On July 24, VOM’s Web site was deliberately attacked forcing us to take the site offline temporarily. Our network engineers say the attack originated outside the United States. We have to believe the intent was to silence the online voice of the persecuted church.

We can confidently say that NO FINANCIAL DATA from online orders was compromised because of this attack. That is because no financial data is stored on our web server. If you have made an online donation to The Voice of the Martyrs, your information is safe.

We have already begun building a new persecution.com site. Until that process is complete we have temporarily replaced our homepage with this site. You may notice that not all the features of persecution.com are here. We are taking time to strengthen our servers against this type of attack. We are strong in our resolve to continue to provide stories and information about the persecuted church to you - the defenders of the body of Christ in restricted nations.

We apologize for any inconvenience this interruption has caused, but at the same time we are thrilled our work is so effective that enemies of the Gospel took notice.  Please pray for persecuted Christians around the world, especially during this Olympic season as the attention of the world turns to China.

For those in bonds, THE VOM WEB TEAM

As you may imagine as the Olympics draws nearer the press is covering the happenings in China more.  A few days ago you may have read the story about how the Chinese have decided to censor the Internet during the games.  This action has outraged many - read the story here.  We will also have more reaction about this story from around the blogosphere in an upcoming post.

In other China news, Open Doors released a press release decrying the mixed signals and the persecution of Christians and the Olympics.

Meanwhile there are a number of coalitions that have arisen to boycott China during the Olympics because of China's horrendous human rights abuses - Chuck Colson's ministry has a great resource and information list on this subject you should check out.

Please continue to pray for China and if you haven't gotten your prayer bracelet yet, there is still time. Sign up right there on the side bar.

Add one more China Olympic Prayer Band to the 500,000 given by VOM supporters to raise awareness of persecuted Christians. Just 24 hours ago, President George Bush received a prayer bracelet from Bob Fu, president of China Aid Association. Read the official White House story.

President Expresses Concerns about China

Bob and four other Chinese human rights advocates met with President Bush in a room usually reserved for diplomats. White House officials said President Bush organized the historic 45-minute meeting to "discuss his concerns about human rights in China," ahead of the Olympic Games next month. "The President seems very concerned about the worsening situation for human rights in China," Bob Fu said. "I gave him five China prayer bands for his family to wear and four house churches addresses and told him he would be welcomed to attend their Sunday service when he is there next week."

                         

Pray for President's Visit to China

The President told Bob that he will talk to the press and the Chinese people about the importance of religious freedom. He also promised to tell China's leaders that they cannot use the Olympics as a pre-text to further crackdown on human rights. Please pray President Bush will be successful in advocating for the persecuted church to Chinese leaders. Pray the President will heed Bob's request to intercede for house church Christians in China such as Zhang Rongliang, who is currently serving 7 1/2 years in prison.

Order your Prayer Bands today!

Praise God! The Voice of the Martyrs and CAA's crusade to raise prayer and awareness for our persecuted brothers and sisters in China has reached the leader of the free world. But there are many more people to reach! Prayer bands can be purchased for as low as 50 cents each. Help remind others to pray for persecuted Christians by ordering your prayer bands today!

Government officials in Belarus are prohibiting three Protestant communities from having church services in Grodno region, northwestern Belarus.

According to Forum 18 News,”On August 3, in the small town of Svisloch, a planned open-air baptism has been banned, despite the attempts of Pentecostals to negotiate with the authorities. They just don’t want to allow it.”

This is the latest incident of Christian persecution in Belarus. Forum 18 News added that in the town of Mosty, a Pentecostal pastor was fined nine months’ wages for leading a small unregistered church. Forum 18 News said, “The court verdict notes as evidence of wrongdoing that ‘at meetings they read the gospel, discussed questions of religious faith, sang songs and conducted religious rites.’”

In another incident in Grodno region, Forum 18 News reported that Baptist Pastor Yuri Kravchuk was summoned by a senior religious affairs official who told him that his leadership of a worship service in a private home was a violation of the administrative code. He is awaiting prosecution.

Pastors all over the world are being arrested and imprisoned just for preaching the word of God. The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports and assists pastors who are harassed because of their willingness to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christians in Belarus told Forum 18 News the government’s interference in their worship contradicted Article 31 of Belarus’ Constitution. Belarus’ Constitution states,”Everyone shall have the right independently to determine one’s attitude towards religion, to profess any religion individually or jointly with others, or to profess none at all, to express and spread beliefs connected with one’s attitude towards religion and to participate in the performance of acts of worship and religious rituals and rites, which are not prohibited by the law.”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for believers in Belarus who are facing increased persecution. Pray the false charges against believers will be dropped and the government will obey rights protected under the Belarus Constitution.

He heard the decree from his window: “For the next thirty days, anyone who prays to anyone other than the king will be thrown to the lions.”

Daniel pushed the shutters open. On the rooftop across the way, two of the king’s advisors who hated him stood, glaring intensely. He nodded cordially as he met their eyes, and they nodded back, as conning smiles spread across their faces.

Daniel went to every window in his chamber and swung it wide open. At each there seemed to be observers. Then he went to the center of the room, where all could see him, knelt, and began worshiping God.

The king was dejected when the guards brought Daniel before him. The king had been tricked. His decree could not be revoked, though he had sought all day to find a way to free Daniel, whom he considered to be a good man.

“Take him,” King Darius said to the guards. Then he looked in Daniel’s eyes and said, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” (Daniel 6:16). The soldiers took Daniel to the den, with the king following close behind. Daniel did not say a word, but bowed to the king and walked in among the lions. The doorway was sealed with a large boulder.
Daniel went to the center of the den, knelt, and began worshiping God.

Extreme worship is not a manner of praise. It’s not a specific method or a particular tradition. It’s not determined by debating organ music versus contemporary praise. In fact, it has little to do with how we praise God at all. Extreme worship is defined by when and where we worship. When we are drawn to worship during our most stressful times, we practice extreme worship. When we are drawn to sing praise where the opposition is strongest, we practice extreme worship. Like Daniel, we must not allow our circumstances to dictate when and where we worship God. We must be prepared to live out our faith anytime, any place. Are you willing to serve God in extreme worship today?

In case you have not visited VOM’s Bibles Unbound Web site recently, I wanted to highlight the new Covert Operations. A covert operation provides a unique opportunity to provide New Testaments into closed or hostile areas where mailing Bibles is not possible. This is a great addition to Bibles Unbound. In these dangerous, hostile or closed areas, Bibles are delivered by believers who are aware of the challenges of getting the Word of God into these areas. Praise God there are faithful, courageous believers willing to risk all in order to ensure Bibles get into the hands of those who desire them.

Covert Operations differ from how “regular” Bibles Unbound operations function. The difference is when you sponsor a covert operation you do not receive the names of the recipients or Bibles to mail. Instead, you receive the name representing the person(s) who is responsible for delivering the Bibles into the hostile or closed areas, so you can pray for them as they deliver Bibles into these areas. What I found very exciting was once you sponsor a covert operation, you can watch a Bible-sponsored count online and know when your covert operation is complete. You will also receive e-mail updates and reports on the success of your operation. Wow! It is exciting knowing that by sponsoring Bibles, you are providing God’s life-changing Word to people who would not have it. What an eternal investment!

I encourage you to check out http://www.BiblesUnbound.com and see how you can be a part of Covert Operations. Pray that the Bibles VOM sends into hostile or closed nations will encourage and inspire our brothers and sisters to continue standing in their faith, even though they often face difficulties.

Today Voice of the Martyrs issued a great email alert updating us on the success of our Olympic Prayer Band promotion.  Praise the Lord for the success and interest of thousands and thousands of people!!!

Nearly 500,000 Olympic Prayer Bands have been requested to date. The Voice of the Martyrs is processing the orders as fast as possible. We are so thankful for the tremendous support from Christians in the USA who are willing to pray for their persecuted brothers and sisters in China during the Olympics. If you have already requested prayer bands, please be assured VOM will get them to you as fast as possible. If you would like to place an order, or order more to get more people involved, simply follow the link below. Prayer bands can be purchased for as low as $0.50 each. Distribution of the prayer bands is also underway in China to house church Christians who will be praying for you!

It doesn't get much cooler than that!  Make sure to click here to get your band today.

In our continuing coverage of the Chinese Olympics, I found this story interesting.  It appears that the athletes will be receiving a book from Luis Palau called A Friendly Dialogue Between an Atheist and a Christian.

Sounds intriguing to me.  Be sure to read the story.

On July 20, Pastor Abraham was assaulted by Hindu extremists in Haveri district, Karnataka state, India. According to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts in India, “During a worship service at Friends Mission Prayer Band Church, in Konvallichawla village, 20 members of a radical Hindu group assaulted Pastor Abraham in the presence of his family and congregation. During the attack the mob destroyed all the Christian literature in the church, including Bibles.”

VOM contacts added that the mob later took Pastor Abraham to a police station to have him arrested. “Due to the intensity of the attack, Pastor Brown collapsed at the police station. He was taken to a local government hospital where he is undergoing treatment for trauma,” VOM contacts said.

Pastor Abraham has led his church for seven years. VOM contacts added, “Christian believers living in this area are under constant fear of attack. This is the third attack in this area in the past two months. The police are sympathetic to the cause of radical Hindus.”

The Voice of the Martyrs encourages you to pray for Pastor Abraham, his church and believers in India. VOM assists believers in India with Christian literature and Bibles for Christian workers like Pastor Abraham. VOM has also provided motorcycles and bicycles to help Christian workers reach more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In an article from Christian Today we read the awful story about a Chinese couple who have been forced to live on the streets following repeated harassment and intimidation by government authorities.

One part of the article that stood out to me in particular is the following:

Officials say that the couple are being expelled from Beijing because “Bike Zhang met the Americans, and destroyed the harmony of the Beijing Olympic Games”, according to CAA, referring to his recent meeting with a US Congressional delegation.

“This egregious treatment of one of China’s most respected and well-loved house church leaders is a shocking and outright violation of basic human rights and rule of law,” said CAA president Bob Fu, in a statement.

“The acts against Pastor Bike Zhang and his wife are unjust and unlawful. This type of behavior exhibited by the CPC (Communist Party of China) is reflective of a dictatorship with no regard for the well-being of its citizens and not a world leader worthy of the honour of hosting the Olympic Games.”

This is why I want to urge you again to remember China in your prayers and also get the prayer band to remind yourself.