Raising prayer, advocacy and awareness
Once again, your support helped Open Doors to grow our engagement with churches, parliamentarians and media, enabling us to raise more prayer and support for our persecuted family.
Open Doors produces several print and digital prayer resources to help supporters to pray regularly for their persecuted family, including a daily prayer diary, weekly emails, bi-monthly Prayer News videos and the children’s Prayer Passport. What a blessing to connect with the persecuted church in this way.
Across the UK and Ireland, churches invited Open Doors speakers to come and raise awareness, prayer and support for persecuted Christians – with more than 1,200 church speaking engagements throughout the year.
You’ve also been instrumental in raising awareness of the plight of our persecuted family with those in power.
Each year, hundreds of you invite your MP to the World Watch List parliamentary launch – and it has an impact! In January 2024, 101 MPs attended the event in Parliament. In her opening speech, Henrietta Blyth, Open Doors UK & Ireland CEO, highlighted the horrific attacks on Christian villages in Plateau State, Nigeria over Christmas, which killed 160 believers and wounded many more.
“The violence from Islamic extremists, such as Boko Haram, ISWAP and Fulani militants, has spread like wildfire across sub-Saharan Africa,” she explained, noting that it was aided by factors including fragile governments that are at risk of collapse. “This year’s research suggests that – under the cover of chaos – the violence against Christians has actually intensified.
MPs then heard from our persecuted family directly, starting with Dabrina, a church leader forced to flee her home in Iran. Via a recorded message, a Christian from Manipur, India, shared about the devastation felt by believers at the hands of Hindu extremists when violence broke out between tribal groups in the region in 2023.
The last speaker, from West Africa, drew attention to one of the key trends from the latest World Watch List: rising violence sweeping across sub-Saharan Africa. He closed his speech with a challenge. “I do not want the UK Government’s money today. I want something that will cost you even more than cash. I want your moral courage. I challenge you to risk paying a political price in speaking up for us.”
