K-House Growing Despite Suffering
Whether facing the threat of militant Islam in Iran, or outright slaughter in India, Christian persecution around the world has not gone away. Even as we pick through different versions of the Bible for our Bible study, pastors in other countries have to pay half a year's wages on the black market just to possess one copy of God's Word in their own tongues. We should keep up on the situations around the world, so that we can pray for our brothers and sisters and stand in the gap for them during their hours of great need.
India
Horrible massacres have been taking place in the Orissa state on India's eastern shore. An anti-Christian Hindu leader was assassinated on August 22, and since then Hindu mobs have been burning churches and homes. Unknown numbers of Christians have been slaughtered and their bodies burned. Others are burned alive. A pregnant woman and her one-year-old child were chopped up when she refused to convert to Hindusim. The brutality is unbelievable. It is estimated that 50,000 Christians have left their homes to save their lives. Despite the horror, there is hope that this persecution will only lead to the growth of Christianity in the region. Gospel For Asia's leader in Orissa, Juria Bardhan, points out that the Christian population in the state has grown from 2 percent to 28 percent, and has had its most dramatic growth during times of persecution: "They don't understand that by doing this, the church will grow by leaps and bounds, and this will cause thousands to come to Christ."
Iran
Fewer than one percent of Iran's 70 million people are Christians, but the numbers appear to be rising despite the country's hardline Islamic government. As in many countries, there are official Christian churches allowed in Iran. These, though, are not what concern the Iranian government. The underground, uncontrolled churches are sprouting up across Iran, and President Mamoud Ahmadinejad is determined to stop them. According to Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton, "The people look around, they see the poverty, they see the discontent, they're not happy so they have questions. Why isn't it working out, we're doing it the Islamic way, why isn't our country great? So, they are ripe to hear a new way."
Gary Lane, CBN News International Correspondent, reports that Ahmadinejad has cracked down on house churches. Members are harassed and arrested and sometimes beaten. This summer, a house church meeting in the city of Isfahan was raided and the leader and his wife so severely beaten they both died. As in India, the persecution does not stop the spread of the Gospel; it only adds to the Christians' resolve to be more like Jesus. Persecution also has the effect of moving people around. As Christians flee to other parts of the country, they take their faith with them and start new churches.
Christian broadcasting is reaching its Persian audience and is also having an impact. SAT-7 PARS, now broadcast 24-hours-per-day in the Persian tongue, tells Iranians about God's love and helps disciple believers. The station receives about 1000 viewer contacts per week. One message from Iran said, "In the past, through my studies, I came to the conclusion that Christianity was a heresy. However, when I started watching your programs on SAT-7 PARS, I realized that it is the most complete of all religions. It is a religion that shows happiness in this world and the world to come. Jesus raised people from the dead and gave them life. Blessed are those who are the followers of this religion."
China
Only one factory prints Chinese-language Bibles in China, and those are strictly for state-approved churches. Pastors are desperate for the Word of God in the native Chinese, and Bibles are not always available. China claims to have religious liberty, but that "liberty" is strictly controlled. Vision Beyond Borders founder Patrick Klein freely delivered thousands of Bibles to the hungry Church in Asia, including China, until his last trip. Klein and his fellow missionaries were surprised when their 315 Bibles were confiscated from their checked luggage in the airport at the southwestern city of Kunming. A law passed in June 2007 put a bridle and bit on Bible distribution in China. Outsiders are no longer allowed to bring in large numbers of religious materials for distribution unless they get permission first. The Chinese officials returned the Bibles to Klein's group as they left the country, and the missionaries were able to hand out the Bibles in Laos. However Klein says "There's a waiting list of 400,000 pastors who need Bibles. The need is tremendous. If they were to buy one on the black market, it would cost six months' to a year's salary."
A Call To Prayer
As Todd Nettleton said of Iran: "We have to pray for them. That is their first request. Pray for us, pray for us, pray for us...and I challenge people to really pray for the Iranian government," Nettleton said. "Pray for Ahmadinejad to have a personal meeting with Jesus Christ. Imagine how that would change that country; imagine how that would change the world." The most important thing we can do for our brothers and sisters around the world is to pray for them. The power of God moves through prayer, and when we kneel in solidarity with them, God does great things. Imagine how, if we were in their places, we would want others to get on their knees for us.
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