The World Watch List has recorded the highest level of persecution ever since its release!
The level of persecution faced by churches worldwide has been steadily increasing each year. The 2022 World Watch List, published by Open Doors, recorded the highest levels of persecution since the list’s inception. According to the report, around 360 million Christians across the globe are experiencing suffering due to their faith, marking an alarming increase of 20 million from the previous year. This data highlights that 1 in 7 Christians globally are being persecuted, underlining the growing severity and acceleration of these challenges for believers worldwide.
Open Doors categorized the 2022 Christian persecution trends into four main areas.
1. Taliban’s Takeover of Afghanistan Boosts Global Jihadist Morale
The Taliban’s capture of the Afghan government in August 2021 gave significant moral support to jihadist groups worldwide. In neighboring Pakistan, Islamist extremists celebrated, strengthening the Taliban’s influence. This reignited the stagnant jihadist forces, fueling their morale and posing a significant challenge to global jihadist organizations beyond Asia and Africa. Open Doors explained that while North Korea’s position dropped from first to second on the World Watch List, it didn’t indicate an improvement in the persecution situation in the regime but rather reflected the severe rise in violence in Afghanistan last year.
2. Increasing Number of Christian Refugees and Displaced People Worldwide
According to the UN Refugee Agency, around 84 million displaced people and 26 million refugees were recorded in 2021. Among them, hundreds of thousands of Christians became refugees or displaced persons due to violence from Islamic extremists, conscription, civil wars, government oppression, and family persecution. As a result, refugee churches are expanding, especially in Lebanon, Syria, and other countries, though Christians often face exclusion from support due to their faith.
3. China’s Centralized Religious Control Model Spreads, Diminishing Religious Diversity
China’s emphasis on “one country, one nation, one belief” is spreading its centralized religious control model globally. As China’s economic influence grows, its authoritarian government’s coercive power over citizens is increasing. This extends across all aspects of life, including speech, actions, and beliefs. In Latin America, under communist ideology, countries like Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have imprisoned church leaders or closed churches. This model is also appearing in countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, and several Central Asian nations.
4. Governments and Criminal Organizations Use COVID-19 Restrictions to Weaken the Church
The COVID-19 pandemic provided a “proof of concept” for surveillance systems enabled by digital technology, particularly in authoritarian regimes. In countries like Vietnam, governments utilized the pandemic as a pretext to attack churches and incite criminal investigations against them.
》Prayer Points
1. On the rise worldwide every year, the number of Christians suffering persecution in 2022 increased by approximately 1.4 times compared to 2018. This means that one out of every seven Christians today is facing persecution, with nearly 5,900 martyrs—24% more than in 2021. Churches and homes are being attacked, and Christians are being arrested and detained without trial, experiencing kidnapping, assault, threats, and forced expulsion. Despite the decreasing number of visible churches under persecution, reports from several countries show that the number of believers is growing. Praise God for these reports of increasing numbers of Christians despite persecution. A female convert in Iran noted, “While persecution may seem like an undesirable experience for Western Christians, for many converts in the Middle East, persecution is an essential requirement for churches in extreme Christian persecution countries to continue growing.” Let us acknowledge and give thanks for God’s method of allowing persecution to help grow churches in those nations.
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.(Acts 20:24,NIV)
2. The Kingdom of God is at War The kingdom of God is in the midst of spiritual warfare. Let us pray together, both for the persecuted churches and those not currently facing persecution, to remain alert and fight this spiritual battle. Beyond the visible physical battle, we must pray against the schemes of Satan, who is opposing God. Let the church, armed with the power of prayer, defeat Satan. Let us repent for the sins of complacency in our own lives and churches, for not engaging in spiritual warfare but instead seeking comfort and pleasure in this world. As we remember the persecuted churches around the world, we ask for strength to continue preaching the gospel and pray for the fulfillment of the Great Commission, never ceasing in our prayers.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(Ephesians 6:11-12,NIV)
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