Nepal since it became

a secular democracy in 2008. This

growth of Christianity saw a growth

of persecution. Power shifted in 2015

and now radical Hindu groups are

seeking to see Nepal reinstated as

a completely Hindu nation.

Christianity Today reported on 25

October 2017 that the President

of Nepal, Bidhya Devi Bhandari,

signed a new Criminal Code

Bill into law, which establishes

further constitutional protection for

Hinduism (practised by 80% of the

population). The new law restricts

religious conversion and the “hurting

of religious sentiment”.

Nepali MP Lokmani Dhakal and

Canadian MP David Anderson

expressed their concerns about this

new law to the Prime Minister at

the time in October. Civil society

groups, human rights activists and

MPs had appealed to the president

not to sign the bill after it was passed

in August.

Nepal’s Christian minority fears

that the new law will be abused

by those seeking to settle personal

scores, with minorities especially

at risk, as has been the case in

neighbouring India in states with so-

called “anti-conversion laws”, and in

Pakistan through its blasphemy laws.

In 2016, eight Nepali Christians

were charged with “proselytising”

for distributing a pamphlet about

Jesus in a Christian school in

Charikot, while helping children

through the trauma of

the 2015 earthquake.

The charges were

eventually dropped.

Research experts at

Open Doors believe

that the new law was

not unexpected. Rolf

Zeegers mentioned

the following in his

analysis: “When Hindu Nepal

became a secular state in

2008, Christians in the country

experienced a huge increase in

freedom. Christianity flourished and

grew rapidly - the Church tripled in

size between 2008 and 2017 - to

the anger of Hindu radicals who

have constantly aimed at restoring

restrictions to the freedom of

religion ever since. Hindu radicals

managed to get a restrictive

Article 26 included in the country’s

September 2015 Constitution, but

the new law goes much further. It

is still too early to see what effects

the new restrictions will have, but it

can hardly be denied that secular

Nepal is becoming more and more

hostile towards non-Hindu religious

minorities.”

Please pray:The atmosphere for religious liberty

is increasingly becoming stringent in

Nepal. Please pray for Christians to

be prepared to face possible days

of increased hostility. Pray that God

would enable believers to continue

to share the Gospel with wisdom

and draw many to the saving

knowledge of Jesus Christ despite

the restrictions.

2 Partner’s in Prayer 3

It was called the ‘capital of the

revolution.’ Years of heavy fighting

between rebels and government

have turned Homs, in Syria, to a

mass of debris and rubble. But now,

thanks to the generosity of Open

Doors supporters, Christians are

returning to their houses.

“We visited our apartment; it was

70 per cent damaged,” says Maha

who has returned to Homs with her

husband Souliman and her sister.

“But it’s not as bad as many of the

other buildings.” Maha bears the

scars of the conflict. During her

escape from Homs she was shot

in the leg by a sniper. “We are so

happy that we could return to live

in our house. Thank you for your

support to repair our house. Without

that help, we wouldn’t be able to

return.”

In 2016 Open Doors was able to

help 31 families restore their houses

in Homs. In the first half of 2017 some

66 families were helped to return

to Homs, Daraa, Damascus and

Maaloula. It is a huge challenge.

Homs was once home to over a

million people.

Now complete neighbourhoods

lie desolate. “What strikes you most

is the silence,” says an Open Doors

worker, “the complete absence

of any sound of living beings in

some parts.” Elderly couple Antoon

Mansoor and Basima

Abo Jamd fled from

their house in Homs

when it was hit by a

mortar shell. “It was

a miracle that we weren’t injured,”

Antoon says. “There was shrapnel

flying all around, but I wasn’t hit.”

Now their house smells of fresh

paint. “Thanks to your support we

could return here,” says Basima. “Of

course, we always were thankful to

God that we were safe. But we also

hoped that one day we would be

able to return.”

Basima and Antoon spent five

years in exile. “I didn’t expect that

we would be able to come back

here,” says Basima. “I am so happy!

I thank God that He sent us people

like you to help us.” The couple have

been helped to settle by their local

priest. “I was afraid we couldn’t

repair this house, it

was so damaged,”

he says. “But when

I talked with Open

Doors they agreed to

help. I am so happy that we could

finish the house before the winter

comes. This house has been family

property for over 100 years.”

“Now I feel much better, much

stronger,” says Antoon. “I can

breathe again, I am happy.”

• Thank God that families are

able to return to Homs and other

areas

• For Open Doors partners

helping displaced Christians rebuild

their homes

• For peace in Syria, and security

for Christians.

SYRIA: Houses restored in Homs, thanks to Open Doors supporters

Big smile of gratefulness, Basima is happy in her simple but functional kitchen

“I thank God that He sent us people like you to help us”

Basima, Syria

Partner’s in Prayer 4

Chinese authorities have

demolished the Golden Lampstand

Protestant Church in Linfen city,

China, ahead of new regulations

on religious affairs that will come

into force on 1 February 2018.

On Tuesday 9 January,

worshippers, church leaders and

others looked on as local authorities

in the Shanxi province detonated

explosives placed underneath the

church, which was only a decade

old. Heavy machinery was brought

in to take what was left of the

building apart.

According to the state-run

newspaper Global Times, the

church, which has 50,000 members,

was demolished because it did not

have the necessary permits.

This is not the first time the Golden

Lampstand Church has clashed with

the government. In 2009, its pastor,

Yang Rongli, and other church

leaders were jailed for seven years

for ‘illegally occupying farmland

and disturbing traffic order by

getting together’. Pastor Yang has

been under police surveillance

since her release in 2016.

This is one of three churches that

have been torn down or closed in

the last month; on 20 December

2017, a Catholic church in the

neighbouring Shaanxi province was

demolished with no explanation

given, and a Protestant church in

the Xinjiang region was shut down

around the same time.

Many Christian congregations

in China resort to ‘house’ churches

in order to avoid registering with

the government. Although China

guarantees freedom of religion

on paper, it sees the 97.2 million

Christians there as a threat. Up to

1,500 churches in the Zhejiang

province have either been

demolished, or had their crosses

removed in recent years.

Please pray• For those affected by the

demolition of the Golden Lampstand

Church, that they would not be

disheartened or discouraged

• For fresh courage for other

church leaders who are afraid their

church will be targeted.

CHINA DEMOLISHES SECOND CHURCH IN A MONTH

4 Partner’s in Prayer 5

NIGERIAN STUDENT ARRESTED AFTER CONVERTING FROM ISLAM TO CHRISTIANITY

A Nigerian university student who

converted from Islam to Christianity

has been arrested by state security

forces, as has the man who

introduced her to Christianity.

Nabila Umar Sanda, 19, is a student

at Bingham University in Karu, in the

central state of Nasarawa. While

studying there, she became friends

with Simput Dafup, a 33-year-old

Christian. When she expressed an

interest in Christianity he

invited her to meet a local

church leader, Jeremiah

Datim.

Nabila decided to

become a Christian.

Given the sensitive nature

of conversion from Islam

to Christianity, Christian

organizations have to be

very careful about the process. So,

after Nabila expressed her desire

to become a Christian, Pastor Datim

immediately made contact with an

organization known as the Jama’atu

Nasril lslam (JNI). “There is a

working understanding, that where

such a situation arises relating to any

of the two religions, the leaders of

the affected religion should contact

the leadership of the other religion

from which the convert is coming,”

he explained. “I immediately

contacted the leadership of JNI in

the state and informed them that she

had converted to Christianity.”

On 8 January 2018, the JNI made

contact with Nabila’s parents.

Later that day, according to Datim,

detectives from the Department of

State Security Services stormed the

house and took Nabila away.

Her friend, Simput Dafup, was

arrested that same day. Both are still

being held in an unknown location.

Please pray• That Simput will be quickly

freed from illegal captivity

• That Nabila will be free to

follow whichever faith she chooses

• For protection for Christians

in Nigeria

The World Watch List is Open Doors’ annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme

persecution. It’s a unique, in-depth record of the places where faith in Jesus costs the most, demonstrating the

enormous scale of persecution being faced by Christians, not only in North Korea, but around the world.

Take action:

• Find out about the countries on the list, along with information and prayer points, at www.OpenDoorsCA.org

• Download the 2018 World Watch List map www.bit.ly/WWL2018map

• Order your free copy of the 2018 World Watch List - Guide to Global Persecution – call us at

905-636-0944 or email us at opendoorsca@odcan.org or go to www.bit.ly/WWL2018guide

2018 World Watch List

SERVING PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS WORLDWIDE

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