100,000 CHURCHES PARTICIPATE IN THIS YEAR’S DAYS OF PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
Christians in an estimated 100,000 churches in 130 countries worldwide are joining together this November to pray especially for persecuted Christians. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church has been observed annually on the first and second Sundays of November each year since being established more than 20 years ago by the World Evangelical Association. Voice of the Martyrs Korea is providing free materials to help Korean churches and Christians participate in the worldwide event this Sunday and for the coming year.
“Today 260 million Christians—about 10% of the global Christian population—face intense persecution for their faith,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, citing statistics from the World Evangelical Association’s Religious Liberty Commission. “In 2020, on average every day 8 Christians were killed for their faith; 10 Christians were detained or imprisoned; 25 churches or Christian buildings were attacked.”
Representative Foley says that the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is a direct response to the most common request made by persecuted Christians. “When we ask persecuted Christians how we can help them, the first thing they say is ‘Pray for us!’”, says Representative Foley. “That is exactly what happens on the two IDOP Sundays annually: The church around the world joins together in prayer for their persecuted brothers and sisters.”
VOM Korea’s 2020 IDOP video tells the story of Christians in the Central African Republic who were forced to flee their homes when Islamists attacked.
For this year’s event, Voice of the Martyrs Korea has released a new video telling the story of Christians in the Central African Republic who were forced to flee their homes when Islamists attacked. The video, “Janette: Central African Republic”, also tells of the decision by Christians there to forgive their persecutors.
“We believe that the video will help churches and Christians in Korea become better equipped to pray for and support Christians like Janette who have lost everything because of their Christian faith,” Representative Foley says.
“Janette: Central African Republic” is available for free viewing at www.vomkorea.com/en/idop. Visitors can also sign up to receive Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s free Global Prayer Calendar, with daily prayer requests for persecuted Christians.