PERSECUTION

International Christian Concern | September 2014

A Very
Dangerous
Place
Strategies
Against The
Local Church

A Spectrum of
Persecution
pg3

Catch
22
pg5

A Dangerous
Place
pg7

Your Bridge to the Persecuted Church

IN THIS ISSUE:

P9. A DANGEROUS PEOPLE

GROUPS AND MOBS ATTACK THE

LOCAL CHURCH

P3. A SPECTRUM OF PERSECUTION

P11. A DANGEROUS MESSAGE

P5. CATCH-22

P13. A DANGEROUS PEACE

P7. A DANGEROUS PLACE

P15. YOUR DOLLARS AT WORK

PERSECUTION IS MORE THAN THE

IMPRISONMENT OR MURDER OF PASTORS.

UNWINNABLE SITUATIONS ARE CREATED TO

STRANGLE AND CLOSE CHURCHES.

GOVERNMENTS ATTACK CHURCHES.

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER.

THE PERSECUTED TEACH US HOW TO LIVE WITH

PAIN.

READ HOW YOUR DONATIONS ARE

TRANSFORMING THE LIVES OF THE
PERSECUTED.

A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Jeff King, President

International Christian Concern

Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political figure and historian from the early to mid-1800s. In 1831, he went to
America on a mission from the French monarchy to study
Americas prison system, but instead used the time to study
and understand what made America great. The product of
this journey was the famous book, Democracy In America.
In it, he said something that is quite extraordinary.
I ascended (Americas) mountains and valleys. I visited (factories),
markets, emporiums of trade. . .courts, and legislative halls. I
sought everywhere in vain for the secret of Americas success, until
I entered the church.
It was there, as I listened to the soul-equalizing and soul-elevating
principles of the Gospel of Christ, as they fell from Sabbath
to Sabbath upon the masses of the people, that I learned why
America was great and free, and why France was a slave.
Empty Pews & Selections from Other Sermons on Timely
Topics, Madison Clinton Peters; Zeising, 1886
Tocquevilles insight into the power source of our mighty and ascending country that would rule the world for next 150 years was
incredibly insightful, but is missed by almost all. . . .except for Satan!

Yet, why does Satan spend so much time attacking the local
church (Gods outpost), and its soldiers (the called-out ones who
man the fort).
It is because the building and believer can become (and often are) a channel for God to invade Satans territory,
deep behind the enemys lines. This works only if the believer is all in with God. In the persecuted world, this all
in mentality is common as believers lose all to follow Him.
When a believer is all in then the Holy Spirit, the real transforming power from heaven, is unleashed. The river of life
(do a Bible study on this phrase) starts to flow into the land;
the prisoners are released, the lame are healed, and the dead
come to life. The book of Revelation uses the metaphor of a
river of fresh water flowing from the throne of God and making salt waters fresh and bringing life to everything it touches.
This is why Satan targets the local church. His focus should awaken you and I to a deep truth; we can only truly live with power and
hope if we are all in with God and His power is flowing through us.
If you have wandered away from The Source, then take time right
now to turn back and ask for His river to flow through your heart!
Then, join me as we support these outposts and soldiers behind enemy lines who have given up everything to follow the King of Life!

Satan knows that the humble local church can be a wellspring of life
from heaven in the vast desert of despair, death, and decay, that he
seeks to establish on earth. It is a very dangerous outpost of heaven,
deep behind enemy lines that can produce hope, life, and growth.
Now I know the idea of the local church being dangerous is counter-intuitive. The local church is not impressive by the worlds standards. The building is usually old and at best, modest, in terms of
niceties and style. Its people are not usually the captains of industry, leaders of government, or the members of the intelligentsia.

Jeff King
President,
Persecution.org, International Christian Concern

A SPECTRUM OF

PERSECUTION
By Ryan Morgan
The car looked like it had been hit by a rocket. Twisted
metal, broken glass and shrapnel were strewn everywhere.
The owner and his wife looked up at me to see my reaction even as my friend, who was all too familiar with this
type of incident, looked up and down the street nervously.
We were standing in the middle of an Indonesian island that most of the world had never heard of, even
though it had been the site of many untold massacres.
Two days before, Islamic jihadists had tried to blow up this
Christian couple, who faithfully served in the church next
door, with a bomb full of metal fragments attached to their
car.
The radicals, I was told, were probably close to us
and after delivering quick prayers and some a
ssistance, my friend and I were whisked away.
The story above is the closest I have come to witnessing violent persecution with my own eyes. The memory is seared
into my consciousness, even though the lives of the targets
were spared.
A Spectrum of Persecution
Yet if we only pay attention to the most violent and headline

making cases of persecution, we miss the fact that there

is a whole spectrum of persecution that affects millions of
Christians across the planet.
According to the most comprehensive report yet on the
subject conducted by the Pew Forum, an unbelievable 64%
of the worlds population lives in nations where government restrictions are either high or very high (see chart
on next page).
Incredibly, 74% live in nations very high levels of social
hostilities towards religion. According to the research,
Christians face restrictions or hostility in a massive 151 nations, more than any other faith or religious group.

Catch-22

What does this spectrum look like? In Azerbaijan, the

government passes a classic piece of Catch-22 legislation
requiring legal churches to re-register with the government
and then denies their registrations. The government shuts
down the only church in an area of 40,000 residents.
In Egypt, churches could not be built or even repaired without government approval. For decades, it was almost impossible to get approval to do either.

Government Restrictions

In China, anyone who chooses to pastor or worship outside

of the government led Three-Self church can be arbitrarily arrested and it is against the law for anyone under 18 to
be brought to a church.
In Kyrgyzstan, Christians are kept from burying their
dead by Islamic groups unless they convert to Islam. In
Laos, Christians are charged with murder after praying for
a sick villager who later dies.

Mob Violence

In Sri Lanka, mobs of Buddhist monks whip up hatred towards Christians and lead attacks on pastors, church services, and church buildings.
A car owned by church workers bombed by Islamic
jihadists in Indonesia. ICC trip, October 2012

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A Spectrum of Persecution

As you pull back and study persecution you realize that persecution is much more than the imprisonment or murder
of pastors. There is in fact a spectrum of persecution that
makes it devilishly tough to combat.

Hope at the End of the Spectrum

While we focus on and will always rush to aid those who are
suffering from the brutal end of the persecution spectrum
(bombings, shootings, rape, torture, and murder), we must
not forget our brothers and sisters who must daily persevere, often for their entire lives, under discrimination, government restrictions, and mob attacks.
We must also never forget that the spectrum of persecution always begins and ends with hope.
Time and again in the persecuted Church we see where God
bestows on us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil
of joy instead of mourning (Isaiah 61:3) and as Joseph
said to his brothers, You intended to harm me, but God
intended it for good to accomplish. . .the saving of many
lives (Genesis 50:20).
Today, from the ashes of decades of appalling persecution
in China, a beautiful church the size of which the world
has never seen before is arising. Across the world where
Christians have chosen to remain faithful and endure, we
see the seeds of revival beginning to spring forth.

KYRGYZSTAN
AZERBAIJAN

CHINA

EGYPT
SRI LANKA

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CATCH-22
A dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because
of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.
The phrase Catch-22 comes from Joseph Hellers satirical
anti-war novel that was popularized in a 1970 film starring
Alan Arkin. Arkin is the captain of a bomber in WWII who,
after seeing too many other pilots die in mission, decides he has
to escape the Air Force if he is to stay alive.
To get relieved of his duties, he tells his superiors that he is
crazy. The reply he receives is non-sensical and purposefully
leaves him trapped without any option but to keep doing what
the military wants him to do.
An airman would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he
didnt, but if he was sane hed have to fly them. If he flew them
he was crazy and didnt have to; but if he didnt, he was sane
and had to.
This maddening (non) logic is exactly what Christians
experience in many countries as they face government
restrictions on their activities. They constantly live in a
Catch-22!

In many countries, you can only legally meet for worship if you register your church with the government. Problematically, these governments often
never grant church registrations and in fact, the required forms for registration often dont even exist!
If you then choose to meet without the (non-existent) registration approval, the police will fine you
an exorbitant amount, they may jail you, or sometimes you are only beaten. In this common scenario, Christians have a choice: they either worship illegally or stop meeting for worship. Catch-22!
Governments hostile to Christianity often censor
Christian religious material saying citizens can only own
books on one particular list while refusing to publish
a list of approved books (this would expose the governments control of religion). In this case, Christians
have a choice: smuggle books and hope theyre on the
list (risking raids, prison and fines) or never own materials which will help you grow in your faith. Catch-22.
5

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The film Catch-22, released in 1970, was based

on the book from Joseph Heller.

These Catch-22s even extend to death and the grave.

Some Muslim towns only allow Muslims to be buried in
certain cemetaries. Loved ones are told that they cant
bury their dead unless you sign papers saying you deny
Christ. So the choice layed before them? Deny Christ or
keep your dead loved ones body in your home. Catch-22.
Azerbaijan
Despite tight government religious restrictions,
Greater Grace Protestant Church (GGPC) in Baku,

Azerbaijan was a legal church approved by the government. In 2009, the State demanded that all religious organizations re-register with the government.
Despite having correct paperwork, GGPCs registration
was rejected. Church members battled in court and the congregation continued to worship illegally often vacating
the property upon receiving tips of impending police raids.
Sadly, in January 2013, the church ran out of legal options and the church was ordered to be shuttered. For
the 40,000 residents near the capital of Baku, there is
now NO legal place of worship for the Christian faith.
Sri Lanka
This country, known for its beauty and peaceful Buddhist
religion harbors an ugly not-so-secret, secret. Despite
their loud declarations of religious freedom, in the last 20
years they have fallen from grace and may soon be on our
governments (USCIRF) list of countries with the worst religious freedom record (Countries of Particular Concern).
Buddhist monks are continually leading violent mobs to
tear down churches and beat up Christians in an effort to
get them to leave their towns and villages. The police and
government close down churches whenever they like.
If pastors complain, they are told, Your building is illegal. You dont have the legal registration to meet for
worship. However, there is actually no legal document
that a pastor can fill out and submit to the government to become a legal place of worship. Catch-22!
China
The government created the Three-Self Patriotic Church.
The house churches refuse to be controlled by an
atheist government that has arrested and killed
their pastors, and shut out the Gospel for decades.
The Chinese government doesnt allow unregistered churches to have church buildings. Therefore,
Christians will meet in someones house (a house church).
The government can raid house churches in the excuse
that they are not registered even though to do so would
gut the house church and suppress the Gospel. Catch-22!
Uzbekistan
There is a list of banned Christian books in
Uzbekistan. The government says these books are dangerous but wont say why and wont publically disclose the list.
Therefore, at any time and without warning, the
government can raid your home and if they find
any of these books can jail, fine, or beat you.

This makes it nearly impossible for Christians to know

what they can and cannot own and gives authorities
carte blanche to consider any religious book as contraband. This has resulted in exorbitant fines (10 times the
monthly wage) and jail time. Christians go to extraordinary lengths to smuggle in Bibles and books that will
teach them about Jesus, but live in constant fear, wondering whether or not the books they own are on the
list or not, and if they will be discovered and go to jail.
Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, a 73-year-old Christian woman who had
converted from Islam, died in a village in Kyrgyzstan. She
had asked her Christian family members to bury her according to local Muslim tradition because this was the
only way she would be allowed to be buried in the village
cemetery where her relatives and ancestors were buried.
However, on their way to the funeral the family was stopped by the local Imam and other villagers. Her son said that, at first the Imam demanded
that three relatives write a statement that my mother was not a Christian and that she was a Muslim.
Under the pressure, and knowing how desperately their
loved one wanted to be buried there, they obliged.
However, then the Imam presented a new demand saying that her son and his two sisters, who were there
for the burial, must renounce our Christian faith.
We did not do this. The family was forced to leave
their mothers dead body in their home for four days
before authorities barged in and forced them to bury
her in another cemetery, away from the family plot.

SUMMARY

Many Christians live in the crazy-making non-reality of a Catch-22 existence

when targeted by their governments.
This can keep them (by design) in a state
of constant anxiety. Keep them in prayer if
you would, so that they would be wise to the
devils schemes and understand his constant
tricks designed to keep them off balance
and focused on their struggles, rather than
spreading the good news of the way to life.

You can help today! 800-ICC-5441

A DANGEROUS

PLACE

By Sooyoung Kim

Governments Are Threatened by the Church

So They Control and Strangle the Church
My heart is bleeding as I see hundreds of church crosses fall one
by one in Zhejiang Province, Ye Wanjing, a Chinese believer
wrote in a public letter as he stated that he is ready to die for
his faith.
ICC has discovered in an ongoing investigation that the Chinese
government has declared war on the Church in China in the
biggest church crackdown since the days of Mao. They have
either removed crosses or outright destroyed 360 plus churches.
China is not the only place where the government is trying
to silence the Church because it is seen as a threat to Chinas
control. In Vietnam and Indonesia, churches face persecution
actively carried out by a state determined to crack down on any
perceived ideological threat.

Chinas Response to Christianity. My father and I were

house church pastors in China and in 2000, our church was
raided by the police. Both of us were choked, handcuffed,
and put in jail for a week because we preached the Gospel,
Pastor Titus, a former house church pastor, now a seminary
student, told ICC during an interview. The police beat me
with a stick on my head and warned me to never illegally
teach the Bible. Even until now, the scar remains on the
right side of my head. As of 2012, Pastor Titus had been
imprisoned three times by the government and his family
had to move from one apartment to another two to four
times a year due to the constant harassment from the police.

Sanjiang Church before and during the recent Chinese government-ordered demolition

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Sadly, Pastor Tituss case is not isolated in China, a country that perceives religion as among four primary threats
to national security (National Security Research Report,
2014). China sees religion as ideological infiltration from
foreign forces. House church pastors and co-workers run
the risk of imprisonment or detention due to illegal gathering if the congregation of a house church goes over 35.
Crackdown. In Zhejiang Province, the coastal province in
eastern China, Christian churches had enjoyed a friendly
relationship with local governments for at least a decade.
But in early 2014, an anti-church campaign aimed at curbing the visibility of churches began. As of July, over 360
churches have been affected by the campaign under the
guise of removing or modifying illegal constructions.
The government of Zhejiang Province says it is removing or modifying illegal buildings for urban development.
However, ICC has discovered, and the New York Times corroborated, that the real target is religious buildings at the
exclusion of all others. The largest church demolished was
the 80,000 square foot Sanjiang church (see left).
Vietnams Approach.
Vietnams
Communist party (VCP) sees the retention of their monopoly political power
as their highest priority. Vietnam has a
genuine paranoia about outside threats
to its power led by foreign governments
and Christians are viewed as part of that
outside threat to their power.
Churches and Christian organizations
are seen as having the potential to organize and mobilize the public to challenge the power of the VCP and are
therefore targeted and victimized. The
Montagnards (mountain people) of the
Central Highlands are home to most of
Vietnams Christian-majority and have
been a special target of the Communists.

A church in Indonesia is shut down

gious Christian persecution. Under pressure from Islamic
hardliners, an average of 40 churches per year are forcibly
closed.

The government uses the Catch-22 strategy where churches are closed for not having building permits but it is
nearly impossible to get a buildpermit for anything but a
The police beat me with ing
mosque. Its not just governa stick on my head and ment restrictions that are closdown churches, but threats
warned me to never ing
and attacks by Islamists as well.
The Communion of Churches in
illegally teach the Bible.
Indonesia reported that since
Even until now, the scar 2004, there have been attacks
on more than 430 churches.

remains on the right side

of my head.

Islamists harass and close

churches with impunity. One
Islamic political party, FPI,
sees church closures as fundCHINESE HOUSE PASTOR
raising events, said a long-time
missionary in Indonesia, they
extort money from churches by
The VCP allows state-sanctioned churchthreatening them. Islamists within and without the goves to grow but clamps down on independent underground ernment are determined to strangle the church.
churches says Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, the president of
an America-Vietnamese community organization (BPSOS). Something More than the Cross. Governments can put
restrictions on buildings and tear down crosses, but these
They appoint government officials as pastors of the state- are externals and only signs of what it truly means to be a
sanctioned churches. This way the VCP can appear to the Christian.
outside world as having religious freedom.
As Ye Wanjing, the Chinese believer said as he stood ready
However, the true Christian churches are seriously perse- to defend his church in China, I am not going to die for the
cuted. Their churches are confiscated, their members ha- physical cross on my church. However, faced with injustice,
rassed, and their pastors are threatened, beaten, impris- my Christian conscious pressured me to do my responsibiloned and even killed.
ity. I hope to learn more about Jesus Christs calling to die
Indonesias Rising Intolerance and Impunity toward to myself.
Violence. Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim- The government can do nothing to control those who have
majority nation, had a long tradition of inter-religious chosen to follow Jesus like this.
harmony, but since 1998, has experienced increasing reliYou can help today! 800-ICC-5441

A DANGEROUS

PEOPLE

Groups and Mobs Attack the Local Church

A church is more than bricks, mortar and a cross. Its
a public witness to the presence of Jesus, followers. It
is the people of God, His body, and even the physical
presence of Gods encroaching presence into enemy
territory. The visible representation of that incursion
the church building has incredible meaning.

the church chanting insults and rocks, to the mobs that

tear down the doors and destroy the church, or to an
Islamist terror group that opens fire on hundreds of
Christians gathered to worship on a Sunday morning;
they are all sent by Satan as a strategy to erase any
presence of Christ from the land. When you see Satans
efforts to destroy the local church, you can see clearly
For those who are hostile towards the Gospel, the local and incongruously, that the local church is a very
church is often the target of their attacks. While far too
dangerous place!
often these violent attacks succeed in destroying church
buildings, the real church will never be destroyed.
While there are dozens of countries we could focus on,
two countries in particular, Egypt and Nigeria, stand
Across the world, local churches are relentlessly
out as having endured intense attacks on churches.
under attack. From the angry mob gathered outside
Human Rights Watch investigates the burning of AlAnba
Mousa Church in Minya

Egypt
Mohammed Morsi and his radical Muslim Brotherhood
ruled Egypt from June 2012 to July 2013. When he was
deposed it set off a harshest level of persecution Egyptian
Christians had seen in centuries. In just a few weeks, hundreds of Christians homes and shops were destroyed as well
40+ churches. Egyptian Christianity has suffered under Islam for 1400 years but the past twelve months were among
the worst.
The Virgin Mary Church in Delga was built in the fourth
century. On August 14, 2013, Brotherhood supporters gathered in an adjacent mosque and attacked the church after
hearing the following from the mosques speakers: Your
Muslim brothers were killed in Rabaa and Nahda, Jihad.
They poured out of the mosque chanting, Jihad, Jihad! as
they made their way to the Virgin Mary Church and properties of the Anba Abraam Monestary, Father Abraam Taneissa
told ICC.
They looted pews, fans, curtains, chandeliers, windows,
doors, and more. After they had taken all they could, they
set the monastery on fire. They also looted the contents
of the Mar Girgis church and the archaeological church of
Virgin Mary and burned both until they were demolished, Fr. Taneissa said. They announced they would be

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converting the monastery into a mosque. Fr. Abram recalled. Delga was under siege for over a month and thousands of Christians eventually fled the city; those who stayed
behind were forced to pay jizya (protection money as ordered
by their holy books).
On September 18, the Egyptian military retook the city of
Delga and the following Sunday, thousands of Christians
gathered in the burned remains of the church to worship.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, the Islamic terror group Boko Haram has been
waging a bloody war across Northern Nigeria for over a
decade. If you read the news, you might be confused as to
what they are doing. If you listen to their leader, Abubakar
Shekau, it becomes very clear. Here is:
(the press) try to brainwash people that we are fighting an
ethnic war, NO, we are fighting a religious war, we are fighting (Nigerias Christian President), we are fighting Christians. (December, 2013)
Their stated goal is to establish an Islamic state based on
Sharia law and one of their foundational tactics is to wipe
out any presence of a Christian community; the local church
sits squarely in their crosshairs.

Unending Waves of Attacks

Making good on Abubakar Shekau declaration, 2014 opened
with attacks being carried out on churches every Sunday in villages across the country: three at a New Years service, eight at
another, and then 22 more the following week. We were hard
pressed to keep up with the killings and at a loss of how to get
the secular press to pay attention to what was happening.
Not only the worship services themselves that are targets, but
in nearly every raid, the attackers make certain to torch the
churches of the city. In an attack in late May that left 48 dead,
including 11 police men and 14 soldiers, Boko Haram set six
churches ablaze. In June, an attack on church services just
miles from Chibok, where the schoolgirl abductions took place,
left more than 30 dead as 4 more churches were destroyed.
There is a deliberate attempt to annihilate Christians at all
cost, Rev. Musa Asake of the Christian Association of Nigeria
said in an interview following a June attack.
A Dangerous Place
The heartbreaking reality confronting the Church in Nigeria, in
Egypt, and elsewhere remind us that the local church, against
all appearances, is a very dangerous place.
From the first century apostles, to the pastors today, Satan and
his followers have attacked the Church and yet God remains
faithful to his promise that he will build his Church!

Another Sunday, another church attacked in Nigeria

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10

A DANGEROUS

MESSAGE

By Ryan Morgan

The Gospel Threatens Earthly Power

So When Countries Persecute, We Must Speak Truth To Power
From the very first days of the early church, and before rulers
and authorities had taken it upon themselves to attempt to control or crush the Christian faith, the Gospel was a very dangerous message because at the foundation, it clarifies that every
Christian owes their first allegiance to God.
Any earthly government that allows religious freedom is
implicitly acknowledging that there is an authority greater than
their own which some of their citizens may choose to serve. It
is a freedom that has instilled fear into dictators for centuries,
and still does today.
Approximately 64% of the worlds population, or 4.5 billion
souls, live under governments with either high or very
high restrictions on religious freedom (Pew Forum data).
This spectrum of persecution includes anything from restrictions on employment (Burma), only allowing worship
in carefully monitored official churches (China), to completely outlawing churches (Saudi Arabia). These government restrictions are only growing progressively worse according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
So how do we fight this enormous problem? What can we
do beyond prayer, beyond raising awareness and providing
assistance to victims of persecution? The answer is advocacy. In its simplest form, advocacy is speaking truth to powChristians protest at the Saudi Embassy

er (a phrase most likely coined by the Quakers). Through

advocacy, we take up the cause of the persecuted and plead
their case before the leaders of the nations. Often we ask
those leaders, to plead the case of the persecuted with their
counterparts in other nations. Sometimes politely at first,
but with the clear implication that to continue to persecute
religious minorities will tarnish their relationship with the
United States, should it continue.
While many governments persecute, or turn a blind eye to
the persecution of Christians in their countries, most are
willing to address the issue if it is affecting their relationship with the United States or other Western powers. The
potential eiplomatic and economic consequences of ignoring Western leaders are too painful to ignore polite requests
from the U.S. to address particular persecution issues.
Over the past few years ICC has seen case after case where
governments agreed to end persecution after intervention
by the U.S. While we cannot share all of the stories publically but three case studies are provided below.
Saudi Arabia
On December 15, 2011, 35 men and women were arrested
at a private prayer service in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All 35
were Christians and Ethiopian citizens. During their interrogation, some of the men were physically beaten and the
women were forced to undergo strip searches. Local authorities openly accused them of being infidels and spies
for America and Israel. ICC broke the news of their arrest
and imprisonment a few days later and in January held a
conference call with the U.S. State Department, urging the
U.S. to take action on the case.
After four months and two ICC-sponsored protests outside of the Saudi embassy in D.C., we took an underground
pastor who was familiar with the prisoners to Capitol Hill
and held twenty-four meetings with Congressional offices in the House and Senate. This resulted in calls directly
from our nations leaders to the Saudi ambassador as well
as Saudi officials being called to House offices to explain
the arrests in person. We soon heard from our sources in
Jeddah that orders had come from above for the release

11

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of the prisoners. In early August, 2012, all

35 prisoners were released and sent back to
Ethiopia after almost 8 months of detention.
They reported that pressure from the outside
had been instrumental in ending their stay
in a Saudi jail.
Indonesia
In 2012, ICC sources estimated that at least
50 churches had been shut down by local
authorities across Indonesia. The closures
always came after radical Islamic groups
protested the existence of the church and
put pressure on local officials to seal off the
building, usually under the guise of a badly
misused permit law.
In early 2013, ICC brought a pastor of one
of those churches to Capitol Hill. We held
dozens of meetings with key Congressional
offices and asked them to write to the Indonesian ambassador, expressing their concern at the spate
of church closures. Many did, including one key Senator on
the Senate Armed Services Committee that controls much
of the funding provided by the U.S. to Indonesia every year.
For seven months after our advocacy tour church closures
became almost non-existent. Our contacts only reported a
single incident. It appeared that the Indonesian government got the message, and, for a time at least, kept local
officials from shutting down churches.

ICC meeting with a congressman on Indonesia

Sri Lanka
In 2013, Christian groups in Sri Lanka documented 103 incidents of violence or harassment against Christians and
their places of worship. Mobs, led by radical nationalist
Buddhist monks, stormed churches and beat up pastors
with the police often ignoring the attacks. Sometimes, they
even helped the mobs destroy the church. When pastors
complained, the authorities responded by saying that their
churches werent registered and therefore had no right to
exist. The fact that not a single law requiring places of worship to register exists in Sri Lanka, or that there is no actual
way to register, didnt see seem to bother the authorities.
In May, 2014, ICC brought persecution in Sri Lanka to national attention, urging members of congress to call the Sri
Lankan ambassador to the US and express their concern.
Several offices in the Senate and the House agreed. At the
time of writing, these calls are still ongoing, but already the
Sri Lanka government is scrambling for a way to explain
why theyve allowed so many attacks on churches.
The Impossible, Possible
By speaking truth to power, we have seen the impossible
become possible. Christians set free from prison, attacks on
churches halted, and many more victories have been won
when we find the courage to persistently advocate on behalf
of the suffering church. With Gods help, we will continue
to play our part in ensuring that far from being crushed,
the Good News continues to go forth into the outer most
parts of the earth.

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12

A DANGEROUS

PEACE

By Corey Bailey

In This World You Will Have Trouble. But Take Heart!

I Have Overcome the World. John 16:33 (NIV)
Persecution can be overwhelming. Sometimes your
heart breaks as you hear another story of a woman
who was set ablaze by her unbelieving husband, or of
a child left orphaned when his parents were martyred.

Trust
I am constantly moved to tears and conviction as I see the
persecuted continue to trust the Lord in the face of heavy
persecution.

Dealing with the persecuted can bring a barrage of sadness.

The heaviness is banished though when you see the hope and
the beauty of their faith lived in a way that is pressed down,
but not destroyed.

One persecuted pastor recently told his congregation, God

has a great purpose during the persecution. We must stand
firm in the truth and never compromise. Facing persecution,
we need courage and repentance before God, knowing He will
(use it to) revive His Church.

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Love
Their example of responding in love is a tremendous example. One pastor whos church is being threatened to be torn
down told us, We teach our kids at Sunday school to pray
for the government. The secret police asked why we did this.
I explained that the Bible teaches us to love those who persecute you.
This is called moving in the opposite spirit and is a way
many of the persecuted are able to walk in love instead of
hate. They give their hurt to the Lord, and instead of hating
their persecutors, they love and pray for them. In the midst
of their crisis, they choose trust, hope, and love instead of
insecurity, despair, and feeling abandoned.

to Him. We are to take heart because He has overcome

the world!
Making All Things New
When we, or the persecuted, face pain, we usually respond
with a heart-cry: God, why are our brothers and sisters beaten, tortured, raped, and killed? Where are You? Why is this
happening to me? Where is the hope in this?

This is I think, a natural reaction. We were not meant to live

in a broken world. We were meant to live in the Garden with
connection to God and without pain, sickness or suffering.
But we were thrust into a world that is controlled by the
evil one and where everything has been bent and broken; a
place of suffering (read Genesis chapter 3). When we suffer,
A Road Less Traveled
or see others suffer, its as though we are fish out of water.
In The Road Less Traveled, Robert Frost says that choosing the We feel like our souls are drowning. And I think that they
road less traveled made all the difference. This road is not are.
well worn, and you do not know what is around the bend.
There could be rocks, thorns and glass, pain and suffering, The beautiful thing is that the instant we left the Garden, He
or it may be blocked completely!
began His great plan of redemption. He sent His Son to die
for us, to take our sin as His own, to set our spirits free. In
However, there could also be joy and blessing. Perhaps, even, the midst of our pain, He said He would never leave you and
joy and suffering are mixed together in one cup.
that He sees your suffering and has compassion on you.
Courage
He changes what the enemy meant for evil into something
I am emboldened when I hear accounts of the spunk and good. He leaves a legacy of love to draw us to himself. He sets
bravery of believers who routinely face persecution.
out to rescue our family in the suffering Church. He even sets
out to rescue those that dont know Him.
Take the Chinese pastor who told us, When the police called
me (and asked me to come into the station for an interroga- The NotSo-Secret Secret
tion) without any legal orders, I simply told them that I am Do the persecuted have some sort of superpower? I dont
not available. I said, I am too busy pastoring the church and think so. They choose to trust what God has told you and I.
taking seminary classes to chat with them several times a They know that Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought
day. What boldness and courage he displayed!
to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters (1 John
3:16) They take to heart Philippians 3:8 (NIV), I consider evA Promise
erything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing
Jesus did not promise that following Him was going to be Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I
pain and trouble free. No, He actually said that we would consider them garbage that I may gain Christ.
face hard times.
They let their pain drive them to Him. If the persecuted have
In John 16:33 He says, I have told you these things so that a superpower, this is it! They give up on the world and give
in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. it all to God. His presence can then flow through them in a
But take heart! I have overcome the world. Jn 16:33
powerful way. The peace and joy that come as a result in the
very midst of their pain, is the great secret of suffering with
Did you hear the promise there? There is, in a sense, a cup God.
of joy and suffering offered to us by Jesus. When we follow Him, he promises that there will be trouble; there will They experience the peace of God that passes all understandbe persecution. Things are going to get hard. That is life. It ing. They do not demand a pain-free life. They expect that
will look different to each person, but to some degree, you as they walk down this narrow road, less travelled, they will
will see suffering of some sort. But Jesus promises that in suffer for their faith and their love for Jesus but they count
the midst of the suffering He can give us peace, if we go it as joy!

You can help today! 800-ICC-5441

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YOUR
DOLLARS
AT WORK
UNDERGROUND PASTORS
Its Worth It!!

Our first ICC-sponsored underground pastor in Central Asia

has only been pastoring in his village for about nine months.
Since he arrived, he and his wife have seen 26 people saved! He is the
only pastor for about 20,000 people! He asks for your prayers for
strength in the midst of persecution saying, Sometimes I get discouraged because of all of these difficulties, because I do not have an easy job, but
it is a job that deepens my relationship with The Living God, so it is worth it.

SAVE OUR SISTERS

Sharing the Gospel with Great Boldness

Since 2001, Happiness and family experienced harsh
persecution, including being surrounded and beaten by their
village, teachers allowing their children to be attacked in school,
being knocked unconscious by her own brother, and gasoline
being poured over her house and kids.
Despite all, she continued to share the Gospel with her neighbors and other villagers with great boldness.
The result has been that noone in the village will hire her or give
her work.
ICC has provided her with a herd of lambs to provide an income.
Sometimes because of all of this pain, I cry at night. But in spite of
all of this persecution, God gives me joy in my heart, and I know it
comes from Him.
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UNDERGROUND PASTORS

Come to God with Everything

ICCs second underground pastor in Central Asia is no
stranger to persecution. He became a Christian at a young
age and the trials began right away. Now he and his wife
share the love of Jesus in a village hostile to the Gospel.
Persecution has taught him that only God can help and that
we should come to God with everything we need, because He is
our provider, and He is more than capable of taking care of us.
Because of all of this persecution I am very physically affected, but
spiritually all of this persecution has only served to grow my faith.

SAVE OUR SISTERS

Bettys Story: Joy In My Heart

If you do not fire her, then we will not send our children to
the school. The villagers had Betty fired from her teaching
position because she was a believer. After the meeting it
was made very clear to everyone in the village who all the
believers were, and they were ridiculed and called names.
We all met and prayed about the problem together, but decided
that we wanted to stay in order to be used by God to be a light
in this village, and to be good examples by the way that we live
our lives. ICC has given Betty and her family a small herd
of sheep to provide a steady income. When they reproduce
next year, half of their offspring will go to aid another family of persecuted believers. Despite persecution, she says,
I felt joy in my heart at the opportunity to suffer for Christ.

PROJECT RESCUE
An Update

Recently, Regional Manager William Stark traveled to

Bangladesh to visit the 120 children of ICCs Project Rescue.
He was able to meet with all of our rescued children. The children were targeted and sold to Islamic training centers centers.
William delivered gifts to all of the children and the children of
the staff. During his visit he was also able to purchase new items
to improve the living conditions of the children. These items included sleeping mats, mosquito nets and various board games. He
was rewarded with bright smiles and a cultural show performed
for him by the children, complete with singing and dancing!
You can help today! 800-ICC-5441

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SAVE OUR SISTERS

An autorickshaw like the one we provided to a

blasphemy victims family.

Blasphemy Victims Update

Recently, a blasphemy victim whose family received aid
from ICC expressed his thanks from prison to ICC donors:
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to those who are taking
care of my wife, children, and parents. May God bless
them abundantly.
His brother, who has taken over the care of the victims
wife and four children, said:
At our time of difficulty, ICCs support is unforgettable.
Caring for five extra people was too much for us. I am

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You can help today! www.persecution.org

thankful for every token of love, solidarity and concern

from your donors. I salute ICC for giving us [an auto rickshaw] for business and building our childrens future by
taking care of their education expenses.
His wife expressed the longing of her heart, and something
we can all pray for:
I am waiting for the day of rejoice, when Asif (my husband) will be among us. I want to see him chatting and
playing with his children again.

Biggest Need!!
Below you can see the level of funding in each of ICCs funds.
By far, ICCs biggest need presently is for funds to be donated
to Where Most Needed. If you could provide an extra gift this
month and direct it there, it would be of immense help.

WHERE
MOST NEEDED

KIDS
CARE

UNDERGROUND
PASTORS

FUND BALANCE:
LOW

FUND BALANCE:
HIGH

FUND BALANCE:
MEDIUM

SUFFERING WIVES &

CHILDREN

COMMUNITY
REBUILD

BIBLES TO THE
PERSECUTED

FUND BALANCE:
HIGH

FUND BALANCE:
LOW

FUND BALANCE:
MEDIUM

You can help today! 800-ICC-5441

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YOU CAN
HELP TODAY!
SEND DONATIONS TO:
ICC
PO BOX 8056
SILVER SPRING, MD 20907
OR ONLINE AT
WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG
OR BY PHONE
800-ICC-5441

GIVING TO ICC VIA YOUR WILL

Provide now for a future gift to ICC
by including a bequest provision in
your will or revocable trust. If you
would like more information on
giving to ICC in this way, please
give us a call at 1-800-ICC-5441.

DONATE
TO ICC VIA
YOUR WORK

#10988
Federal employees can give to ICC
through CFC. CFC allows you to donate to
ICC by making a pledge during the campaign season from Sept. to Dec. Donations are taken through payroll donation.

Enter #10988 on the pledge form

at your place of work.

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501(c)(3) (all donations tax-deductible). ICC makes
every effort to honor donor wishes in regards to gifts.
Occasionally, situations arise where a project is no
longer viable. ICC will then redirect those donated
funds to the fund most similar to the donors original
wishes. ICC uses 7% of each restricted donation to
carry out the mission of its segregated funds.
Copyright 2014 ICC, Washington, D.C., USA. All
rights reserved. Permission to reproduce all or part
of this publication is granted provided attribution is
given to ICC as the source.

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