The Persecuted Church

JOIN THE 8THIRTY8 MOVEMENT

Set your alarm for 8:38 AM or 8:38 PM (or both!) to pray for persecuted Christians worldwide. Why 8:38? Because of the promise that God gives to those who are being persecuted for His sake in Romans 8: 38-39:

There’s a terrific Facebook Page for the 8thirty8 movement here. And here are some of our own prayer points for your 8:38 prayer:

Burma (aka Myanmar): The Free Burma Rangers reports: The Burma Army continues its attacks in Karen State (Karen people are majority Christian) against innocent civilians and villagers — In addition to over 700 killed in cities, people and property in ethnic areas of Burma are being violently killed and destroyed. The Burma Army has forced over 24,000 people in Karen State to take shelter in the jungle and every day Free Burma Rangers teams hear of new attacks.

Please pray for God’s deliverance, for peace in Burma, and for all families, widows, orphans of those killed by the Burma Army. Thank God for one bright spot: the evil actions of the Army are uniting people across tribal and ethnic divides as never before. Please pray that this continues, and that it brings people to Christ.

China: Please pray for the Church in China in general – those who are worshipping in secret and those worshipping in relative openness; those who are in prison or labor camp for their faith in Jesus; those who are punished or are victims of forced sterilization or abortion for “violating” China’s one/two child policy; those other non-Christian groups that stand against the Chinese Communist Party – that their love for truth and freedom above their lives will lead them to the ultimate Truth and Freedom. The only thing that can stop the CCP’s devouring global agenda is Jesus.

Praise God for the faithfulness of His people in China, and how they will transform the country.

Saudi Arabia: Middle East Concern reports: A. is an Arab convert who has lived all his life in Saudi Arabia. He is facing several court cases brought against him because of his faith, as well as violent threats against his wife and son. In last month’s court hearing he was accused of trying to convert Muslims. That case is ongoing. A. had hearing in another case on 22 April. Several year ago, A.’s sister faced abuse by the family after they discovered she had become a Christian. A. helped her flee with her children, so the family accused A. of financial wrongdoing, starting a case against him.

Please pray for A., his wife and little son for protection and God’s peace. Pray that A. will not be sent to prison. And pray that the wider family will come to repentance and faith in Jesus.

Iran: Middle East Concern reports: Iranian Christians request prayer for Ismail Narimanpour, Mohammad Ali Torabi, Alireza Vark Shah, Hojjat Lotfi Khalaf  who were arrested by intelligence agents on 19 April in Dezful, Khuzestan province in south-west Iran. Please pray that God will comfort and encourage these four converts and their families.

Pray for God’s favor and wisdom as these brothers in Christ undergo interrogation, that Holy Spirit would be present in their conversation and fill the courtroom with the fear of the Lord. And pray that Iranian authorities will stop persecuting the people of Iran because of their religious beliefs and allow religious freedom in Iran. Thank God for the release from prison of Christian convert MajidReza Souzanchi on April 8 after serving almost 3 years in prison.

Nigeria: In 2021 alone, hundreds of schoolchildren in Nigeria have been kidnapped. Parents fear to send their children to school and students are afraid to go to classes. A majority of those captured by Boko Haram jihadists are young women and girls taken and trafficked as sex slaves who endure horrendous abuse and mistreatment. This was what happened to 17-year-old Leah Sharibu, kidnapped from her school in Dapchi, Nigeria in 2018. And seven years ago, the night of April 14, Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from their school in Chibok. 112 are still unaccounted for.

Please pray for protection of Nigeria’s Christians, justice to be done, and deliverance of those enslaved. And please consider signing this petition to U.S. on the https://freenigerianslaves.org website, urging Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to take a lead in stopping the enslavement of black African Christians in Nigeria. (this is an international petition – it has already been signed by supporters in Africa and elsewhere, as well as the United States).

Awaken Me: A Psalm for the Suffering Church

Awaken me, Lord, to the suffering of Your Body.

Brothers and sisters around the world wait for You all day long:

Carrying in their broken bodies the death of Jesus,

Demonstrating by their lives Your Son’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Envelop me with the awareness of our connectedness.

Fill me with a willingness to share their burden.

Glorious and mighty is the Lord!

His heavenly hosts will do battle for His people.

In His time He will deliver us from our enemies.

Joy will come in the morning; but first we weep.

Kings and rulers persecute God’s people.

Like their master Satan they hate Jesus and His followers.

Martyrs testify to the victory of the Gospel in life and in death, and

Nations will know that the Lord is God because of their faithfulness.

Only You, Lord, can bring good out of what is meant for evil, for You are

Present in the scars and even the freshly bleeding wounds of tortured saints,

Quiet – but transforming – in the miracle of mercy, of the tortured forgiving the torturers, 

Redeeming all, yet hating injustice and evil. 

Steel Your Body, therefore, to fight that injustice and evil in the power of Your Spirit so that when the Son of Man comes in Glory He will

Testify that when He was hungry, we gave Him food and when He was in prison we visited Him.

Until that Day, keep us from apathy, indifference, and willful blindness,

Vanquish our natural gravitation to self, and self-centered prayer, and give us grace to love Your Body as ourselves, and to cry out on their behalf like the prophet:

“Wake! O arm of the Lord! Awake! Clothe Yourself with strength.” We bless You and thank You for the promise:

Your people will be delivered. Your ransomed people will have no more sorrow. They will sing with joy and return to Zion. 

MEET FAITH

KGI Global’s Director of Advocacy Faith McDonnell informs and motivates US church members about global persecution of Christians. She speaks to church groups, conferences, and educational/advocacy forums.

As International Religious Liberty Program Director at the Institute on Religion and Democracy in Washington, DC for 27 years Faith organized rallies and protests at The White House, State Department, various embassies, and the UN.

Faith helped create the globally-observed International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church in the ‘90’s. She was part of coalitions to draft and pass the International Religious Freedom Act 1998, Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000, Sudan Peace Act 2002, and North Korea Human Rights Act 2004. She defends persecuted Christians and other persecuted believers in North Korea, throughout the Middle East, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, Sudan, and South Sudan, etc.

Together with former LRA abductee Grace Akallo Faith wrote Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda’s Children (2007, Chosen Books). She writes for The Stream, World, American Spectator, Front Page Magazine, Breitbart, PJ Media, Philos Project, Providence Journal, Juicy Ecumenism, and Patheos. She wrote a chapter in Sorrow & Blood: Christian Mission in Contexts of Suffering, Persecution, and Martyrdom (2012). She has been a guest on such radio shows as The Eric Metaxas Show, Janet Parshall’s In The Marketplace, and others. She has appeared on CBN, Fox News, and the Armstrong Williams television show, and spoken twice as a panelist on global Christian persecution at CPAC.

Now an Anglican and member of Church of the Apostles, Fairfax, Virginia since 1980, Faith grew up in The Salvation Army with Salvation Army officer parents. She graduated from Eastern Nazarene College, Quincy, MA, and received her master’s degree in English at the University of Maryland, College Park. She was married to Francis John McDonnell until his death in 2014. She adores her beautiful, feisty daughter Fiona, who spent much of her childhood demonstrating at the Sudanese and Chinese Embassies, meeting bishops and archbishops from around the world, having dinner with heroes like Dr. John Garang and North Korean defectors, and having other experiences that most children never have.

Faith serves on the board of Jubilee Campaign USA and of the Good Shepherd Foundation in Juba, South Sudan. She was a founding member of the Sudan Coalition, the Nigeria Task Force, Act for Sudan, the North Korea Freedom Coalition and Save The Persecuted Christians Coalition. She participates in the Anglican Church in North America’s “Every Tribe and Nation” group, and she is the co-leader of the Anglican Persecuted Church Network (New Wineskins Missionary Network) and of the GAFCON Suffering Church Network.