Arrested for Attending Church

If you've been reading this blog for some time then you know that people are arrested and imprisoned in countries like Indonesia and North Korea simply for attending a church or pastoring a church.  In fact, the persecution is so great in these nations that believers have to start underground churches just to fellowship.

Today The World Peace Herald has a story called Arrests Put Focus on North Korea's Underground Churches.  Here are a few snippets to read and then pray about.

[Do Hee-soon, an official of the Alliance for North Korean Abductees and Refugees, was quoted as saying that he reported the incident in August to U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) in the hope that the United States would assist in the effort to free Moon and the others involved in the incident.]

Why do you supposed Do Hee-Soon went to Senator Sam Brownback - because Senator Brownback really cares about people and how they are mistreated, and the Senator has led the fight to help those being persecuted in North Korea.

There is much speculation about underground churches in North Korea, but there has been no confirmation of their status from any official source. According to recent statements from people who have escaped North Korea and North Korean experts, however, underground churches exist in North Korea on a considerable scale.
    
    "Last winter in Yanji, China, I personally met a person who was active in underground [Christian] church activities in North Korea," said Song Bu-Geun, of the Commission to Help North Korean Refugees, an organization based in South Korea. "There is no way to get accurate numbers, but I was told by this person that there are underground churches in many locations around North Korea."
    
    In the majority of cases, underground churches in North Korea use private homes to meet and hold worship services. For evangelism, they only target nearby neighbors. Because of the need to maintain strict security, members first use indirect means to find out a person's thinking about Christian churches before beginning the careful process of introducing them to the tenets of the faith.

Please pray for those in North Korea who are suffering for their faith in Christ.