PUEBLO, CO — International ministry World Challenge recently helped build houses for 60 impoverished widows in Guatemala, reported Christian Post.[1] As part of World Challenge’s widow ministry program, which seeks to fulfill the biblical directive to care for widows, local partners meet practical, daily needs of widows, such as food, medicine and shelter. Partners also…
LOVES PARK, IL — “Unstoppable” local churches in Ukraine and Russia are launching a large-scale humanitarian outreach across Ukraine as war erupts around them and many suffer. Supported by U.S.-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org), the church-driven emergency response will provide food, winter clothes, blankets and medicines for thousands of at-risk people, including orphans, abandoned…
SANTA CLARITA, CA — ZOE International celebrates 20 years of reaching those who have not yet heard about Jesus and rescuing children from the horrors of human trafficking. ZOE is named after the Greek word for LIFE in the Bible. Jesus said, “I came that they may have LIFE (ZOE) and have it abundantly.” ZOE…
NORTH KOREA — North Korean Persecuted Christian Bae* was sentenced to a lifetime of backbreaking labour and starvation rations – just for having a Bible. If you were to see Bae* during the day, you’d assume that her work was picking crops. Every morning in the village she’s forced to live in, Bae spends the…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, reveals on a shocking new report, from U.S. border to South Asia, 1.2 billion children in crisis face ‘horrors,’…
CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE — A fire – called a desperate act of arson – didn’t stop the Church congregation in the village of Mlachivka – on the edge of the Chernobyl radiation “exclusion zone from holding a special service outside in the snow and bitter cold, as local firefighters and police looked on. Later, children received…
SYRIA — How do children of the persecuted church celebrate Christmas? Despite conflict and persecution, children around the world are determined to celebrate Christmas. What are you doing for Christmas this year? It’s a question many of us are asking around the world. For children living in countries where believers are persecuted, it’s a question…
During the last two months of the calendar year, Americans can often indulge in a celebratory season of self-absorption. All the while, a nucleus of God-fearing folks try to retain the spirit of the holidays as they were meant to be – as opposed to the socially acceptable events that they have become. As we…
IRAQ – This Christmas, there will be an empty chair at the table for Rafif’s family in Iraq. Everything Rafif knows about her dad she has heard from her mum, and other people who knew him. Because when Raddif ran towards that bus filled with Christian students, warning them of the planned bombing, he saved…
BRADENTON, FL – The Lord answered that fervent title prayer from Carole Ward in 2001. As soon as she knew that He wanted her to go to Northern Uganda and South Sudan, she began to feel the pushback and resistance from well-intentioned church leaders and government officials. Entirely operated by indigenous leaders of Uganda and…
GREENVILLE, SC – Silk Road Catalyst is a Multi-National family of Disciple-Makers engaging the Gospel-Deprived in and from the Silk Road Region through a Presence of Legitimacy. The original Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe during the Han Dynasty in 130…
PHILIPPINES — In the Philippines, 15 years on from the murder of their persecuted father, Pastor Mocsin, we hear an update from siblings Emelyn and Jun-Jun. Emelyn: “I miss those times when we went to church together as a family. Then, during church services, we were complete. We would lead the praise and worship. Then…
LOVES PARK, Ill – Churches in the first-ever country to adopt Christianity as its national religion are confronting “the rawest imaginable trauma” in the wake of a “forgotten” war. With the news dominated by Afghanistan — and the recent focus on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in the U.S. — the victims of the lesser-known…
LAOS — Last year, three Christians in Laos, Southeast Asia were arrested because of their faith. Here, they recount their experiences – and how they knew God was with them. As one of them told an Open Doors partner, “Even when I was in prison, I felt I was not alone. I felt your prayers.”…
GREENVILLE, CA — When the first sparks of the Dixie Fire ignited in Plumas County, California, in July, no one could have predicted that it would burn clear across the Sierra over the next two months and consume nearly 1 million acres to become the second-largest wildfire in the state’s history. The conflagration destroyed over…
BAKERSFIELD, CA – We have seen the desperation of the Afghan people trying to escape as Taliban forces take over Kabul. The US Air Force C-17 plane was packed with 640 precious lives as countless others clung to the outside of the plane—risking life and limb to leave Afghanistan. As we process this grave situation,…
IRAQ — Iraqi law forbids a person from changing their religion from ‘Muslim’ to ‘Christian on their official ID. Believers who find themselves in this situation can be extremely isolated, treated with suspicion by the Christian community while also rejected by Muslims. Mr Youhanna* gives legal counsel to Christians like Matti* who suffers this discrimination….
NIGERIA – In Nigeria persecution is on the increase and so the trauma believers suffer is increasing. However through Open Doors partners working in trauma care, Christians are receiving hope and healing. Anuhu* (name changed for security reasons) who leads the trauma care programme shares the story of how a Nigerian widow, one of the…
SYRIA — Anwar, a Syrian Christian was persecuted and thrown out when he became a Christian – he didn’t have a home or family, but he had the incredible hope of life lived with Jesus. Thanks to Open Doors, a Centre of Hope was able to give him somewhere to live, and the chance to…
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – “There are times that bad stuff is going to happen, no matter how much you try and prevent it. It’s what you do afterward that makes a difference.” – excerpt from the opening of the documentary movie, “Triggered.” All Things Possible is a unique faith-based organization founded by Victor Marx. Marx…
MIANGO, NIGERIA – Sunni Muslim Fulani Herdsmen invaded the Christian orphanage in Miango, Nigeria and burned every building. The 147 children and staff evacuated a few hours before the August 2, 2021 attack. The children were made orphans in previous attacks by Sunni Muslim terrorists such as the Boko Haram. As Fulani herdsmen advance in…
MAITLAND, FL – Do you ever have days when you feel like you are a mission field? Days when our spiritual enemy has attacked you from every direction? Days when it seemed like you could do nothing right? Days when you did, said, or thought things that offended God and others? Days when you had…
KAZAKHSTAN – Is it possible that three little words can heal the life of someone sexually assaulted as a little girl? That “God loves you” is really that powerful? Impossible? I can say that, with God, even this is possible. Growing up in the former Soviet Union, I was shunned by my parents, both abusive…
GERMANY — A Samaritan’s Purse disaster assistance response team (DART) has arrived in hard-hit Western Germany to aid in massive flood relief efforts. These international specialists are assisting a local team of 150 German staff and volunteers who have already been hard at work in the devastated city of Ahrweiler. Since July 15—just 24 hours…
NIGERIA – Last summer, Open Doors shared the story of Rose from Nigeria. Her husband, a pastor, had been murdered by Fulani militants. Their partners recently visited her again and she told them, despite her troubles: “The Lord has not forsaken me.” When Open Doors met Rose in June 2020, we found a woman who…
TURKEY — Kouroush* is an Iranian Christian now living in Turkey, after he fled to escape persecution, leaving everything behind. We hear how, with Open Doors’ support, he is now opening a Center of Hope to help care for fellow refugees. Kouroush*, name changed for security purposes: “I didn’t murder anyone. I didn’t steal anything….
WILLS POINT, TX — COVID-19 is making a heart-wrenching situation even worse for abused and outcast widows around the world, says a new report released surrounding International Widows Day, June 23, an annual awareness event. The pandemic is a widow-maker for thousands of the world’s most vulnerable women, causing them an “unbearable level” of sorrow…
BURKINO FASO — For 19-year-old Salamata* from Burkina Faso in West Africa, life has been incredibly difficult. She witnessed an extremist attack on her church and struggles to see God’s hand on her life. Open Doors has provided her with an aid package and trauma counselling but she still has many unanswered questions. Salamata*: “Our…
CENTRAL ASIA — Anastasia* who came to Christ 20 years ago is a house church leader living in Central Asia. The authorities told her they thought she was retired, but she still teaches six times a week and preaches on Sundays! Her passion for the gospel is infectious. In this Open Doors report Anastasia, who…
CHINA — When Muslims becomes Christians in China they become alienated from their people group and family. They are often socially marginalized, disowned by their family and rejected by their friends. In response Open Doors workers Philip and Pearl* take great to risk their own safety to visit and encourage these Muslim background believers or…
MIDDLE EAST — *Taher and his family were secret believers in a closed country in the Middle East. When their faith was discovered, Taher was arrested and ruthlessly interrogated by the secret police – but he refused to give up the names of fellow believers. In many other countries in the Middle East, worshiping in…
LA JOLLA, CA – See the missionaries. They are the Stoddard family. They serve the Lord in Japan. See Mrs. Stoddard. See Mrs. Stoddard smile. She is a happy mommy. See Mr. Stoddard. See Mr. Stoddard look bewildered. He is a happy daddy, but he’s wondering how he and Mrs. Stoddard are going to take…
SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL – The title of this article may be a bit misleading. It is not intended to be. It is, however, intended to be intriguing. As well as providing an introduction to the Florida-based FBO, Hope for the World, I want to share how the Lord directed me to it. My Search…
LOVES PARK, IL — A U.S.-based mission to the “forgotten children” of the former Soviet Union is aiming to give an “unforgettable summer” to children still suffering from the lingering effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that shook the world 35 years ago on April 26. Supported by Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA, www.sga.org), Camp…
WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, one of the largest mission agencies in the world, is launching compassion projects in Africa (http://www.gfa.org/press/intoAfrica) for the first time — a…
CHIBOB, NIGERIA — In the Middle Belt of Nigeria, militant Fulani herdsmen kill and displace Christians and take over their farmland. Hajaratu, a widow from Chibob, Nigeria, has suffered immeasurable grief after fleeing from one of these raids. Find out how Open Doors is helping more women like Hajaratu to heal. Hajaratu: “I woke up…
WASHINGTON — In honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, CityServe, along with churches around the nation will be observing a National Day of Prayer, referred to as Blue Sunday, this April 25th. This day reminds faith communities to intercede in prayer for abused and neglected children and to open their doors to provide good homes…
VIETNAM — Chu is a courageous Christian woman in Vietnam whose husband tried to force her to deny Jesus. He had come under pressure from his local community leaders who threaten to demote or retire tribal leaders if they allow Christianity into their villages. However even though he beat her there was no turning back…
SYRIA — This month marks the 10th anniversary of the first demonstrations that sparked the Syrian Civil War. In that time, the Christian population decreased from two million in 2010 to under 700,000 today. Ten years of civil war in Syria have made life much harder for persecuted Christians – but Open Doors has been…
LOVES PARK, IL — Christians in Russia going door-to-door in the bitter cold reached thousands more children and families with the Gospel over the past few months than ever before — largely because of COVID-19. Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association’s (SGA, www.sga.org) Christ Over COVID campaign and Immanuel’s Child Christmas outreach helped Russian Christians and their…
ETHIOPIA — Like so many believers in Ethiopia, when Khalid became a Christian he was excluded by his Muslim relatives. Forced to leave he was left with no food, shelter or source of income. But persecution charity Open Doors stepped in to help him establish his own business. Khalid: “Persecution is tough. You are separated…
NORTH KOREA — The persecution of Christian women and girls around the world is hidden, complex and violent. They are vulnerable for both their gender and their faith. As part of International Women’s Day on 8 March, Open Doors has been sharing stories of those who’ve been persecuted simply because they are Christian women. The…
ETHIOPIA — When Abebu’s husband was killed in Ethiopia for his faith in 2013 Christian charity Open Doors stepped in to support her family. But seven years later when Covid-19 restrictions again left her unable to feed her children, the charity provided vital help to her as well as thousands of other families across Africa…
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – Millions of children and young people live in at-risk conditions in Russia. The problem is exacerbated by the thousands of orphaned children who age out of state-run orphanages each year to make way for the thousands of children waiting to replace them. The problem is worse than you may think. “There…
WINTER PARK, FL – Pathway Learning was born in the heart of Dr. Steve Childers when after leading a training session for church leaders in Africa. His lesson included the matter of serving widows and orphans in the communities represented at the conference. None of the churches represented were doing anything. Steve immediately realized that…
SOUTH ASIA — Covid-19 is fuelling a growing, hidden, “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence, abduction and trafficking, directed towards Christian women and girls around the world. This is one of the findings of a new report commissioned by Christian persecution charity Open Doors, released on International Women’s Day (Mon Mar 8). Global Gender Persecution Specialist…
CHARLESTON, SC – I am going to assume that you know as much about Burundi as I did before I began to investigate the benevolent work of GLO (aka Great Lakes Outreach). So, before I can introduce you to GLO, I need to familiarize you with the African nation of Burundi. Burundi Burundi occupies less…
NORTH KOREA — This story is based on a real-life account of a North Korea Christian sent to prison and then to a re-education camp. Other details have been added from other prison accounts. Open Doors has heard stories like this from numerous North Korean believers – and, disturbingly, the details are all eerily similar….
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO — Following the latest attacks by Islamists that claimed the lives of at least 100 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors is calling on the international community to act urgently to protect the largely forgotten people of DRC. The mass killings of civilians in eastern…
RUSSIA — An annual event launched by Slavic Gospel Association in 2002 — is on target to distribute Christmas gifts, children’s Bibles, and personalized ornaments to 50,000 Children in Russia. Despite lockdown restrictions SGA church partners are reaching out into hospital, orphanages and the homes of vulnerable children as part of their Immanuel’s Child outreach….
