Anti-Christian Persecution—Yet God’s Word Goes Forth!

In countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, Christians are experiencing overwhelming and intense persecution for their faith.

They are being attacked, exposed by their communities to hostile authorities, even betrayed by family members.

We heard what happened to a man we’ll call Jamal, a former Muslim, who began to search for Jesus after learning about him in the Quran. We can’t use his real name because his life is still at risk.

Jamal was deeply moved as he learned about Jesus and the love He has for us. He became a believer, a Christian in a region where Islam reigns . . .

But in an unbelievable twist of betrayal, Jamal’s wife reported him for being a Christian, knowing that it could mean a death sentence.

Jamal left everything behind and ran for his life on foot. For weeks, he wandered, trying to cross the border into a new country. But just as he thought he might be safe to slip away from his homeland, he was discovered and severely beaten for being a Christian.

He escaped again, wandering rough terrain, through rain, with no coat. Finally, he crossed into safe territory in Eurasia. Although he lost everything—his wife, children, entire family, and community disowned him—he continued to pursue the Lord.

Now, he is working with a group of national Bible translators who are translating God’s Word into a Middle Eastern language.

This team of Bible translators are so committed that they are daring to take Scripture back over the border where the language originated to people they can trust to verify the translation—the first step to getting God’s Word to a language group that has never seen or read these life-transforming words—

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).

This is the kind of passion and commitment we are seeing from other Christians and national Bible translators who urgently want to have God’s Word for themselves and members of their communities.

Right now, there are two language groups with believers as committed as Jamal to pursuing God’s Word. All they ask is for other believers, like us, to give them the training, tools, and technology they need to translate God’s Word so they can share it with their people!

It costs just $19,500 to launch a Bible translation. So our goal is to raise $39,000 to help these two language groups in persecuted regions begin their translations.

Christians all over the world are facing darkness, but their zeal for the Lord and His Word cannot be contained. Please pray and give as you can to bring God’s Word to people in places of extreme persecution, like Africa, and to groups in Eurasia and the Middle East, in the language of their hearts.