Persecuted Christians

It’s easy for us, as we sit in our comfortable churches with our Bibles on our laps, to forget that our sisters and brothers in Christ are being persecuted throughout the world. Statistics place the figure at an unbelievable 250 million. Muslim dominated countries are some of the worst offenders, but it’s going on in places like Mexico and Colombia, Ethiopia and Cuba, and of course, China.

These kinds of world wide occurrences have always felt so overwhelming to me -- after all, what can I do about dictatorships, hostile majority religions that hate Christians, and all the rest of it.

Well, I found something that’s small, but powerful in its way, and oh-so-satisfying. It’s something available through Voice of the Martyrs, a wonderful ministry that works to get the word out on what’s going on with persecuted Christians around the globe and how to help.

One of those ways is called Prisoner Alert and it allows you to write a letter to a Christian being held in prison for his faith where he or she is perhaps being beaten, tortured, and is often in danger of death.

The really neat part about it is that the site translates your letter into the language of the Christian in question. Then you simply print out the letter, use the address provided, and place it in the mail.

The way it works is actually quite simple. You select from a list of phrases and Bible verses to compose your own letter. You pick and choose, add and delete until you’re satisfied with the results (which show both the English and the translated version so you know what you’re saying). When you print out the letter, you have to make sure there’s no header or footer identifying Voice of the Martyrs since it’s not a good idea to show the opposition that a group like this is behind it. (I ended up cutting off the offending portion rather than changing the settings of my printer.) I added a few lines of my own, put it in an envelope, and it’s now winging its way to a Christian doctor who’s imprisoned in Eritrea.

It couldn’t be easier, and yet I had the great satisfaction of knowing I was doing something. VOM says that many times, if these prisoners get a significant enough amount of mail, they’re released early. How wonderful is that! Plus, you’re showing your solidarity with those who are suffering for their faith in Christ. This kind of involvement can also result in better treatment for a prisoner. The authorities in many of these countries are very sensitive about their image abroad. When they realize outsiders are getting involved, that someone is monitoring a prisoner’s situation, conditions may be improved.

VOM says that often these oppressors try to brainwash the prisoners into thinking they’re forgotten. I can imagine how a persecuted Christian must often feel utterly alone and isolated from everyone they know and love. A simple letter can demonstrate that someone cares.

You can also write on their behalf to the various officials involved. I’m thinking that will be phase two.

This is front line spiritual warfare and I’m proud to play this small part.