For Christians in Buddhist-dominated Bhutan, fear of the government and the reaction of neighbors to Christian witness runs deep. Anti-conversion laws can bring punishments up to life imprisonment for carrying out the activities of the Christian faith. However, many faithful brothers and sisters in Christ remain committed to him despite the risk. A front-line worker shared the example of one Christian woman dedicated to praying continuously.
Read MoreEleven Christians in Libya have been sentenced to 3 to 15 years in prison for practicing their faith. The 11 were arrested in March 2023 and sentenced in April 2025. Members of the group, which includes 9 Libyan men, one woman and one Pakistani national, were sentenced on several charges including “insulting Islam” and “calling for the establishment of a banned group,” according to various reports. They also faced charges of apostasy for converting from Islam and could have been sentenced to death, but the court did not pursue that penalty.
Read MoreFront-line workers in Nepal report that three language groups will soon have Bibles available in print for the first time. Praise the Lord for the years of faithful translation work that have been completed and for the culmination of this work. Pray for the next steps of the printing and distribution of God’s Word to people who have long waited to have it in their own languages.
Read MoreKemi, her husband and several others were abducted in 2017 by radical Islamists. The militants killed most of the Christians, including Kemi’s husband, but spared Kemi. Instead, they marched her into the forest and abused her. For nine months she prayed that God would rescue her. One day, while fetching water, she was able to escape her captors. After living on wild fruit for three weeks, she finally stumbled onto a road, describing it as a miracle.
Read MoreFront-line workers request prayer for unity among Kyrgyz Christian communities, especially those including Muslim-background believers. Converts from Islam are often beaten, and the small Christian minority is generally oppressed by society. Due to this constant pressure, church groups often have trouble trusting each other and working together.
Read MoreOn Aug. 27, 2025, at 1:30 a.m., a group of armed men took a Christian family captive, threatened to bring blasphemy charges against the family and demanded the family pay more than $150,000 to prevent the accusations. They also threatened to destroy everything the Christians owned. “You will be the next Jaranwala,” the abductors said, referencing a riot in August 2023 when Islamic extremists destroyed 26 churches and more than 80 homes in a Christian area after Pakistani Christians were falsely accused of destroying a copy of the Quran.
Read MoreAs Christian students are forced to participate in Buddhist practices in school, an upcoming retreat will encourage and strengthen their faith. In Bhutan, the king regards himself as a divinely appointed defender of Buddhism, and stringent laws are in place to restrict Christianity, forcing students to join Buddhist practices at school even when doing so is contrary to their faith in Christ.
Read MoreDespite repeated and ongoing attacks on churches from radical Islamist groups, evangelists continue spreading the gospel throughout the country, most recently through solar-powered projectors. VOM front-line workers delivered the projectors to show the JESUS film and other Christian resources and provided training for 16 outreach workers to operate the projectors. “All were very happy to receive these projectors,” said a front-line worker.
Read MoreOn Sunday, July 27, 2025, Islamists entered a church building in northeastern Benin near the end of the service and abducted its pastor and three elders. Persecution is prevalent in the northern part of Benin, where Christians are beaten and sometimes killed and church buildings are routinely destroyed.
Read MoreOn Aug. 7, 2021, Pastor Wang Xiaoguang; his wife, Yang Rongli; and other leaders of the Linfen church in Shanxi Province were arrested. They were accused of fraud, which is how the Chinese Communist Party characterizes the collection of tithes in the church. After almost four years of detention, Pastor Wang Xiaoguang was sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison. In a separate trial, Yang Rongli was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Together, they also face fines of 2.3 million yuan, or more than $320,000.
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