“In 1994 there were 400 Christians in Laos, but by 2020 there were over 250,000, and now Lao Christians believe there are over 400,000,” says Representative Foley. She says that sharp increase has led to challenges for the Lao Christian community, including making sure new believers and churches can receive Bibles without being tracked by authorities.  

“Buying a Bible from a registered church or receiving a Bible from a government-permitted distribution can expose church leaders and local believers to pressure from their fellow villagers or from government authorities,” says Representative Foley. “Public acquisition of a Bible can be like a trail leading suspicious villagers or government authorities right to the door of an unregistered pastor or believer.”  

She says this is why her organization, Voice of the Martyrs Korea, has been partnering with local Christian workers to enable Lao church leaders and individual believers to request Bibles privately. “By quietly providing individual Bibles to the Christians who requested them, we have been able to meet the need while keeping identities confidential and thus keeping Christians safe,” she says. 

According to Representative Foley, persecution and restrictions are the main challenges faced by her team of local Christian leaders in hand-delivering the Bibles. 

“Most persecution of Christians in Laos is done by family members or village authorities who are concerned that Christianity offends the spirits,” says Representative Foley. “The central government also persecutes Christians occasionally, because Christianity is viewed as an American religion or as a tool of the CIA.”

Representative Foley says local Lao Christian leaders estimate around 10,000 new believers are coming to Christ every year. In addition, she says that there are some long-time Christians who do not have their own Bible.  

“Lao Christians also often use Bibles as an evangelism tool for new believers, especially at Christmas time, when they take the opportunity to give out Bibles to those who are interested,” says Representative Foley. 

Due to the shortage of Bibles not distributed through government-monitored sources, Representative Foley says that each Bible distributed often brings requests for several more.  

“There is a great need for Bibles in Laos which are delivered discretely and privately. As one local Christian leader put it, ‘If you have a lot of people coming to Jesus, you need a lot of Bibles.’” 

Representative Foley says that working through local Christian leaders keeps distributions targeted to the believers that need the Bible most. 

“Because we distribute through regional church leaders, the leaders know most of the people that receive a Bible,” she says. “The regional church leaders have directly discipled many of the recipients. One leader told us, ‘I’ve discipled people and churches. We know how many people are in the church, how many people we baptize, and we track them, so we can see how many Bibles are needed.’” 

Representative Foley says the local Lao Christian workers face considerable risk in doing the work, but they participate eagerly. 

“The risk to be caught by the authorities is the biggest concern we have each time while doing distribution and shipping; especially with books or materials that relate to Christianity,” one local Christian worker told Voice of the Martyrs Korea. 

Another regional leader told Voice of the Martyrs Korea, “We know that there are these risks, and we are doing this work with the expectation that we will pay the price.” 

Representative Foley shared the following thank-you note from a pastor whose congregation members received Bibles through the distribution: 

“We are very happy to receive this Bible because before, many brothers and sisters did not have their own Bibles to read. We have asked many teachers to pray for us because we want to get Bibles for the brothers and sisters… I believe that this year God has answered our prayers that we have been praying for all along by receiving the Bible from the pastor and the team…Thank you for helping to present the Bible to us because the Bible is very important to every Christian life because it will help the Christian life change in the way of God and be able to live according to God’s word correctly.” 

Representative Foley shared the following prayer requests for this project: 

• Pray for Christians in outermost regions of Laos – “In the outermost regions of Laos, restrictions and persecution are more severe, making it difficult for these groups to maintain communication with the church in other areas. Please pray for Christians in these areas to have wisdom in carrying out underground ministry.” 
• Pray for additional distributions – “With increasing numbers of new believers in Laos each year, additional distributions are necessary to assist the church in Laos with discipleship efforts. Please pray for the planning of a new project in late 2025.”
• Pray for Christians in Laos to prepare for persecution – “When Christian leaders in Laos evangelize new believers, they teach them also to prepare for discrimination, persecution, arrest, and even death on account of belief in Christ. Pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare them to take up their cross.”

Individuals interested in learning more about Voice of the Martyrs Korea’s work in partnership with Laotian Christians can visit https://vomkorea.com/en/country-profile/laos/. Donations for the next Bible distribution in Laos 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.