Bhutan

Key Facts:

Leader:
King Jigme Wangchuck
Population:
700,000 (1.8% Christian)
Majority Religion:
Mahayana Buddhism
Type of Government:
Monarchy

Officially, the Christian faith does not exist and Christians are not allowed to gather for worship, not even with other families. Building churches is forbidden and visas are denied for religious workers. Only Buddhist religious texts are permitted within the country. Yet the Church is growing steadily and many are being baptised in secret, despite pressure from family, community, and Buddhist monks to reconvert and attend Buddhist festivals. It is estimated there may be 13,000 Bhutanese Christians.

Prayer

• Pray for courage for the believers who face discrimination at school and in the workplace.
• Pray that new believers would remain strong despite pressure from their family to reconvert.
• With the first democratic elections in 2008, pray that these will bring new opportunities to share the Good News in a spiritually dark place.