Remembering Their Chains

Today more than 200 million Christians face persecution because of their beliefs.

More Christians have been killed for their faith over the past 100 years than in the previous 19 centuries combined.

Every five minutes a Christian is martyred for the faith.

Over the past several years, I’ve become more aware of the rampant persecution of Christians worldwide. I would read the news reports online and even mention it in a sermon or a prayer, but, deep down, I felt stuck.

I’m halfway around world, I would think. What can I possibly do to help?

Then several years ago my wife and I visited friends serving overseas in northern Thailand, running an orphanage for young girls. During our trip, our friends needed to renew their visas, which required a drive to the nearest border—which sits at the northernmost area of the country near the Golden Triangle.

While staying quite literally across the street from the Thailand/Myanmar border, the husband opened the curtain of our hotel room and pointed to a forested hillside about a mile in the distance.

“That’s Myanmar over there. Do you see that building up on the hill?” he asked me as he pointed. “The government doesn’t know it, but the underground church meets there.”

I stood still, staring at that nondescript building, wondering what it might be like to attend a church service there. What was it like to live with the constant possibility of arrest or the fear that secret agents might be worshipping unknown in your midst?

A few years ago, I asked one of our church’s missionary partners (who serves in a Muslim country hostile to Christianity) what we could do to help. I was expecting him to say more financial support or prayer. Instead he said, “Don’t forget us.”

These two experiences pushed me to explore further the ways in which I might support, encourage, and intercede on behalf of our brothers and sisters under persecution—and to encourage other Christians in North America to do the same.

So how might we become aware of the realities of the persecuted church?

1. Start with Scripture

Once I began to read and study Scripture through the lens of persecution and suffering (not a natural for many of us in North America), I began to see the biblical narrative in a new light.

The Israelites were oppressed people under the tyrannical rule of Egypt, Babylon and Assyria.

Jesus’ parents were refugees, forced out due to religious oppression.

Jesus was killed for his religious beliefs.

Almost all of the twelve disciples were martyred.

Jesus taught directly on persecution and told his followers to expect it (Mt. 10:16-42; Luke 14:25-35; John 15:18-16:4).

So did Paul (2 Timothy 3:12), John (1 John 3:13).

Paul made sure Christians were persecuted, arrested and killed – most notably, Stephen in Acts 7.

Then, Paul had a long resume of persecution he suffered because of his faith after becoming a follower of the Way.

Paul’s letters to house churches scattered throughout Asia Minor were intended to encourage them in their faith to stay strong in the midst of opposition, oppression, persecution and suffering.

Paul, writing letters from prison, asked Christians elsewhere to remember his chains (Col. 4:18)

The book of Hebrews records the “faith hall of fame” in chapter 11, several people which died simply because of their trust in God.

The author of Hebrews also tells us to expect persecution (Heb 10:32-28) and to remember those who are mistreated, as it was pain our own bodies (Heb 13:3).

When I saw the amount of stories and instructions related to persecution I could no longer ignore this issue in our current day.

2. Find Resources

Several resources have helped me see the realities of the persecuted church. Classics like Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and Martyr’s Mirror (read widely in the Anabaptist tradition) highlight the inspiring and heart-wrenching stories of brothers and sisters who have lived for Christ to the end.

Other excellent resources include Heavenly Man (Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway), Back to the Jerusalem of the East: The Underground House Church of North Korea (Eugene Bach) and I am N: Inspiring Stories of Christians Facing Islamic Extremists (published in conjunction with Voice of the Martyrs).

There’s a trove of online resources as well. Each of these websites offers stories, videos, and opportunities to get involved and take action.

•Voice of the Martyrs Subscribe to the VOM Magazine free newsletter and/or e-newsletter. It allows you to learn briefly about a particular country, people group, family or person suffering from the threat of persecution.

•Open Doors USAOpen Doors USA offers a LiveChat feature where you can speak with their staff in real time to ask questions or receive resources or information about the persecuted church.

Visit Christian Freedom International, Barnabas Aid, and International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

3. Pursue Partnerships

Our elders decided to focus on supporting a few ministry partners and going deeper with them, instead of partnering with dozens of missionaries with little involvement. Each of our ministry partnerships now spans a relationship of more than five years and has included numerous chances to interact. Many in our church would call these missionaries dear friends.

When the church of one of our missionaries–located in a hostile region of the world–was destroyed, we received pictures via email hours after the event. Our church rallied and gave money to see the church rebuilt. When the building was complete, the missionary sent pictures, which we showed on the screen the following week in our service.

When a pastor in one of the organizations we support in India was brutally beaten and suffered severe head trauma, I received a private message on Facebook from one of the missionaries. It showed pictures of the beaten pastor lying in the hospital bed. It also included a request that we pray for healing, as well as an absence of fear and a spirit of forgiveness for his attackers. Because we know these missionaries – we’ve shared meals and heard them preach at our church on one more than one occasion–we feel a special connection with them.

We are heavy-hearted when we see pictures of missionary friends in such condition, but it moves to pray and give. When one part suffers, the body suffers.

4. Mobilize Your Church

As pastors, we have been called to be the cultural cultivators of our local churches, to make sure the church cares most about the things Jesus cares most about. The best way to do that is by telling stories. Consider telling those stories in various ways.

•Preach about global persecution of our brothers and sisters. Talk about them as illustrations in your sermon. When you preach on the early church in the book of Acts or Paul, give additional examples of persecution happening today. Stop and pray right in the middle of your sermons for those around the world who are suffering.

•Host a VOM advocate on a Sunday morning (they’re more than willing to visit your church and discuss the issue) or see if there is an event near you.

•Host or highlight a church-wide day of awareness and pray for the persecuted Church or, more specifically, participate in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (which can be celebrated this year on either November 6 or 13).

•Invite Brother Yun (“the Heavenly Man”) to your church.

Get families involved in creative and age-appropriate ways:

•Share stories at dinner: Each month when we get our Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, we read the stories around the dinner table and pray for them. After reading a story after dinner recently, our youngest son, age six, looked up with a confused look on his face, “People hurt them just because they love Jesus?” It led to an important conversation about global persecution. After the conversation, he was quick to offer to pray.

•Give as a family: After reading about ways to help Christian refugees by purchasing Family Med Packs, our sons committed to using their allowance money to help pay for a few.

•Write letters as a family to persecuted Christians.

•Watch the videos in the Torchlighters series. This series offers short, true-life stories of Christian martyrs retold for young audiences.

5. Give Generously

There are several practical and creative ways to give:

•Start giving a percentage of your annual church budget toward pastors and missionaries in hostile areas where persecution exists.

•Take a special offering and feature the global persecuted church and give the money to organizations listed above. Funds can help to cover practical and medical relief for Christian refugees and legal fees for imprisoned Christians.

•Support missionaries, pastors, and church planters that work in countries or regions hostile to the work of the gospel. Consider supporting them personally – not just as a church – in order to see your heart grow more for this important issue.

6. Commit to Prayer

The most common request persecuted Christians ask for regarding help is prayer – not for the persecution to stop, but for the strength, perseverance, and faith to work through it. Commit to praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters, just as Paul asked several times that followers of Jesus would pray for him in chains.

•Participate with other churches around the world in November on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

•Pray creatively. A few years ago, we invited the congregation to stand and we divided the room in two. We asked the left side of the room to hold their hands over their mouths, symbolizing silencing and the ways in which foreign governments are working hard to silence Christians legally and politically. We asked the right side of the room to hold their hands behind their backs (as if handcuffed) and to lower their heads, to symbolize the physical harm persecuted brothers and sisters endure. We ask people to consider their bodily posture and to pray silently for those who are suffering that form of persecution today around the world. Although we did these “posture prayers” a few years ago, we’ve had people tell us how meaningful that time of prayer was in our church.

•Utilize specific prayer prompt resources: If you need specific prayer prompts to guide you specifically in interceding on behalf of others, use the VOM Pray Today app and check out Open Doors’ May prayer list.

Benefits at Home

On a snowy February morning in 2015 I attended the monthly meeting of local pastors on the north side of Philadelphia. The recent news of 21 Coptic Christians killed on video on a beachfront while wearing orange jumpsuits had captured the world’s attention. Father Antonio, an Egyptian Coptic priest in our area, attended the meeting that morning as he had with other meetings.

Earlier that morning, I had printed off the names of the 21 Egyptian brothers. In a somber mood, I asked Father Antonio if he would come forward and pray for the men and their families. I told him how sorry to hear of his people losing their lives for their faith in such a tragic way and that we were mourning with him.

When he stepped to the lectern I was surprised by his response:

“Thank you for your concern, but we are not mourning for them. We pray for the comfort of their families, for sure. However, Coptic Christians are rejoicing today that these men were worthy to suffer for Christ. We thank God for their trust and faith in Christ. We are also praying that there would be a modern-day Saul among the killers who experiences the love of Christ and becomes an apostle like Paul among his people.”

I was stunned. This was not the kind of prayer I had been praying, nor had most Christians in the West. Not even close. Father Antonio jolted my paradigm of suffering and reoriented me to a more kingdom-oriented approach to faith and obedience, even in the face of persecution.

When we talk about the sobering issue of brothers and sisters persecuted for their faith, it seems a bit odd to talk about “benefits” of bringing awareness and support to this issue, yet there are several worth noticing. Certainly, we give of ourselves on behalf of others, but we also benefit from participating in this as well.

•It brings the local church much needed perspective of the global church. It reminds us that we are connected to a large global family of God’s children and that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

•In an age of “selfies” and Instagram accounts, these stories can jolt us back to the reality of what our brothers and sisters face in different countries. It puts our problems into healthy perspective. Often, when I find myself frustrated, impatient or annoyed about an issue, I find myself thinking, Christians are suffering for their faith in various parts of the world today and I am complaining about what right now? In addition to bringing such “First World Problems” into perspective, it helps us think more wisely about how we spend our time and money.

•A greater awareness and involvement inspires deeper trust and faithfulness to Christ. When we are moved by the stories of our global family members, it helps us to draw on their faith, courage, and trust in Christ, reminding us it’s worth the cost.

•It helps to cultivate a proper theology of joy in the midst of suffering. Our theology of suffering and persecution in the West is anemic and myopic; we’re shocked when we hear of suffering or when we experience it ourselves. Oftentimes we can be driven to despair or tempted to sulk and complain. We find it almost impossible to be able to praise God when suffering happens. Our persecuted brothers and sisters have so much to teach us in this area!

•It gives us hope and spawns a sense of family pride. We stand on the shoulders of faithful women and men who show us what trust and obedience in the midst of significant odds looks like. May we be worthy to one day have others come behind us in the faith and stand on our shoulders.

J.R. Briggs is the founder of Kairos Partnerships and pastor of The Renew Community, in the greater Philadelphia area. He has written and co-written several books for ministry leaders, including Fail: Finding Hope and Grace in the Midst of Ministry Failure, Eldership and the Mission of God and the forthcoming book Ministry Mantras (IVP). You can find him on Twitter at @jr_briggs