Vice President Mike Pence has issued an “urgent call” to assist the persecuted Church around the globe. Speaking at the “Help the Persecuted” summit in Washington D.C. Friday, Pence said that “No people of faith face greater hostility or hatred than followers of Christ” and called on American Christians to stand with them.
Ongoing Slaughter of Nigerian Christians Receives Scant Media Coverage
“In more than 100 countries, from Iran to Eritrea, over 245 million Christians confront intimidation, imprisonment, forced conversion, abuse, assault or worse simply for holding onto the truths of the gospel” Pence explained. “In Iraq, we see monasteries demolished, priests and monks beheaded, and the 2-millenia-old Christian tradition in Mosul clinging for survival.”
He continued: “In Syria, we see ancient communities burned to the ground and believers tortured for confessing the name of Christ. It’s heart-breaking to think that the Christian population in Syria has been cut in half in just the past six years, and many of those who remain have been displaced from their ancient homes. In Iraq, the followers of Christ have fallen by 80 percent in the past decade and a half.”
Help the Persecuted is an organization dedicated to identifying and assisting persecuted Christians across the globe, reaching more than 25,000 individuals and their families since 2011.
“We couldn’t be more grateful for the heroic efforts of the men and women who work with, and invest in, this organization,
because Help The Persecuted, each and every day, puts hands and feet on our faith,” Pence added. “You provide physical and spiritual support to those who are literally standing outside the gates because of their faith and who they are.”
At Faithwire, we are committed to reporting on and praying for the thousands of Christians who are persecuted and oppressed on a daily basis. Here are a few recent examples of our coverage:
Nigeria
Earlier this month, over 20 Nigerian Christians were been butchered by Islamic Fulani herdsmen in the latest brutal attack to rock the embattled nation. The viscous herdsmen, who have been responsible for hundreds of attacks against the Christian population, struck March 4, 2019 in a coordinated attack on a series of villages across Benue State.
According to persecution watchdog, International Christian Concern, some 23 people were murdered in the attacks, which were perpetrated with machetes and firearms. “It was bad. They killed over 20 people,” said a member of the Gwer West legislative council following the incident. “Some were killed by gunshots and some by machete hacks!”
China
Grave concerns have been raised after a number of Christians from the much-persecuted “Early Rain Covenant Church” appear to have gone missing in recent times.
Persecuted Chinese Pastor Calls President Xi Jinping to Repent Of His Sins
For several months, Chinese police have been engaging in mass arrests, beatings, and interrogations of the church’s leadership team and congregation. The church’s pastor, Wang Yi, faces a decades-long prison sentence for “subversion against state power.”
China is one of the most stringently monitored nations on Earth and is ranked as the 27th most persecuted country in the world on the Open Doors 2019 World Watch List.
Pakistan
Last month, four Christian women, who were from the Farooq-e-Azam neighborhood of Karachi, were falsely accused of blasphemy in an elaborate hoax concocted by a Muslim couple.
The most prominent persecution case, however, continues to be the plight of Asia Bibi, who is still being held in Pakistan despite being exonerated of all charges against her.
Report: Asia Bibi Is Just One of ‘Many Other’ Christians Suffering in Pakistan
Bibi, 53, is reported to be in dire physical condition as she continues to be held in a safe house in the Pakistani city of Karachi.
Despite the fact that Bibi’s children are now safely in Canada, the Pakistani government has wanted to seek assurances from the embattled mother that she will not speak ill of her home country in the media upon leaving — an astonishing ask from a country who held her on death row for the best part of a decade over a crime she did not commit.