For albinos, sub-Saharan Africa is a hostile place. They are hunted down and face being mutilated, raped, and abducted. Their body parts are sold for thousands of dollars and used as talismans for those seeking wealth and power.

Following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, Christianity was declared an enemy of the state.  Two-thirds of the Christians living in Laos fled the nation and those who remained had to go underground, The Communist Party and Buddhist monks are the main sources of christian persecution in Laos.

When Christian leaders have publicly denounced the violence in CAR, they’ve been threatened, and their churches ransacked and torched. Conflict in the country has resulted in thousands of Christians losing their homes and livelihoods.

Comorians have no religious freedom and leaving Islam is illegal. All public and private christian meetings are banned. Due to extremist Muslim teaching in Comoros, harassment and persecution of Christians has risen in frequency and intensity in recent years.

In almost all Asian states in which Buddhism is the majority religion, there is repression of all non-Buddhist religions. Although Christians are persecuted in all these areas, they are almost never mentioned in media persecution reports.

Algerian Christians face systemic persecution through laws restricting christian witness. Blasphemy and proselytizing charges have landed many believers in prison. Even so, the church is growing and many new underground cell groups are being formed.

Christian activity is routinely opposed by Islamist Arab populations and increasingly opposed by ultra-Orthodox and other anti-missionary Jews. Christian migrants from East Africa, fleeing persecution in their home countries, have been denied asylum in Israel and become targets of vicious racist attacks.

In Colombia guerrilla groups threaten, harass, extort and even murder church leaders—targeted because they denounce corruption, defend human rights, and oppose drug cartels. Pray for the persecuted church in Colombia.

Churches that speak out against injustice and human rights violations by the Ortega government are viewed as destabilizing agents. This makes them targets for oppression, which can include intimidation, harassment, monitoring, arrests, and attacks.

In 1993, Christians faced high to extreme levels of persecution in 40 countries. This number has nearly doubled to 76 countries in 2023. Deaths of Christians because of their faith has risen a staggering 80% in the last five years.

The militant Islamist group, Boko Haram stepped up attacks in south-eastern Niger in 2019 and in one month alone 88 Christians were reported killed. The Islamist militants issued a warning to Christian families in the area, giving them three days to flee their homes or be killed.

In Mozambique, when Islamic terrorists kill, it is typically in a grotesquely savage way, with bodies hacked to pieces, leaving heads and limbs strewn everywhere. They also burn predominantly christian villages and maim or kidnap the inhabitants.

The issue of Persecution and the issue of Unreached Peoples are inexorably intertwined. People groups that remain unengaged or unreached are still without the gospel precisely because they are the most dangerous and difficult groups in the world to reach.

Femicide is tolerated and genocide facilitated by the Islamic nationalist government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Women are killed, raped, and beaten every day, and Christians face ethnic cleansing.

Churches have been demolished and burned, worship gatherings have been disrupted, crosses in graveyards have been vandalized, and Bibles and other christian literature have been confiscated and burned. Many pastors have been beaten and jailed, and several are martyred each year.

Indonesia has seen a dramatic rise in recent years of hardline Islamic ideology and resultant brutality against the Church. Though Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, still the Church has seen remarkable growth and currently, one in every 64 Christians worldwide is Indonesian.

Christian villages are raided, churches destroyed, and believers brutally killed. When Islamic forces capture groups of people, they release Muslims while killing Christians who refuse to convert. Pray for believers in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In Egypt Christians may be overlooked for jobs or promotion, their children are made to sit at the back of the class, shop owners may be boycotted, and hospital patients may not receive proper treatment.

In Venezuela, evangelical ministry to indigenous tribal peoples endures unrelenting opposition from anthropologists, leftist politicians, and the Marxist government. Pray God would give wisdom and perseverance as the church in Venezuela takes the gospel to all people groups, in spite of government opposition.

Countries having blasphemy laws are found throughout all regions of the world. Penalties for violating blasphemy laws may include fines, imprisonment, and even death. Recently imposition of “hate speech” standards has been used in much the same way as blasphemy laws.

On September 16, 2022, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman visited the Iranian capital, Tehran, where she was arrested by the “morality police” for not having a proper hijab. They claimed she violated a law requiring women to cover their hair completely. She was beaten and later died while in custody. This has sparked continuing and widespread protests in Iran and around the globe. Pray for the church in Iran as it responds to the chaos.

Sunday, November 6, 2022 is International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). Remember God’s children around the globe who are suffering persecution, that they would be beacons of light in the midst of darkness. Pray they would be permeated with God’s sustaining grace.

Uzbekistan's government relentlessly persecutes the evangelical Church; a total of 14 different government agencies monitor religious activity. Pray for the growing underground churches in Uzbekistan.

Around the globe christian girls and women have become targets. Kidnapping—rape—forced conversion—then forced marriage—this has become an international strategy to strengthen Islam and weaken the Church. Pray for christian girls and women at risk worldwide.

Hmong, Montagnard, and other ethnic minority churches have suffered particularly brutal persecution: their churches have been razed, congregations scattered, and Christians murdered. However, the church continues its dynamic growth.