As most of you may know, I haven't blogged for several weeks. The rest from blogging has been very refreshing. But I have missed it as well. As a kick-start to get back into gear I am posting an interview that I had with a very special person. She has been working with the persecuted Church for several years and travels extensively ministering to those who are being persecuted for the name of Jesus. For security reasons, I will refer to her as "Junia" and the name of the organization she serves shall remain anonymous. This interview was very eye-opening for me, and I really hope that it will create a greater awareness in other Christians as well.
Seth Odom: Tell us a little about yourself, and about your work with the persecuted Church.
Junia: I first started volunteering with this organization because I heard there were thousands of persecuted Christians throughout the world. As I volunteered for a couple years the opportunities to speak continued to increase. The ministry invited us to come on staff and it has been a wonderful partnership for all of us.. We have been involved with the persecuted church issue for over 13 years.
Seth Odom: You travel a lot overseas, how many countries have you visited?
Junia: I have traveled to more than 20 nations. I travel about every 10 months into the restricted nations and travel the rest of the time in US sharing the information.
Seth Odom: Out of all the countries you visited, which one have you seen that has experienced the greatest amount of persecution?
Junia: I have often dealt with North Korean refugees who tell tales of horrific abuse and persecution. In the Islamic nations there is a constant and steady stream of persecution… it is a fact of life for the Muslims who come to Christ. 70% of Muslims coming to Christ are coming through dreams and visions. As soon as they make that decision they begin to face persecution on a level we have never known. The past two years I have spent a lot of time in the Middle East. There is also great persecution in China and other communist nations. India has had a large increase in the persecution of their Christian minority which I saw while there a couple years ago. I guess it is easy to see that I have a hard time differentiating which area is worse. According to the Pew Report, 70% of the people in the world live in countries that have restrictions on religious freedoms and Christians are the greatest number of those people.
Seth Odom: Have you ever been threatened personally by authorities or extremists?
Junia: When our team was traveling in Sudan our route was bombed ahead of us which showed they knew exactly where we were going. I’d rather not say anything else about other times.
Seth Odom: Whenever I speak with Christian friends and share with them the realities of the persecuted church, they seem amazed that this is actually going on, why do you think there is such ignorance on the part of western Christians? What is blinding us so badly?
Junia: American Christians don’t have a modern experience of religious persecution or strong human rights abuses due to religious beliefs so it is hard to believe others do. Our culture is one of relative freedom, prosperity and ease. In countries of persecution specific liberties will be withheld so life becomes very difficult for those following Christ: 1: jobs withheld… or the most distasteful jobs available with the minimum of wages given.2: Education withheld or the most minimal of education available. Most usually the citizens will pay for their education and the Christians tend to be the poorest of the poor. 3: Health care withheld or made so expensive that it is cost prohibitive in many situations. All these pressures are calculated to make their lives so difficult they will make the choice to come back to the prior life and leave Christ behind, but the opposite is happening …. More and more are coming to Jesus. All of these factors are foreign to our way of life. We also must remember that we are in a Spiritual Battle every day of our lives and Satan doesn’t want these faithful Saints undergoing persecution to be helped or encouraged by the Body of Christ because our lives might be impacted by theirs and they might be encouraged by us. There is another component that must be looked at and that is the fact that we are spoiled and don’t like to willingly see and hear things that make us uncomfortable because we must then do something about the situation…. So many reasons! The main thing is that Satan is warring against God and His people. Hebrews 13:3 is so important. Once an individual hears the truth of what is taking place they must turn around and share the information to help educate others to the truth.
Seth Odom: A lot of persecuted Christians ask for prayer as one of the main ways we can support them, in what specific ways can we pray for the persecuted church?
Junia: When I am with the people who have walked through recent persecution and are continuing to face persecution they ask us to pray that they will have sufficient courage to stand for Christ. They don’t want to shrink back in fear or expose others who are following Jesus. They don’t usually ask us to get them out of the situation but they do ask us to help them in it through our prayers and support.
Seth Odom: Out of all of the groups that persecute Christians, which do you see as the one that is the most violent persecutor of the Church?
Junia: The North Korean regime is the most violent and relentless at this time. I can say that I have seen the depravity of man apart from the salvation from Christ in all of the nations I have been involved in. It is always shocking to see what man is capable of when he is left to his own sin and hate.
Seth Odom: Out of all the persecuted areas you've travelled, is there one place in particular that you see the Gospel spreading the most?
Junia: I see the Gospel exploding in the Muslim nations of persecution. As I said earlier, it has been estimated that 70% of Muslims coming to Christ in hostile countries is through dreams and visions…. Which is a bit out of our sphere of understanding but God does things his way!
Seth Odom: Have you witnessed any major miracles where God has stepped in and protected the Church from great disaster or death?
Junia: I have only heard about the stories after the fact but not been there when they were taking place.
Seth Odom: Most places that are under severe persecution are in the eastern part of the world, with a few exceptions; do you see on the horizon any kind of heavy persecution that may be coming on the Western Church and how can Christians prepare?
Junia: Persecution is already a part of our American culture but we don’t recognize it as such. Jan 30, 2010 two street evangelist were killed when a man they had been witnessing to came back with a gun and shot them. Churches have been vandalized, pastors attacked and the list goes on. Our media speaks of Christians in a very negative way and movies build Christian characters in a derogatory fashion. TV programs often have the Christian as a buffoon or ridiculous in manner and attitude. Our culture does not have a favorable picture of Christians as a whole but there are cases where this isn’t true. One thing I often point to is the fact that it is politically incorrect and considered intolerant to say that Jesus is the only way to the Father. It is a horrible sin to be so blatant and one sided but we know it is the truth. It is a sin in our culture to talk about the issues of the day that are against God’s laws and His Word. The church is really being silenced and the outcome will be more and more severe persecution against the Church in this nation. I believe this is one of the reasons that the persecuted family of Believers are so important for us to learn about, pray for and help… they in turn help us.
Seth Odom: What is the most heavily persecuted country or area to which you have been?
Junia: It have been in the border areas with North Korean refugees and feel North Korea is the most aggressive to its people, but Islam is horrible to those who come to Christ. Every Muslim who converts knows their persecution begins the day people find out they are Christians.
Seth Odom: Do you see any places/countries around the world where persecution is becoming lessened, whether through new protection laws or maybe the gospel spreading so much that persecution is fading?
Junia: Colombia, SA has had a decrease in the activity of the FARQ Guerillas because the government is active is controlling then and protecting the church. This does not mean the persecution has lessened or stopped but there is hope.
Seth Odom: Thank you very much Junia. I hope that readers will be encouraged by the work that is being done for the persecuted Church and inspired themselves to help persecuted Believers in whatever way possible.
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