Pray for the persecuted Christian church

Sunday November 2, 2025 marks the annual Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Global violence against Christians has doubled in the last thirty years, and one in seven believers now suffers persecution. Today, “Christians constitute by far the most widely persecuted religion,” in the world.

In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 16 million Christians have fled for their lives to escape violence or been forcibly displaced. Congressman Riley Moore has described Nigeria as “the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian.” So far this year in Nigeria at least 7,000 Christians have been put to death. More than 19,000 Christian churches have been burned to the ground or attacked in the last fifteen years. Countless Nigerian women and girls have been raped, trafficked, or forced into child marriages to Muslim men. Boko Haram and other Islamic terrorist groups roam at will with the complicity of a Muslim-dominated government.

In the Middle East, Christians essentially face genocide, according to a review authorized by the British government. In Iraq, the Islamic terrorists who comprise ISIS drove out a 2,000 year old Christian community in Nineveh, while crucifying, torturing and raping women, men and children. ISIS sold Christian toddlers at sex slave markets, burned down churches and videotaped public beheadings of the faithful. In many nations, including Saudi Arabia, public Christian worship, construction of churches and even the display of Christian imagery are all unlawful.

The Chinese Communist Party rules the world’s second most populous nation with an iron fist. Christians in China face imprisonment and hard labor, torture and the destruction of their houses of worship. The Chinese government forces all churches to “register,” regulates all such registered churches for compliance with official Communist teaching and forbids children under eighteen from attending church. Evangelism is forbidden. Church tithes may be confiscated as the proceeds of concocted “fraud,”; ordained ministers, lay leaders and members all face prosecution for “crimes” such as distributing Bibles; and evangelicals are forced underground.

Americans and our government can and should act in the face of this reprehensible repression. First, the President and Congress should defund any nations that terrorize people on the basis of faith. As Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky urged, “regime change” is needed, and “foreign aid should be contingent on behavior.” Dr. Paul has introduced legislation to block foreign aid to nations that imprison and murder people of faith based on their religion. The Senate should vote to pass S.4685, a bill “to prohibit assistance to foreign governments that violate human rights with respect to religious freedom,” posthaste. Not one penny of the earnings of the hardworking American taxpayer should be used to subsidize religious oppression abroad.

Second, Secretary of State Marco Rubio should restore the CPC (Countries of Particular Concern) designation of infringing nations, a label that summons international attention, prompts potential diplomatic consequences and imposes the possibility of economic sanctions. For example, in 2020, President Trump designated Nigeria as a CPC, only to watch President Biden inexcusably reverse that finding the very next year. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom called on Congress to convene public hearings regarding the Biden State Department’s malfeasance. The Trump administration has yet another opportunity to right the wrongs of the past by simply acting as truthtellers for silenced people of faith in many nations.

Third, as Justice Amy Coney Barrett famously reminded us during her 2020 Senate confirmation hearing, Christians “believe in the power of prayer.” Mark November 2 on your calendar. Pray that Christians in all lands may worship Jesus Christ freely, and people of any faith may practice their sincerely held beliefs without fear of reprisal. Send financial support to frontline workers, church ministries supporting overseas missions, and charitable organizations advocating for Christian freedom. Remember that elections are coming: lobby for people of faith with your elected representatives; volunteer your time for those fighting the good fight; and please, vote.

If the Christians of the West could be roused from what too often seems our slumber, we could actively aid our brothers and sisters suffering for the faith around the world.