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Meet Christians sharing the gospel in the world’s most dangerous places for Christians
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus … When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles (Luke 24: 1-3; 9-11).
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary (mother of James and Joses) and Salome. You may know some of these names from the New Testament. Often referred to as “the women from Galilee” who followed Jesus, these women became devoted disciples of Jesus who supported Him and were present during His last days. Each met her Savior in her own way.
Mary Magdalene encountered Jesus in Galilee; she was among several demon-possessed individuals whom He healed. Joanna, wife of Herod’s steward, also felt Jesus’ healing hand as He delivered her from evil spirits and infirmities. Salome was the mother of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, and another Mary was the mother of James the Younger and Joses.
But when these women discovered Jesus’ empty tomb and heard the angels’ resurrection message, their response was the same: they rushed to tell others, spreading the Good News to His disciples and apostles.
The women and the people they told were integral in Jesus’ life and sharing His resurrection power with the early church. In a culture hostile to Jesus and His followers, these eyewitness testimonies surely empowered the early Christians to hold fast to their faith.
Today, 2,000 years later, Jesus’ disciples continue to declare the Good News. Just as these Galilean women followed Jesus and declared His gospel, we find inspiring Christian women throughout the world who are following the saints’ example. Despite the risk, they’re telling others about Jesus’ resurrection power and declaring His name in some of the most difficult places for believers to follow Christ.
Meet Beatriz* in Central Mexico’s “Circle of Silence,” a region where less than two percent of the population is Christian. In this region, believers must live their faith in secret. Despite violent persecution that almost killed her daughter, Beatriz continues to share the gospel in this dangerous place. In her rural community, she leads a group of women, walking with them through the daily challenges of persecution and womanhood.
Behind closed doors, they study the Bible, pray and encourage each other. Together, they’re learning to restore their dignity, reaffirm their identity in Christ and find the strength to raise their children amid fear—trusting that God is transforming their pain into hope.
“Every meeting is a victory—not because we are strong, but because God sustains us,” Beatriz says.
Slowly but surely, Beatriz is leading women to rewrite the story of what it means to be a woman of faith in this land. One of them—the first in her group to receive Jesus—now helps lead part of the meeting, a small but powerful sign of the faith spreading across the region.
Beatriz’s dream for this region is also a prayer: “In 10 years, I hope there will be more followers of Christ here—that God’s Kingdom will expand, that believers will live without fear and that faith can be practiced openly.”
In Central Asia, Ariana* is making disciples for Christ—a far cry from her Muslim upbringing in Afghanistan [link to WWL profile]. Through her husband, Ariana met Jesus, but not before leaving her homeland with her husband and his family. Unbeknownst to her, they were secret believers who left Afghanistan to escape persecution for their faith.
In her new country, Ariana learned their secret and the reason they had fled. Eventually, she trusted Christ. Now, Ariana cannot keep the hope of Jesus to herself. She boldly shares the love of an unfailing God with other refugees lost in fear. “I share the Word of God with many Afghan families,” she says.
As she shows others that the peace of Jesus is what they’ve been searching for, she is reaching people who were once completely closed to the gospel.
This young mother and Afghan refugee has learned to take Jesus’ Great Commission seriously. Reciting Matthew 28:19, she shares, “Jesus says, ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. This motivates me because I consider it a duty that I must do.”
In southeast Asia where Vannida* lives, she has faced the unthinkable—the death of her husband. Phansak*, a devoted church leader and known follower of Jesus, was killed for his faith. Vannida has been blacklisted by her community and lives under constant surveillance by authorities.
Still, she continues to trust God and share the gospel with others, including five Christian families in her village. Pressing into her faith, Vannida says, “Whatever happens, we will never stop following the Lord. I want to serve the Lord more and more, even though I know trouble is waiting. I won’t abandon Jesus Christ.”
Now in her 40s, Lu Mei* is a church leader in northwest China. And like some house church leaders in this region, she has been arrested, interrogated and detained. After her release, she was periodically interrogated to intimidate and discourage her and others from practicing their faith.
Even with the spotlight off her now, Lu Mei doesn’t think of using the slight new freedoms she has to flee to somewhere safer. Determined to tell others about Jesus, she continues the ministry she believes God has called her to. Although the soil of the gospel is not fertile, the seeds are still growing and bearing fruit.
“I have never thought of giving up since the day I believed in Jesus as a young girl,” Lu Mei says, sharing a prayer request. “I hope the Lord’s power will work on this land, and I pray more people will come to the Northwest and offer their support. I know who holds tomorrow and whose hand is holding mine.”
Zaira met Jesus as a young girl in a Muslim family. She has endured so much persecution for her faith that she has lost count of the incidents. She does remember being beaten by her brother, while she was pregnant, and then beaten by elders as they took turns hitting her—violent attempts to force her to renounce her faith. Bolstered by the Holy Spirit, Zaira stood firm.
The light Zaira refused to abandon still shines as she ministers to women in desperate need of community and hope. Where Zaira lives in Central Asia, many of the women who come to faith are extremely vulnerable and have very little support.
“I usually invite those who are being persecuted to our home,” she explains.
Zaira dreams of starting a sewing business to work with unbelievers. “By hiring them, I can help them and work with them honestly, with a sincere heart, and show them the light of God,” she says passionately. “God truly has started it, and I want to continue.”
As these women share the Good News where they live, they’re not doing it alone. Because of your prayers and support, Beatriz, Ariana, Vannida, Lu Mei, Zaira and many others like them are leading others to meet and follow Jesus.
Through them and their ministries, Open Doors local partners bring practical aid, discipleship materials and spiritual training—building up a new generation of believers who risk everything to follow Jesus.
Lu Mei shared that she recently left her province in northwest China to attend persecution preparedness training offered by Open Doors partners elsewhere in the country. For this church leader, persecution is not just in her past. It is her present reality, and she knows it will likely continue.
Yet, by attending this seminar—made possible by your gifts and prayers!—she was reminded that she is accepted, understood, healed, renewed and inspired. She left the training with joy and a quiet hope.
By standing with Lu Mei and all of our persecuted sisters and brothers today, we join them in this Kingdom story—this Good News that was first shared 2,000 years ago … this worldwide movement that has changed lives and eternities ever since.
And like the witnesses of the empty tomb who rushed out to bring the Easter message, we can also carry forward the resurrection power and living hope of our Savior. We can walk with believers like Ariana as they risk everything to proclaim the empty tomb and tell others that Jesus has risen just as He said He would and that He is alive.
“This thing that I have tasted from God—knowing the way, the truth and the life—I want [other Afghans] to also taste this salt of life,” Ariana says, “and to drink this living water.”
*representative names used for security
