Samuel Brownback, co-chair of International Religious Freedom Summit, an annual gathering bringing thousands of leaders together to expose global religious persecution, recently shared some of the horrors — and elements of hope — unfolding across the world.
Among the more hope-filled stories, he documented the journey of a man from Nepal who converted from Hinduism to Christianity after experiencing an apparent visit from Christ.
“He was involved in a traffic accident,” Brownback said. “He wasn’t a believer in Jesus at the time. … [His] car went down the mountain [and the] friend with him was killed in the accident. He was able to get out of it, come back up, and try to find some help.”
At that point, though, this man reportedly had an encounter he would never forget.
“Jesus appears to him and Jesus says to him, ‘I saved you, now you follow me,'” Brownback said, noting that the exchange transformed the man’s entire life. “And he’s been one of the people that’s talked the most about following Jesus in Nepal.”
He continued, “And you hear story after story like that around the world, like these Pauline-type figures that are released on a country, and all they do is go out and tell their story.”
Brownback also recounted some of the more heartbreaking stories he has heard from people facing persecution. These anecdotal examples helped provide a backdrop against some of the alarming statistics of late showing persecution is on the rise.
Mainly, he mentioned the plight of a Ukrainian pastor who was reportedly persecuted amid ongoing tensions with Russia.
“The pastor got killed in front of his two sons,” Brownback said. “He was an evangelical pastor.”
Despite so much pain and uncertainty on the persecution front, Brownback said the positive stories and moves of God have afforded “great hope for what’s really happening in a troubled world.”
Here’s more from Brownback on the current state of persecution.
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