Persecution Blog

That Was a Wonderful Time!

My wife was with me on the trip to China several years ago when we met a house church Christian named Sister Tong, who you see in this picture. At that time, she had been free from prison just a few weeks after serving six months for hosting an “illegal” church meeting in her home.

I was relatively new to VOM at that time, and I asked her about her time in prison. What was that like?

And here’s what I was thinking: tell me about the rats. Tell me about the hard beds. Tell me about the cold. And the misery. Tell me how awful it was in prison.

And she got this amazing smile on her face, and she said, “Oh yes! That was a wonderful time!”

I looked at the interpreter, thinking that Sister Tong had misunderstood, or that something was being lost in translation. You must have misunderstood my question! I’m asking about prison!

But no, Sister Tong understood perfectly. And she had answered my question. It was a wonderful time because God was faithful and ministered to her in a special way. It was a wonderful time because God allowed her to share the gospel with her cell mates. It was a wonderful time because she saw a mission field where she was, an opportunity to serve and meet needs instead of a hardship.

When our brothers and sisters in China talk about prison ministry, they don’t mean once-a-month visits. They mean being sentenced to prison, and ministering while there. If that sounds familiar, it may be because we read about it in the New Testament (see Philippians 1:13-15).

YOUR TURN: If you lived in China, would you want your pastor to be involved in prison ministry? Would you volunteer to serve in that role?

Todd Nettleton has served the persecuted church and VOM 15 years. He has been interviewed more than 1850 times by various media outlets. He's the author of Restricted Nations: North Korea, and served on the writing team for FOXE, Extreme Devotion, Hearts of Fire and other VOM books.

Chased Into the Jungle

Two weeks ago, I returned from a remote area in Colombia, where I was honored to meet with a ministry leader, his wife and their remaining five sons. I say “remaining five sons” because one of their sons was recently killed by FARC guerrillas.

Colombia has experienced intense conflict for more than 40 years. It’s a very dangerous place to live and serve God. In fact, after American missionary Chet Bitterman was martyred on March 7th, 1981, after 48 days of captivity, many foreign mission agencies left Colombia because it was considered too dangerous.

Today, there are many indigenous pastors and missionaries who face risks every day because of this ongoing conflict. The leader I met with was warned by local guerrillas that he needed to give up some of his sons to support their cause. Of course, as a Christian, he refused. How could he let his sons join a group of terrorists who were running drugs, enforcing their ideology with violence and promoting other ungodly activities?

One night, the guerrillas assassinated one of his sons. They also tried to kill another of his sons, but this young boy was able to escape into the jungle while they shot at him.

One of the most remarkable aspects of their story is that the son who ran away hid in the jungle for four days. Think about that. Running into the jungle alone as a young boy, with only the clothes on your back, and hiding for four days! I can only imagine what type of emotional trauma he endured during those four long days and nights.

Meanwhile, the leader and his wife believed that the FARC had killed the older son and kidnapped the younger one. They buried their older son two days later, while their younger son was still hiding in the jungle. He missed his own brother’s funeral. A couple of days later, after everything quieted down, the father went to look for the son and, by God’s grace, found him hiding in the jungle.

Three months later, after additional threats, the father was sent a letter by the FARC ordering him to report to a specific location, at a specific time, a few days later. He was warned that this was when they would kill him so he packed up his family and escaped to another town. 

As I prayed with this family, I was humbled as I realized how much they had given up to stand strong for Jesus and how they were continuing to “fight the good fight” in a new location. It was an amazing testimony of hope following tragedy and of God’s sustaining peace.

Today they have moved to a new area, where VOM is supporting them as they plant a church there. Please remember this dear family as they continue to mourn the loss of their son, their support system, and their home. Pray that God will enable them to continue to stand strong for him in their new location.

Your Turn: How would you respond to threats against your children because of your gospel work?

Dr. Jason Peters serves in VOM’s International Ministries department, traveling frequently to meet with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. He lived overseas for five years and has ministered in 28 countries as diverse as Cuba, Nepal, Iraq and Indonesia. He and his wife, Kimberly, along with their five children, count it a great honor to serve with the persecuted church.

The Illegal Open Church

Esther

In 2009, Esther was excitedly pursuing a seminary degree in the United States. She and her husband, Matthew, had met in college and came to the US from their hometown of Linfen, China for further studies. Esther thought she’d spend two years abroad, then return to the city she’d called home for her whole life. She never imagined her parent’s involvement in a Chinese house church would leave her life permanently changed that year.

Esther had grown up in the church known as the Linfen house church. It was the only house church in the whole district. Her father was one of the head pastors of the 50,000-member church and her mother helped him with member visitations and leadership training. Technically, the church was illegal, because it wasn’t an officially-registered, government-sanctioned church. But growing up, Esther hardly noticed. They held large, open-air meetings for special occasions, and it wasn’t like 50,000 people could really hide their meetings. The church had grown so used to their de-facto status that they decided to erect a large church building on the edge of the city.

The building ended up becoming the final straw as state officials finally gave way to Beijing’s pressure. Esther’s father and mother, along with six other of the church’s main leaders, were arrested and given prison sentences of two to seven years each.

Esther’s father and mother

When she heard the news, Esther felt very far away in America. She called her mom in prison, and told her she’d come back right away. But her mom told her not to come. She was afraid her daughter would be harassed, watched and possibly never be able to leave China again. Esther was devastated.

When VOM first met with Esther in 2010, she couldn’t hold back the tears as she told her story. But in the three years since, God has done a work in her life. She looks back on the arrest of her parents and the lonely feelings as a time when God was working on her. Their imprisonment and separation brought her parents closer together. As a busy family in ministry, they hadn’t always had enough time together. Now, her father was writing her mother letters from prison almost weekly.

Her parents’ arrest changed Esther’s plans to return to China. For now, it’s better for her to stay in the U.S. Her mother was released early in 2011 because of her health, and the two are able to talk on the phone, though they are careful what they say. Her father is due for release any day. It’s been difficult to adjust to life in another country, but Esther and Matthew have settled in. They have a four-month old baby, and Esther relishes her role as a mother. She still hopes to go back to China one day.

Dory P. has worked with VOM for six years. She grew up in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Between Dory, her husband and two-year-old son, they share five passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM’s newsletter.

Digging Deeper: North Korea

In recent weeks North Korea has been on the front pages of many world newspapers as its government voices threats to the world and attempts to flex its military muscle.

North Korea is one of the nations where VOM works among the persecuted church, and therefore one of the nations featured on VOM's online prayer map. This map, along with VOM's printed Global Report and other resources, allows Christians to learn more about the country in order to pray more effectively and specifically.

Here's the Prayer Map information about North Korea:

DESCRIPTION: North Korea’s isolated regime is the most oppressive in the world. North Koreans are indoctrinated with an ideology called “Juche,” a philosophy of self-reliance that centers on worship of the country’s leaders. Following Kim Jong Il’s death in December 2011, power was transferred to his son, Kim Jong Un. Jong Un seems determined to carry on his father’s duties and policies. North Korea maintains one of the world’s largest standing armies.

CATEGORY: Restricted Nation

RELIGION: Cheondogyo (compulsory state religion) 99.5%, Christian 0.5%

IDEOLOGY: Juche/Communism

HEAD OF STATE: Marshall Kim Jong Un

North Korea is the worst perpetrator of persecution against Christians in the world. Christians are tortured, imprisoned and murdered. Private, non-state-sanctioned religious activity is prohibited. Anyone discovered engaging in clandestine religious activity is subject to arrest, torture or even public execution. Under Juche, the only acceptable religion is Cheondogyo, or “Kim-Il-Sung-ism.” However, the North Korean government is careful to maintain a facade of religious freedom with four “show” churches in its capital city. When Christians are executed, they are typically charged with being spies or being involved in illegal activities. As many as 100,000 believers are thought to worship secretly. Experts estimate that of the hundreds of thousands incarcerated in labor and concentration camps, about 30,000 are Christians. Religious prisoners are typically treated worse than any of the other inmates. Possessing a Bible, saying the words God or Jesus and meeting together are all offences punishable by death. VOM supports radio broadcasts into North Korea and participates in balloon launches that carry the gospel message and literature into the country.

PLEASE PRAY for North Korea, and especially for Christians there. You may also want to explore information and needs for other nations through VOM's online prayer map to help you pray effectively for hostile and restricted nations around the world.

Suffering for the Sake of Christ

We all suffer—it is a part of life since the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Some suffer because of their testimony to their belief in Christ. As long as Christians are silent, there are few repercussions. A holy life may give away your secret, but if you are a silent Christian you may be able to escape rejection and hostility, if that is your goal. If you articulate that Jesus is Lord and not people (even yourself) then the likelihood of rejection is exponentially increased.

In the Western world, we think that because we have individual freedom (which is our highest priority as a culture), any attempt (even by God) to restrain evil is an infringement on freedom. In a culture of political correctness, anyone who deviates from mainstream political or moral positions is not well tolerated. The language of disdain becomes hostile.

For governments who insist on total and ultimate loyalty, Christians who can’t say “Caesar is Lord” are deemed rebellious and insubordinate because they know that their ultimate loyalty is to Jesus Christ as Lord. So they lash out at Christians, seeking to silence them through whatever means are necessary. Dead Christians, these governments think, are no longer a problem.

We will have to choose whether we believe in Jesus as the Lord and we will have to testify to that. Or, we can try to remain safe by being silent and be free from rejection, suffering, and, in some places, death. This is not to disregard that Christians must use discretion in when, where, and how they testify. Even Jesus escaped from hostile crowds and Paul made a swift and careful escape from a hostile city. We do not go looking for suffering or martyrdom but if the occasion arises and a choice has to be made, we will make the hard choice. We may experience beatings, harassment, or legal proceedings for our testimony but we have already decided that if that is the necessary consequence of loyalty to Christ, then we accept that.

In a culture of convenience, like the USA, the idea of suffering for anything is not part of our normal expectations. We go to great ends to end suffering, especially our own. To embrace suffering for Christ is almost a novel idea, but a necessary step to be God’s true servant in our culture.

[For further discussion on this topic see the class on Theology of Persecution and Suffering  found at www.vomclassroom.com.]

Your Turn: Do you struggle to embrace the idea that you may have to suffer for your Christian witness and testimony? What helps you to overcome that struggle?

Roy Stults, PhD, is the Online Workshop Coordinator and Educational Services Coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. He graduated from Olivet Nazarene University (BA and MA), Nazarene Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Doctor of Missiology), and The University of Manchester (England) with a PhD (theology). A Vietnam veteran, Dr. Stults served as a missionary for 19 years and pastored U.S. churches for eight years. Prior to joining VOM, he was a Professor of Religion at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Jesus Freaks Radio

"The Jesus Freaks Minute" airs on Christian radio stations nationwide. Each month VOM creates and sends out 12 radio spots sharing the story of a persecuted Christian or another believer totally sold-out for God. Some stories come from recent VOM headlines; others come from throughout Christian history. And some come from the pages of Scripture itself, like this one which will air in May:

[INTRO SONG LYRICS:]  What will people think when they hear that I’m a Jesus Freak? What will people do when they find that it’s true?   (:09)

[TOBYMAC:]  Hey, this is TobyMac with truth every Jesus Freak should hear from the Voice of the Martyrs:

[VOM:]  As Moses’ assistant, Joshua experienced slavery in Egypt and forty years in the wilderness.  A brilliant military strategist, he led the Israelites across the Jordan River conquering Jericho and much of the Promised Land.

His final inspiring speech still reminds us that we all have a choice to make:  “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

For more from VOM, go online to persecution.com.

[YOUR TURN:] Have you heard The Jesus Freaks Minute on your Christian radio station? Have you heard stories of persecuted Christians? Contact your Christian radio station and encourage them to talk about the persecuted Body of Christ!

Some of the stories told in Jesus Freaks Minute radio spots are taken from the book, Jesus Freaks, by DC Talk with The Voice of the Martyrs. Order your copy online now.

Pray for North Korea

VOM’s Todd Nettleton was interviewed Friday by a reporter from Mission Network News about the current situation in North Korea. Here is the resulting story:

North Korea (VOM/MNN) ― North Korea is setting a megaphone in front of the saber it's rattling.

On Friday, the North Korean government said it would not be able to guarantee the safety of embassies after April 10, and suggested that Russia, China, and Great Britain consider evacuating their diplomats.

Tensions have been on the rise since the United Nations imposed harsher sanctions following Pyongyang's third nuclear test on Feb. 12. The rogue state expressed fury over ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises and threatened a nuclear strike against the U.S. It also scrapped the Korean War armistice, began moving missiles, and restarted a plutonium reactor capable of producing more fuel for nuclear bombs.

One concern is that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has something to prove. He's still tightening his grip on power and is something of a military unknown.

While the situation appears to be serious, governments are playing down the rhetoric from North Korea, assuming it represents yet another tantrum by a regime starving for attention, legitimacy, and economic aid. Spokesman for the Voice of the Martyrs USA Todd Nettleton describes the typical pattern. "The world community makes some concessions. They deliver some food or they lower the sanctions or they deliver some oil, and the crisis magically goes away until the next time North Korea needs something."

Nettleton connected on Friday with VOM contacts working with North Korean Christians. According to them, "When North Korea needs something, when they need concessions, they create a crisis. They do a lot of saber rattling and a lot of press release about how terrible it's going to be for all the aggressors against them."

The situation is still fairly rhetorical. Nettleton says they're taking their cues from their national partners, some of whom are North Korean defectors. He goes on to say that because the poverty and hunger situation is desperate, it's unlikely the threats are little more than talk. He explains, "The surrounding nations are comfortable with the status quo. Maybe at times it's a little irritating, but it is seen as a better alternative than to see the regime fall and North Korea fall into complete chaos with those surrounding nations left to clean up the mess."

North Korea is the worst perpetrator of persecution against Christians in the world. Christians are tortured, imprisoned, and murdered. Private, non-state-sanctioned religious activity is prohibited. Anyone discovered engaging in clandestine religious activity is subject to arrest, torture, or even public execution.

As many as 100,000 believers are thought to worship secretly. Possessing a Bible, saying the words God or Jesus, and meeting together are all offences punishable by death. VOM reports estimate that of the hundreds of thousands incarcerated in labor and concentration camps, about 30,000 are Christians.

Yet there are still requests for help. VOM supports Gospel radio broadcasts into North Korea and participates in balloon launches that carry the hope of Christ into the country. "Pray that North Korean Christians will remain faithful, that they will remain encouraged. The other thing we can pray is for the delivery of Gospel materials, for the these balloons, for these radio broadcasts, for other Gospel work that is going on into North Korea, that the Gospel message will get in there, that it will be received, and that there will be fruit."

Learn more about the history of the church and persecution in North Korea by reading VOM's book, Restricted Nations: North Korea. Order your copy online.

Extreme Substitute

“. . . seven, eight, nine—you! Step out!” The Nazi guard yelled at the woman. The commandant had ordered every tenth prisoner executed as punishment for two women’s escape the previous night.

“Please have mercy on me! I have a child,” the tenth woman pleaded.

Mary Skotsobaugh stood next in line. In her heart Mary heard, “Step forward and say you wish to die in her place.” She replied to the inner voice, “Why? She is not a Christian. She is a Jewish Communist. When the Nazis are overthrown and the Communists come to power, they will be as bad as the Nazis.”

Then Mary remembered that it was Good Friday. The voice said, “On this day I died not for the good ones but for the bad ones, for sinners.”

Mary then stepped forward. “I wish to die.”

As Mary went to be executed and burned in the ovens, she told them, “When God took his people out of slavery in Egypt, it is written in our Bible that he walked before them in a column of fire. I pray when my body burns it would be a column of fire that will show you the way to God.

One step forward can make all the difference. Christians often live their lives precariously balanced on the ledge between safety and the unknown. Those who have taken the small step forward into the unknown have always found the faithfulness of God. Noah. Moses. Abraham. Deborah. Ruth. Mary. Paul. The list of biblical examples goes on and on, not to mention a host of history’s hall of fame. One step of faith changed their lives from ordinary to extraordinary. Is God calling you to step forward in faith today? Do you hear his voice in your heart? Listen up. Prepare to move. Your small step of obedience could show others the way to God.

This is one of the readings from the book, Extreme Devotion, available from VOM’s online bookstore. You can also receive devotional thoughts daily via email. Sign up here.

1,000,000+

Perhaps you saw this photo on the back of VOM's newsletter last month:

We are thankful to each of those who financially supported this significant effort to deliver God's Word into hostile and restricted nations.

There are still Christians in those nations that need a Bible. VOM's Bibles to Captive Nations Fund helps to meet this need. If you'd like to help deliver even more Bibles in 2013, please consider giving online.

INDIA: The Strange Experience of Boldness

"I enquired about the possession of the Christian spirit and the reply came… that it was the Holy Spirit. Well, at any cost I didn't want to be robbed of this new life and hence started learning Christianity." Thus began the journey of Reverend Chander Mani Khanna from high-caste Hindu devotee to dedicated Christian pastor who was arrested for baptizing Muslim converts.

Pastor Khanna converted to Christianity at 22 years old in 1969. He later became a minister in the Church of North India, an Anglican denomination, and was assigned to serve at the All Saints Church in India's Kashmir region. While most of India is Hindu majority, because of its proximity to Pakistan, most people in Kashmir are Muslim and Muslims in India make up the world's third largest Muslim community. The region is governed unofficially by Islamic courts.

Lately Islamists have been stirring up trouble for the few hundred Christians in Kashmir. Churches are surrounded by Muslim trouble-makers during worship services. Young believers are constantly watched and threatened. Islamists also circulate hate literature with a racial undertone against Christians. The media also participates in this bias, portraying an image of Christians as people who use women, alcohol and swine blood (deeply offensive to Muslims) in their religious practices.

As the leader of a mainline church, Rev. Khanna was well-known in the community. He was involved in community-wide reconciliation events between Muslims and Christians. In 2011, several Muslim young men began attending the church and asked Khanna to baptize them. He warned them there would be no financial incentive or other benefit for conversion, but they insisted. Khanna baptized the seven men, in a public event that someone filmed and eventually posted on YouTube. Word began to spread that the pastor was converting Muslims through allurement.

Khanna was summoned to appear before the Grand Mufti, an Islamic religious leader with no formal legal authority but with great influence in the region. Khanna was arrested Nov. 19 and police searched his home for further evidence of conversion by allurement. The youths who were baptized continued to assert that they were not given anything to convert, but local newspapers ran reports citing anonymous police sources that said they were financially rewarded. "You would hang your head in shame at what was written about his family," said a VOM partner.

Khanna spent 40 days in prison. "I had the strange experience of boldness and believed the Lord had given me a job, and I did it with grace," said Khanna. He was released on bail on Dec. 1 and expelled from Kashmir. His case was eventually halted Feb. 16 when investigators could not supply enough evidence.

Though he was not eventually convicted, the ordeal took a toll on Khanna's church position and his family. His wife, deeply disillusioned at the lack of support from the church, got sick. Denominational leadership subtly communicated that they felt Khanna should not have baptized the converts from Islam.

When he retired Jan. 16, he was let go without a pension. VOM's partner in India, who had been assisting Khanna with legal representation after lawyers in Kashmir refused to represent him, offered Khanna a job at their office in Bangalore. These days, Khanna spends his time speaking on behalf of persecuted Christians in churches around India. The new job is a great encouragement to him and he has new confidence. His wife's health is improving. He said, "I am not bothered by what happened to me, but I glorify the Lord."