The pandemic goes on and so does the devastating impact on livelihoods and income. In Nepal – where Christians are often deliberately overlooked in the distribution of aid – lockdown has gravely affected jobs and income. It’s a daily struggle for survival, leading to desperate prayers that God is using you to answer.

They were on their way from Jos to participate in a church conference in northern Nigeria’s Gombe state.

That’s when terrorists from the jihadist group Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) captured Pastor Zongo and two Christian women. For the last four weeks, the three believers have been held captive by the Islamic group Kalifah Army.

New reports have uncovered that kidnapped Swiss missionary, Beatrice Stockli, has been killed by Islamic extremists.

Beatrice was kidnapped in 2016 from her home in Timbuktu by armed men, along with several other Christian workers, allegedly by the newly formed extremist group, Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslim.

Mi-Ok (not her real name) is over 70 years of age. Her parents served in the underground church in North Korea for decades. She managed to get to China earlier this year where she visited an Open Doors safe house and received food, fellowship and pastoral care. After she was strengthened physically and spiritually, she was able to return to North Korea.

A former Muslim from Yemen—now a believer  living under quarantine outside his native land—shared this rare glimpse inside the troubled country and how Christians are responding in the growing COVID-19 crisis.

The violence that erupted in late September has continued and intensified between the two countries with multiple failed ceasefires. “A full-scale war has begun in the region,” reports an Open Doors representative for Central Asia. Ethnically, Armenians are Christians and Azerbaijani are Muslims. However, Azerbaijan also has a small Christian population, most of whom have converted from Islam. The religious background and dynamics are complex with underpinnings in the early 1990s.

Maria comes from a Christian family, and there was nothing her parents could do. These Muslim men abducted their daughter and forced her to convert to Islam—and into marriage.

“They started shooting around. All my friends, we were a group of ten, got injured. I wasn’t, as I had thrown myself flat on the street. I was laying on the street for maybe up to 20 minutes. Nine of my close friends got injured, three other friends died.”

When Poh* shared with his parents that he had become a ’believer of God’, his father threatened to kill him. His confession set in motion a series of persecution incidents that Poh says he’ll never forget. Like thousands of secret believers in Vietnam, he and his family have risked their lives to walk with Jesus.

Our local partners in Bangladesh recently captured raw footage of beautiful worship: men and women declaring their commitment to follow Jesus and celebrating their freedom in Christ during a secluded baptism. Every person in the video below was converting from other religions.

After being alerted of “suspicious activities,” police came to the house of the couple where they found Christian materials and made arrests.

According to Middle East Concern, during a press conference on October 5, a Somaliland police colonel stated that two individuals had been arrested for apostasy (leaving a religion) and for being “evangelists spreading Christianity.” The couple has three children. The case is scheduled to be forwarded to the relevant court.