“Through our local partners we were able to verify that a new village chief, Mr. Lang, and other local officials arrested Pastor Mum and five other Christians at the pastor’s home during a Saturday prayer meeting,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. Her ministry partners with local Lao Christians to privately hand-deliver individual Bibles and hymnals to church leaders who request them. She says the Christian population in Laos is increasing dramatically, but so is persecution by authorities who worry about the increase and persecute Christian leaders whose churches are growing. 

“In 1994 there were 400 Christians in Laos, but by 2020 there were over 250,000, and today Lao Christians believe there may be over 400,000,” says Representative Foley. She says much of the growth is in tribal areas, where some leaders are less tolerant than others. 

“Most of the tribal people are animists,” says Representative Foley. “They also worship their ancestors, like their deceased fathers or mothers. When families in their village become Christian, other villagers sometimes claim to experience things like sickness as a result of the local spirits being offended. So they believe that the Christian families have to renounce their faith or leave the village in order to fix the problem.” 

In the case of the recent arrests in Tahae village, Representative Foley says a change in village leadership appears to have precipitated the crackdown. 

“Pastor Mum became a Christian in 2019 when his family experienced a miraculous healing through Christ,” says Representative Foley. “He began to gather believers in his home at that time and now has a congregation of 40 to 50.”  

She says there had not been any problems with authorities until May of this year, when a new chief, Mr. Lang, began to lead the village. Now, Pastor Mum and five of his church members are being held in Xaibouathong district prison. Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea is monitoring the situation closely through one of its local field workers. 

Despite the Lao constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion to citizens and the Lao government being a signatory on most United Nations statements on human rights and religious freedom, Representative Foley says the experience of these detained Lao Christians is not unique. 

“Another small rural church in Laos faced a violent attack from neighbors in the past 12 months,” she says. “During the morning worship service, villagers and relatives of the believers came and destroyed the church.” She says further details cannot yet be shared due to safety concerns for the church members. 

Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs Korea is supporting Lao Christians by quietly hand-delivering them the Bibles and hymnals they are requesting through the ministry’s local field workers. “Outside groups who come to Laos and do large-scale distribution of Christian materials can inadvertently add to persecution by enabling authorities to easily spot and track Lao Christian leaders,” she says. “Also, Christianity is growing most strongly in the rural areas. The safest and most effective way to equip the pastors there with the Bibles and hymnals they need is to have those materials quietly and individually hand-delivered by local Lao believers with whom they have a common connection.” 

Even then, says Representative Foley, Lao Christians know that persecution is likely to be part of their daily Christian life. She says Voice of the Martyrs Korea continues to provide care and support to families of Christians in prison, as well as those who lose their homes through anti-Christian violence. “We don’t help them leave,” she says. “Instead, we make it possible for them to stay and make a witness for Christ where they are. One way we do that is through telling their stories and sharing their plight globally. When authorities know that Christians around the world are watching them closely, it makes a difference.”  

Individuals interested in learning more about Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with Lao Christians can visit https://vomkorea.com/en/country-profile/laos/. Donations can be made to www.vomkorea.com/en/donate or via electronic transfer to  

국민은행 463501-01-243303 

예금주: (사)순교자의소리 

Please include the word “Laos” on the donation.