If you want to get baptized in parts of India right now, you would have to sign a sort of waiver. That waiver is a declaration that you are voluntarily deciding to convert to Christianity. And as you stood in the baptismal waters before a congregation of believers,...

“The reason for the persecution in India is usually the growth of the churches and the associated change in society. People from the lower castes suddenly see themselves as valuable, and they want a better education and thus jeopardize the status of the higher...

Yesterday, an ICR partner was speaking with a believer in the Middle East, and he heard heartbreaking news. An Afghan brother in Christ, Zia, was martyred because of his faith in Jesus. According to those in the community, he was the very first Christian in the Afghan...

Life in Gaza today is bleak, but even in this seemingly hopeless situation, the Lord is drawing people to himself. ICR partners say they have never seen such openness to the Gospel. The team heard a testimony earlier of a Muslim man who came to Christ after meeting a...

Prayer Resource - Eritrea

How do you share the gospel in a communist country where most people are Buddhists? ICR partners in Southeast Asia have found opportunities in the natural rhythms of life. People are willing to attend the funerals and birthday parties of Christians, even if they...

Like many of the countries where ICR supports Christians, Southeast Asia is complicated. This communist, Buddhist-majority country has hosted large evangelical crusades, although most people in the region would be against a family member converting to Christianity....

Pray that they will not feel alone or forgotten (Matthew 28:20). Pray that God would knit your heart to theirs (1 Corinthians 12:26). Pray for faithful perseverance (Hebrews 10:32-36). Pray that believers will be prepared for persecution (1 John 3:13). Pray for...

Pray for protection for new Christians. Pray for those shepherding new congregations, since it is difficult to visit them. Pray for good leaders for new churches. Pray for good relations with authorities and police. Pray for Christians who are pressured to remain firm...

By ICR partner Carlos R. The murder of the Christian leaders of Calamar manifests a violence that is difficult to comprehend. How did someone come to the decision to end the lives of six men and two women in this way? At first glance, there is no explanation, unless...

Last week, Colombian authorities confirmed that bodies found in a mass grave in Guaviare state were eight evangelical leaders who have been missing since April. According to Protestante Digital, the victims were part of a humanitarian commission sent out by the...

THE NUMBER OF PERSECUTED believers in difficult countries who say they were not surprised to be persecuted amazes me. “It’s in the Bible,” they say. Yet, that’s not how I think of persecution. I don’t expect to be persecuted. Our North American evangelical culture...

At least 218 people were killed and more than 6,000 displaced after a spate of devastating attacks on mostly Christian villages in Benue State, a territory in the Middle Belt region of northern Nigeria. Islamic Fulani militants are suspected to be behind all six of...

And you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. (Mark 13:13) Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to...

An ICR field worker visited a Muslim village with an ICR partner in Ethiopia last year. By chance, she saw 17-year-old Ayana and greeted her. “I noticed straight away that something was different,” the field worker said. “She had an incredible radiance and smiled at...

Haile* didn’t really have faith that God could heal the man. He prayed, but he didn’t expect anything to happen. Halie is a Bible student supported by ICR. After experiencing persecution from his family after he became a believer, Haile wanted to study the Bible and...

Zacchaeus may have climbed a tree to see Jesus, but two Ethiopian evangelists just wanted to make a phone call. The two evangelists, Tesfay* and Dawit*, went to a remote Muslim village in Ethiopia to share the gospel. The villagers listened politely to what they had...

Pastor G. is a missionary and gospel preacher in Ethiopia. He is 37 years old and the father of four children. He felt called to preach the gospel from a young age and has been participating in outreach ministry for a long time. He works among a tribe that is the...

By an ICR field worker "We drive through the desert for a long time. After a longed-for rain, the desert is no longer sandy; everything is in bloom. Green meadows stretch to the horizon, and the white flowers scattered across resemble snow. Everything is happy – and...

Christianity has a long history in Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian Orthodox church has significant power in the country. But many Ethiopian Orthodox Christians don’t know or read the Bible, and they mix animist practices in with their faith. Most persecution against...