News / Thoughts

What persecution looks like in Central Asia

Persecution comes in many forms. The most extreme is out-right violence or the criminalising of Christianity. But more often than not, Christians in many countries around the world face a creeping form of persecution. States can exert increasing pressure on churches and believers, whilst communities can exclude and discriminate Christians because of their choice to follow Jesus.

Across Central Asia increasingly harsh laws and punishments are being imposed against Christians. Bibles and Christian materials can be hard to access, whilst churches often need to be registered – a process that means all members can be identified easily by the authorities.

But it’s not just the laws and the government. Other groups oppose Christianity too. Below you’ll see images taken recently from the inside of a small church in a country in Kyrgyzstan. Local Muslim extremists broke into the church, stole things of value and damaged the furniture. They then sprayed warnings on the walls to scare and intimidate the church members.

The graffiti here says ‘We will kill you’.

This says ‘Don’t teach our children’.

This last piece writing simply says ‘Allah’ sprayed across the window.

Pray now

• Pray for the congregation of this church. Ask God to give them strength, boldness and courage. Pray for their safety and security.
• Pray for the leaders of the church as they face threats and intimidation. Ask they would have wisdom in knowing how to keep meeting and worshipping together.
• Pray that those who robbed the church would be caught and that they would come to know the true God.
• Pray the authorities would protect the rights of Christians in the region, rather than criminalise them.