IDOP International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

By Steve Crain

November is the month to remember and pray for the persecuted church, through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).

Believers in Afghanistan face death threats; Christians in Uzbekistan, Nigeria and other countries face violence, imprisonment and even death. There are places such as North Korea where persecution takes place, but we don’t hear of it. Brother Andrew of Open Doors said, “Our heroes are not with us simply because they are in prison.”

IDOP is a time set apart to remember thousands of Christians who suffer persecution, simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Please note that Sunday, Nov. 13 (Sunday, Nov. 6 in the UK and Ireland) is the designated date for IDOP.

Here are excerpts from recent stories posted by Stacy L. Harp at www.persecutionblog.com:

Nov. 9: “Burmese soldiers targeted Christian civilians and church buildings in a recent attack against insurgents from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). The military, which accused church leaders of being part of the KIO, reportedly burned church property and several homes.

“On Oct. 16, 2011, soldiers opened fire on a church in Bhamo District in Kachin state as the congregation prepared for Sunday service. No one was injured in the gunfire, but Burmese soldiers burned the property and detained five church leaders.

“Although the Christians denied being part of the KIO, soldiers kicked and hit them with their guns, demanding to know where the Christians stored guns and bombs. … The soldiers tied the Christian leaders’ hands with wire and forced them to carry heavy rucksacks … Before releasing the five men, the soldiers told them to tell the KIO that the army was preparing to attack their headquarters in Laiza. When the men returned to their village, they found their houses in flames.”

Nov. 8: “ARISSA, Kenya, November 7 (CDN) — Suspected Islamic extremists with Somalia’s al Shabaab militia threw a grenade into the home of the church guard of an East Africa Pentecostal Church (EAPC) congregation outside Garissa, Kenya on Saturday night (Nov. 5), killing an 8-year-old girl and another member of the church, sources said. Three other people were seriously injured in the 8 p.m. grenade attack on the house, which is near the gate of the church compound. Killed instantly were 8-year-old Winnie Mwenda Mutinda and 25-year-old church member John Kikavu. The child was the youngest daughter of church elder Patrick Mutinda, who also serves as the guard or watchman of the church building, sources said.”

The following Nov. 7-posted (by Harp) story is about Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who is receiving international attention:

“Both the Christian Broadcasting Network and The Jerusalem Post are carrying stories today about Pastor Youcef. Please keep him in your prayers, as he still remains in prison and awaiting a decision from, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“‘The Jerusalem Post’ is reporting that Pastor Youcef has been given a book to read titled ‘Message of the Two Eras’ and is again being asked to recant his faith in Jesus and turn to Islam. It was reported previously that Pastor Youcef was given this book and did not deny Christ.

“David Parsons, spokesman for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday the new development is ‘very troubling.’

“There need to be ‘three attempts to make him convert to Islam before they can kill him,’ Parsons said. He cited Shari’a Islamic law as the basis for the three attempts rule.

“Iran ‘is going through the motions’ and ‘trying to do it in a very public way for the Muslim world and maybe, in their mind, thinking they can placate the West. It is outrageous,’ said Parsons, a contributing editor to The Jerusalem Post Christian Edition. The case “should be an eye-opener for world leaders. They should know what Islam teaches in terms of ‘inferior religions’ like Judaism and Christianity.”

The “Message of the Two Eras” discusses the New and Old Testaments. “Through various narratives, the book claims Christianity is a fabrication and attempts to establish the superiority of Islam,” Harp writes.

Please pray. Jesus warned His disciples that in the last days before He comes again, “You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matthew 24:9).