The Way of the Cross is a moving, inspirational way for churches to inspire prayer at Easter.
It consists of a set fifteen powerful images of persecuted Christians which illustrate and illuminate the story of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Displayed as prayer stations around your church or chosen venue, each image is also accompanied by a passage from the gospel accounts of Jesus’ passion, and a reflection to inspire prayer.
You can use this any time, but as a Holy Week display, or a Good Friday meditation, it will be a powerful, moving way for members of your church – and visitors – to reflect on the events of Jesus’ passion, and to remind themselves of how persecuted Christians continue to walk the way of the cross every day.
Images shown in the video are from the 2023 edition of this resource. For the updated images see below.
Orders are closed for 2024.
- Fifteen powerful images, each with a Bible passage and reflection for prayer
- Two explanatory prints which explain the context and encourage interaction
- Available in A3 format, printed on high-quality paper
- Includes giveaway prayer cards for visitors to take away from their visit
- Takes participants through the journey of Holy Week, culminating in resurrection, new life and victory over death.
- A great way to inspire personal prayer and to connect with the events of Jesus’ passion
- Challenging and inspiring for both regular congregants and visitors alike
- Can be used as a one-off event, or throughout Holy Week.
Sample images below. Click on the image to see more detail.
What sizes are available?
The prints are available as A3 images, printed on high-quality 200gsm matt coated paper.
What do they cost?
These are free to order. But, as you will appreciate, they are not an inexpensive resource to produce! So, if you are able, we would ask for you to consider a minimum donation of £15 for each pack.
How do I display them?
How you display them is up to you. They can be put straight onto the walls, or, if you would prefer a firmer backing, you could fix them to card or foam backing boards. Whatever suits your venue.
Is this the same as the traditional ‘Stations of the Cross’?
For centuries Christians have followed Jesus’ journey using different ‘stations’ of the cross. Increasingly the concept is being adapted by churches from different traditions. The Open Doors resource follows the form and readings used in the Anglican liturgy. And while the traditional format has 14 stations which end with the crucifixion, our version has a fifteenth ‘station’ celebrating the true destination of Jesus’ journey: resurrection, new life and victory over death.
When should they be used?
Although they can be used any time, the prints have been designed to be used during Holy Week. You can put them up for a one-off event – such as a prayer evening or during Good Friday. Or you could have them on display throughout Holy Week for visitors to your church to interact with. It’s entirely up to you.
How will people interact with the prints?
All the prints are numbered, and come with a Bible passage and text to help people reflect and pray. So visitors will simply follow the journey and pray as they feel led. You can also order prayer cards for people to take away. These will have one of the images on one side along with ides for further prayer and action to support the persecuted church.
Filmed in an abandoned chapel in South Wales, Among the Ashes is a beautiful, evocative, inspiring film, which combines biblical reflection with stories from the persecuted church, to explore how lament can bring us hope and comfort, even in the darkest situations. It’s a subject which has a particular poignancy at this time.
“It’s important for Christians to reflect on lament,” says Dr Ron Boyd-Macmillan who presents the film and who has worked with Open Doors for over 35 years. “That transition from groaning to grace maybe the most important transition in the spiritual life. Especially in a time of suffering as we’re coming out of from Covid.”
To accompany the film, there is also a downloadable prayer outline which provides a simple framework to help people to pray for Christians who are among the ashes: whether in the persecuted church, or closer to home among friends, family and fellow Christians.
The chaos and losses of life
There’s so much about lament and sadness in the Bible because life was hard at all times
Dr Ron Boyd-Macmillan
Lament, of course, has a special place in scripture. Indeed, the film itself features a reflection on Psalm 6.
“There’s so much about lament and sadness in the Bible because life was hard at all times,” says Ron. “The most common type of psalm is the lament psalm. And that’s because many psalmists were struggling – they were struggling with life itself. You have a good harvest or not and it determined if you were alive or dead. There was war, there was plague, there was pestilence all around. And there was persecution too.
“And so lament really comes from the chaos and losses and hardships of life. And most Christians and most believers in biblical times lived in that environment. So they spoke out to God from where they were.”
‘From groaning to grace’
The message of the film is that while no-one wants to live among the ashes, it is a place where we can truly encounter God in a new and powerful way.
As Ron says, “We all have to go from that place of groaning, which is really where lament starts, to get to a point of receiving God – maybe not in the form of a nice explanation or a wonderful deliverance. But you definitely have a greater experience of a larger God.
“The experience of lament is the move from groaning to grace, and everybody needs to know how to get from one point to the other.”
Find out more about the film and register to download your free copy.
Tears of Gold is a powerful prayer resource for individuals and groups.
The pack consists of self-portraits of five amazing women, painted as part of a trauma-care workshops supported by Open Doors. Each of these women has been through unimaginable trauma. But, with God’s help, they have learnt that, through God’s love, tears of pain can become tears of gold.
On the reverse of each prints you will find background information about the person in the portrait, as well as specific items for prayer and activities for
personal reflection.
These cards can be used in two ways:
- for individual prayer and reflection, as part of your personal devotionals or even during a personal retreat.
- as ‘prayer stations’ for a small group. Display the cards around your venue and invite participants to use the prayer activities to engage with each card in turn. Participants also get to take away a small ‘Portraits and Prayer’ leaflet as a reminder.
Tears of Gold is a powerful, creative way to not only pray for the women and girls of the persecuted church, but also to help us all to see ourselves as God sees us – as His precious children, loved, cherished and of inestimable worth.
In each pack:
- Set of 5 portraits and prayer cards, with portraits on the front and prayer activities on the reverse
- 1 Information card about the resource and the work of Open Doors
- Takeaway ‘Portraits and Prayer’ leaflets for use with small groups or prayer groups
- Full instructions for individual or group use
How can you be church, when religious meetings are banned?
How can you learn from God’s Word, when you can’t get a Bible?
How do you worship, when your neighbour – or even the person worshipping next to you – might be a spy?
Millions of Christians across the world must worship in secret. They cannot gather in a church building – because buildings are banned. They don’t have a Bible because it’s too dangerous. They can’t even sing to God in anything above a whisper.
They are the secret church. Their gatherings are dangerous and illegal.
And yet still they dare to meet: under cover of darkness; in caves, forests and cellars; in apartments and houses.
And this is your chance to join them. Just for a while.
What is Secret Church?
Secret Church gives a taste of what it is like to worship with the world’s hidden Christians. It uses approaches from underground church meetings all around the world, ‘translated’ into a session outline for you to use with your group or church.
- Worship in whispers, learn scriptures in secret, pray for hidden believers
- Read stories from secret Christians in places like China, North Korea and Central Asia
- Deliver a full 60-minute session or mix and match activities to suit the time you have available
- Optional extra session helps participants to reflect on their experience.
New for 2023/24: Digital Surveillance Edition
In this new, updated edition, we focus on the issue of digital surveillance. Digital surveillance tools are being used against our persecuted brothers and sisters. But this is not stopping them from reaching out to others and sharing the gospel.
Journey through the book of Acts with the persecuted church
Dangerous Faith is a resource for churches and small groups which explores the dangerous faith of the early church and that of persecuted Christians today.
- Eight engaging, thought-provoking group studies on the book of Acts
- Challenging and inspiring stories of courageous faith
- Each session has video material, a Bible reading, historical background, discussion questions and prayer points.
To accompany the videos there is a free discussion guide, which provides session plans to accompany each video, as well as background material and Bible readings.
You can download the free discussion guide, and get download links for the videos, by creating a free church resources account or signing in to your existing account.
You can also order a physical copy of the discussion guide here.
How to use this material online
- Watch the video. Participants can either watch the video beforehand, or you can download it and share it yourself. All the videos are available below.
- Read the Bible passage. You will find the Bible passage in the discussion guide.
- Explore the Bible passage using the discussion questions in the guide.
- Pray for the persecuted church and for yourselves
Thank you for supporting the persecuted church. We hope you will find this material inspiring and useful.
Dangerous Faith: Introductory Videos
Dangerous Faith: Session Videos
A creative prayer resource for individuals and groups.
Picture the world of the persecuted church,
pray for Christians who pay a price for following Jesus,
reflect on what it means for us to count the cost of faith.
Following Jesus is costly – but worth it. Every day, around the world, our persecuted church family count the cost of following Christ. For many it means discrimination and abuse, for others the loss of home and livelihood, for some it can lead to imprisonment or even death.
And yet they are willing to pay the price, ‘because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 3:8).
Counting the cost is a resource that helps us not only to pray for them, but also to reflect on our own walk with Jesus. Whether it’s gathering together, praying, owning a Bible or simply identifying as a Christian – what price are we willing to pay?
Featuring seven courageous believers, this resource can be used both for individual prayer and reflection, and for small groups and prayer groups. Along with the story, each card features a Bible reflection, ideas for creative prayer and an encouragement to reflect on our own experience.
In the pack
- Seven ‘Portraits and Prayer’ cards on the theme of Counting the Cost
- Instructions for use as both a personal devotional and in group or church settings
- An information card giving more background about the work of Open Doors.
We believe that you are never too young to pray for and be concerned about the persecuted church. But creating family-friendly resources around the issue of persecution is always a challenge! It means that we have to deal with some difficult, even unpleasant situations. We have to talk about violence and injustice, while at the same time not causing hatred, or leaving children feeling upset or frightened.
So, we operate on a number of principles:
- We rely on you – the parents and the teachers. You are the best judges of how and when to use these resources. You will best know what to share with the children and how to frame it in the most appropriate way. So please feel free to adapt any resource to suit your situation.
- Our resources are broadly aimed at 6-11-year-olds. This is not to say that children younger or older might not be able to use them, but please be sensitive and careful, especially with younger children. We realise this can present a challenge in situations such as smaller churches that have children’s groups with a broader age range. So, once again, we rely on your judgment as to what to distribute.
- Our resources are usually designed for use in the home or in a church setting. However, we’re aware that many schools use them as well. That’s amazing and fantastic, but, once again, we are relying on your judgment as to when and where this is appropriate. Obviously, if you are a teacher and you wish to use them that’s great.
- We try to present what is happening in an appropriate, family-friendly way. We believe that children can actually appreciate the core issues. They know about bullying. They know that some people do bad things. They understand that sometimes people get hurt. We will always do our best to use appropriate language, whilst not hiding the truth. Similarly, where we have to use more ‘grown-up’ terms, we try to include clear and unbiased definitions. And it is important, as well, to emphasise the positive aspects without brushing anything under the carpet. Encouraging children to air their thoughts and discuss things openly is also important, to avoid them chewing on things they don’t fully understand or experience emotions they find hard to cope with.
- As an organisation, we refuse to give in to hatred. It is our role to speak up for people who are being treated unfairly, but we are Christians: Jesus told us to love our enemies. Our aim is to present the facts about what is happening, while not stoking up any form of religious hatred or generalising about any other faiths or nationalities. So, we do our best to explain issues around persecution from other religious sources, without implying that everyone from that faith feels that way, or would act in that way. We are not anti-Islam, or anti-Communism, or anti-Hindu or anti-anything like that. We are pro-Jesus and pro-freedom of belief.
- None of our children’s resources require any fund-raising activities. Wonderfully, many children do get inspired and want to raise money. Sometimes, we include examples of what other children have done. But, again, we leave that up to you. (But let us know if they decided to raise money – we’d love to say ‘thank you’!)
- We try to make resources as accessible and also as safe as possible. We try to make all the instructions easy to understand and all the activities as safe as possible. So, for example, although we talk about secret church and secret Christians, we never ask children to keep secrets or suggest any activity that they have to do in secret. Again – we are relying on your judgement. If we get it wrong, let us know!
Thank you to everyone who uses our resources for Children and Families. We’re so grateful for your support of our persecuted church family and so humbled by knowing that literally thousands of children and families are praying for and supporting the victims of persecution around the world.
