CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION: What’s Different About Christians Who Endure?
Release Date: 08/09/2025
NICARAGUA: A Battle Between the Gospel of Christ and the Powers of Evil
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“What is key is that many of these pastors and leaders have understood the true gospel.” Despite government threats of exile, prison, or death, Pastor Chico, a front-line worker in , says pastors are still preaching the truth of God’s Word—no matter the cost. They know, as the Bible says, that “faith comes by hearing” (Rom. 10:17). The price of their preaching can be high. Listen as Chico shares about a pastor who lost his Nicaraguan citizenship when he left the country to attend a Christian conference, and pastors imprisoned without a trial or any legal process in which to defend...
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LAOS: How Should We Prepare for Persecution when Jesus Himself Died?
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Christians in Laos know they will face persecution when they follow Jesus. Brother Sionh, founder and president of Khmu Christian Connection, says he doesn’t have to make a special effort to prepare Christians for persecution because they already know it will come. He says some Khmu follow Jesus privately and secretly because they fear the loss of opportunity that comes with being known as a Christian. Brother Sionh remembers how his parents and many others came to faith before World War II when an American missionary walked to their village and told them Jesus has power over evil spirits...
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AFGHANISTAN: “Once You Begin to See What God Can Do…”
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This week, Brother Matthew continues sharing stories of God’s calling on his life to Afghanistan and how he came to know the beautiful, amazing people within that broken nation. As he saw God at work in Afghanistan, he says his faith and hope increased. Afghanistan is a nation where many Christians have laid down their lives. With his long experience there, Matthew met, worked with and learned from these martyrs. Listen as he shares memories of several heroes of the faith that he knew as friends and colleagues in the gospel effort. One of those Brother Matthew will tell of is Werner...
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CENTRAL ASIA: Visions, Visas, and Venturing to Unreached People in Afghanistan
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Brother Matthew was a worldly teenager when his mother decided she and her son needed to go to church. By the end of that first service, both of them had committed their lives to following Christ. As Matthew grew in faith, he was convicted and inspired by the Acts accounts of Paul’s missionary travels. Studying Paul’s efforts to take the gospel to the gentiles, Matthew began to ponder who were the gentiles in his generation, living far from the truth of Christ? As he began to ask that question in prayer, God laid on his heart the nation of Afghanistan. Matthew began taking steps towards...
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MISSIONS: Reducing Barriers, Easing Burdens, and Delivering God’s Word
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“God, where are You working in aviation that I can participate?” Throughout his life, Steve Russell, CEO and President of Jungle Aviation and Relay Service (better known as ) has asked the Lord what He had in store next. That pattern continued when he earned his pilot’s license; he wondered how the Lord would use that new skill to open doors for Kingdom impact. Little did he know God would use it to move him toward leadership in a global missions effort! Long before Russell arrived at JAARS, God was giving him experiences to prepare him for this season of service. Steve will share how...
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INDIA: “I Am Willing to Pay the Price. My Heart is Prepared.”
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“Pastors are only asking for prayer for the ministry to continue, and prayer for conversion of [their] persecutors,” Brother Vijay says, “No one is asking that the persecution would stop.” Brother Vijay, a gospel worker in India, is back to share what it means to follow Christ in India today, and how pastors and believers there take persecution in stride. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees any Christian gathering as a crusade—an attempt to convert people. Authorities even send spies to monitor Christian gatherings. But spies in church still hear the message;...
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BIBLE ACCESS: More Persecuted Christians Receiving God’s Word
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Brother Wybo served persecuted Christians for decades as part of Open Doors with Brother Andrew. Andrew, the author of God’s Smuggler, had a passion for Bible distribution and didn’t shy from taking necessary risks to get God’s Word into hostile areas and restricted nations. While serving with Open Doors, Wybo created the World Watch List which tracks countries where Christians face the most restrictions and persecution. Now he’s led in the creation of a new list which tracks how difficult it is for Christians around the world to access Bibles. The tracks nations where governments...
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INDIA: God Answers Prayer that Fellow Pastor Would be Arrested
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After months in prison for sharing the gospel with Hindus, Pastor Paul’s health was failing. He offered a desperate prayer: he asked God to allow another pastor to be arrested who could come to the prison and encourage Paul. “Lord, arrest one pastor and bring him to be in prison so we can have fellowship.” God answered Paul’s prayer, and four days later, he read in the newspaper that a pastor had been arrested. Two weeks later, that pastor was with Paul in the prison, and he brought him great encouragement: “My church has been praying for you!” After his fellow pastor arrived...
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INDIA: “My Jesus is Victorious. I Will Suffer for Him.”
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Pastor Paul was doing gospel outreach in Northern India when he was arrested by police and accused of “forcing” Hindus to convert to Christianity. He wasn’t forcing anyone but only sharing with people who expressed a hunger to hear the truth. When police arrived, Paul and his coworkers weren’t having a service or studying the Bible; they were eating a meal. Still, it was considered a crime. “Which god are you praying to?” police asked. Little did Pastor Paul know that his faith would be tested as he heard that question repeatedly over the coming weeks. Pastor Paul and his three...
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LATIN AMERICA: Obedience Comes with a Price
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Serving as the Regional Leader for VOM’s work in Latin America, Isaac Santiago tells what it’s like to be a Christian today in countries like Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Colombia. He has witnessed the shift since 2018 in Nicaragua—listed as a Restricted Nation in —through more laws that directly affect the church and severe restrictions and government pressure similar to what Christians face in Communist nations like Cuba and China. While some Christians in Nicaragua are weary and struggling to adjust to the new persecution reality, Christians in Cuba have dealt with such restrictions...
info_outlineDo we really believe that to live is Christ, and to die is gain?
After serving for more than a decade as a gospel worker and church planter in Asia, Brother Kevin asks all believers to consider whether we actually live as if we believe these words from Philippians 1:21. He says that of ten people who come to faith in Christ in the area where he works, nine recant when the pressure of persecution rises. Yet seeing the joyful endurance of the one who remains faithful is a great source of encouragement to him.
Kevin will share how the Lord called him to serve unreached people groups in Asia, and explain what a new believer is likely to face when they come to Christ in a Buddhist and animistic culture, where persecution usually begins at the family or village level.
Because of fear-based animistic practices and the communal culture, the entire community feels like they are at risk when a member of their community becomes a Christian. Kevin has walked with friends who’ve been put in prison or kicked out of their villages. Some are living in tents because they refused to recant their commitment to Christ. Yet they meet these hardships with joy, responding in faith and perseverance to their persecution.
Kevin will discuss how individualistic worldviews in Western nations like the United States compare to the collective Asian culture, and how believers show the unity within Christ’s body as they rely on each other when part of the body is hurting.
Learn more about the church in Asia and how to pray for Christians there and around the world who face persecution for owning a Bible, gathering for a church service, or simply wearing the name of Christ.
The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.