InChains brings you the news about the persecuted Church worldwide. It also brings you resources available for prayer, statistics, and more. Part of being the body of Christ is remembering those that are persecuted. “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” We need to remember and pray for those that are being persecuted, but we also need to pray for those that are doing the persecuting, that they would come to Christ. “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” InChains prays that you will use this knowledge to strategically and specifically pray.
BURMA/MYANMAR
Two pastors hosted an activity where a demonstration was given about the KIA. Despite being purely historical, and not political, the military has arrested the pastors and filed a lawsuit against them. The Kachin Baptist Association is appealing for their release.
CHINA
Write to the pastor of Early Rain Covenant Church who is now in prison.
INDIA
Hindu extremists beat children during a worship service on January 19th. Then, they filed a false complaint with the police saying that the other Christian worshippers were the ones that did it. Afterward, the Hindus threatened the Christians, saying they would burn down their houses if the Christians spoke about any of the incident.
IRAN
Three prisoners are set to be released this week!
Nasser Goltapeh has written a letter from prison, asking for prayer. Nasser was sentenced to 10 years in Evin prison.
NIGERIA
It is important to note that there are many more killings, kidnappings, and injured victims than is reported here. Many instances of persecution are reported as “ethnic tensions” or “farmer/herder” actions. They are not reported as Muslim vs Christian. The two parties, in this instance, are the Fulani (Muslim) tribe and the Christians, but are rarely reported this way. In addition, the problems with Boko Haram (also bears the name Islamic State in the Western African Province – ISWAP) are so overwhelming that victims are rarely identified in the media. For the most part, the media is now only reporting casualties by location/attack However, ISWAP is known to target Christians. Because of the reporting challenges, InChains is only reporting those instances that are known to be on Christians. You can read an overview of the current state of Nigeria’s persecution (as an update to my book) here.
Christians marched in Lagos to protest the persecution they are facing.
New reports have 32 people being killed in three attacks by the Fulani in Plateau State.
Gunmen attacked a church in Anambra and threaten the clerics. They vow that a church will not be built in their area.
PAKISTAN
Huma Younus was abducted, forced to convert and forced to marry at 14 years old. Her family is trying to get her back. They went to court to try and win Huma’s freedom. However, the court ruled that despite the country’s law forbidding marriage before 18 years of age, this instance was ok because Huma had her first menstrual cycle already. Again, we see the Pakistani government refusing to treat Christians as citizens.
RESOURCES
PRAYER SHEETS
Open Doors February Prayer Calendar.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has a prayer sheet for the week.
REPORTS & BOOKS
Asia Bibi, a woman who is now safe in Canada after spending a decade on death row, has published her biography with the help of a French journalist. The book is so far only in the French language.
Voice of the Martyrs has a Global Prayer Guide available for free.
OpenDoors released its 2020 World Watchlist Report.
ChinaAid has released its bi-annual report on religious persecution and national policy concerns. You can purchase it on Amazon in English and in Chinese.
If you would like to receive more frequent updates on Christian persecution, you can follow the Persecuted Church facebook page.
