Remembering the Persecuted

Take a moment.

Picture a family of five getting ready for church.

In this imaginary scene, a husband and wife are trying to get their toddler, teen, and infant fed, cleaned, and out the door on time for Sunday school on a chilly morning.

In doing so, the mom turns on the hot water for the shower, cooks up a breakfast that some of the children will refuse, then flips through the closet, finding multiple outfits whilst praying that the kids remembered where they left off their shoes.

By the time they all make it to the car, someone is unhappy with their outfit choices, but it’s too late to change, leaving everyone else to listen to the sounds of whining the entire car ride there.

Once pulled into the parking lot, each goes their separate ways and individually enjoys spending time with people their own age – the youth group, children’s worship, nursery, and the adult class for tired, married parents.

One look at the bulletin shows the church’s week at a glance, with a variety of activities, including outreach opportunities, children’s choir practice, and a special mid-week pizza service for the teens, ensuring that everyone has a way to get involved.

However, there’s something special to note about this routine.

Never once – not even kind of – did the family have to stop and worry if they would be safe or persecuted for choosing to attend services.

Not in their home, the car, or even the church house – they were not worried about anyone coming to harm them for their choice to attend. This family made every decision in their morning routine, believing that they would safely and securely leave home, worship with like-minded believers, and return.

Yet, for a large portion of the Christian church, this is a dream situation – not a reality.

In its 2026 World Watch List, Open Doors reported that, “More than 380 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith. That’s one in seven Christians worldwide.”

The ministry, known for its dedication to helping raise awareness of the persecuted church, yearly shares a report ranking and covering 50 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith.

This year, the top 10 countries facing extreme persecution are as follows:

North Korea
Somalia
Yemen
Libya
Sudan
Eritrea
Nigeria
Pakistan
Iran
Afghanistan

According to Open Doors, this year marks 23 years that North Korea has been number one on the list, with the harshest persecution. The ministry shared that in this country, if it is discovered that you are a believer in Christ, you will be “immediately executed or deported to a horrendous labor camp that few survive.”

North Korea isn’t the only location that is causing hardship on Christ followers; in at least 49 other countries, believers are also persecuted for their faith.

The report shared that it found (across the globe):

3,944 Christians were sexually assaulted, harassed[,] or forcibly married to non-Christians.
54,780 Christians beaten, threatened[,] or physically and mentally abused[.]
209,771 Christians forced to leave their homes, to go into hiding or exile.
4,744 Christians detained, arrested[,] or sentenced for faith-related reasons.
4,476 believers were killed for their faith.
28,368 attacks on Christian homes, shops[,] and businesses.

Meanwhile, regardless of what is causing them harm, these believers have still chosen the most important thing: Jesus.

Amid these awful, terrible things, believers around the globe are clinging tightly to the hope and promise of the gospel.

And we, also as Christ followers, should be both thankful for the blessings He has given us to worship safely, while earnestly praying for our brothers and sisters in Him who are suffering. As a matter of fact, maybe we should be praying daily for the type of boldness and strength in our faith as these individuals have.

In Scripture, Jesus warns us that we will be persecuted for faith in Him.

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also (John 15:18-20).

Even so, I can’t help but wonder: what would our cozy Americanized churches look like if these horrible things were actually happening to our families?

May we continue to remember the persecuted church in our prayers.

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