Open Doors with Brother Andrew, an international ministry that focuses on Christian persecution, reported religious-based attacks months prior to the recent highly publicized church bombings in Iraq.
Last April the global organization, founded by legendary God’s Smuggler author Brother Andrew, released information regarding accounts of violent religious discrimination in Iraq. The servicing of that information nearly four months ago contradicts recent reports from significant news agencies that last week’s church bombings marked the first time the Christian minority had been singled out.
“Christian Persecution isn’t new to this area,” explains Open Doors USA President and CEO, Dr. Carl Moeller. “However, we have seen an increase in the random violence as certain elements of Iraqi society are seeking to profit politically from the increased chaos.”
Several sources to Open Doors, including a bishop to an Assyrian-speaking church, reported that not only were foreigners being kidnapped in increasing numbers, but indigenous Iraqi Christians were also disappearing. Numbering approximately 500,000, Iraqi Christians were staying home as much as possible even before the recent bombings. Additionally, many churches began canceling meetings in several cities, including Baghdad, due to increased turmoil and targeted violence.
Currently focusing on the Church caught amidst the escalating Middle East conflicts, Brother Andrew, at nearly 80 years of age, continues to personally provide training and support to persecuted Christians. Releasing Sept. 1, his Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught in the Middle East Crossfire (Revell), co-authored by Open Doors’ Al Janssen, details Brother Andrew’s embrace of a struggling Church in the Middle East, teaching it through his example to reach out to the “unapproachable.”
“Christians are not immune to the impact of conflict,” writes Andrew in Light Force. When bullets fly and bombs explode, churches can be damaged or destroyed, and believers in Jesus Christ can be injured or killed…
“My mission has been to strengthen the Church where it struggles for its survival. I’m not interested in simply physical survival—that is a defeatist attitude. Instead, I want to help Christians escape their victim mentality. I want to see them trained, ready to advance and get on with the job of winning people to Jesus.”
An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ. Today, Open Doors International is working in more than 60 countries to strengthen the Persecuted Church, sustaining indigenous Christians in hostile lands so they can continue to spread the Gospel to the majority around them. In addition to delivering Bibles and other study materials, Open Doors provides literacy, pastoral and vocational training and advocates on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. For more information on Open Doors, visit www.opendoorsusa.org or call 1-888-5-BIBLE-5.
