Around the world Christians are living out an impossible faith, trying to follow Jesus when governments, laws, communities and even family are against Christianity. Here’s some key points from the last year, highlighting some of the places where your prayers are needed.

Impossible faith in North Korea

The dangers facing Christians in North Korea have not abated – and that’s why it’s still number one on the World Watch List. Amidst an ongoing humanitarian crisis, the Kim regime continues to strengthen the country’s self-reliance and its strategic positioning on the world stage. For North Korea’s secret believers, following Jesus openly remains impossible.

4,849 pay ultimate cost for their faith

Open Doors research shows that the number of Christians worldwide killed for their faith increased by eight per cent to 4,849. Of these, 72% were from Nigeria – that’s more than the rest of the world combined. Other countries in sub-Saharan Africa that recorded at least 100 faith-related killings include Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burkina Faso and Cameroon.

Syria jumps 12 places, making it the biggest riser

Syria has jumped to sixth. It’s the biggest riser in this year’s list and now a place of extreme persecution for many of the country’s tiny minority of believers. This is largely down to a sharp rise in the number of Christians killed and churches attacked since the fall of the Assad regime, notably the suicide bomb at Saint Elias Church, Damascus, in June that killed 22 people.

Christians in Africa exposed by instability

Fourteen countries in the top 50 of the World Watch List are in sub-Saharan Africa, and four of these are in the top 10 (Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Nigeria). A key driver is weak governance – for example, five of the 14 countries have experienced government overthrows in the past five years. This enables militancy and corruption to flourish, with believers often disproportionately targeted. One in eight Christians globally live in these 14 countries.

Crackdown on online church activities in China

China reached its highest ever score on the World Watch List, largely due to the implementation in September 2025 of ‘Regulations on the Online Behaviour of Religious Clergy’. It comprises of 18 rules to ‘actively guide the religion’s alignment with society’. There is a ban on youth outreach, fundraising and ‘healing’ activities. Livestreams of sermons are only permitted if the church has been state-approved, which means preaching is heavily censored.

Drop in violence in Bangladesh

Among the good news from the latest list is a 20% drop in reported incidents of violence in Bangladesh. Since the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasana in August 2024, a period of relative calm has emerged under the interim leadership of Muhammad Yunus, an advocate of religious freedom. However, with elections scheduled for early this year, this will be tested, with concerns that it could lead to greater persecution of religious minorities.

What’s the good news?

In Mexico (#30) and Colombia (#47), there is growing recognition – from media, civil society and some state actors – of the specific risks faced by religious leaders in areas affected by organised crime and armed groups. A spotlight is also being shone on the authorities’ approach to religious freedom in Cuba (#24) and Nicaragua (#32), through the work of international monitoring groups and advocates speaking up on behalf of affected churches and leaders.

And in a wonderful answer to prayer from Malaysia (#51), truth and justice prevailed with Susanna Koh winning her court case against the state over the disappearance of her husband, Pastor Raymond Koh, in February 2017.

God of the impossible

These trends are a reminder that the drivers behind the persecution of brothers and sisters are complex and multifaceted. But perhaps the most potent and powerful reason for persecution is that, in all these countries, the church is still present and alive. In many places, it’s even growing!

Despite the best efforts of dictators, extremists, secret policemen and party officials, Christians continue to show remarkable resilience and creativity in how they witness to Jesus. Churches still meet, prayers are prayed, Scripture is shared and the gospel is still proclaimed. The enemies of Christianity will always try to make life impossible for Christians. But it won’t work. Because ours is an impossible faith. And nothing is impossible with God.

“If you could see what God is doing in my country, you would never have any doubts again. The Holy Spirit is at work, thanks to your prayers.” – a North Korean escapee

Simply existing as a Christian in North Korea is effectively impossible, let alone sharing the gospel in a place where one’s every move is watched. But, as Cho’s story demonstrates, nothing is impossible with God.

When Cho first met Eun-Yeong, she was terrified. She had just escaped North Korea—a place where even owning a Bible can get you and your family thrown in prison for life. If she was caught, she could be sent back, interrogated, or even killed.

Cho was looking for people like her—but not to harm them. He wanted to help.

“Please don’t shout,” Cho whispered. “I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help.”

Cho had a dangerous mission: to share the hope of Jesus with North Koreans who had risked everything to flee their country. Every week, he hiked through forests carrying food, blankets, and something even more precious—a Bible.

Why Cho RISKED IT ALL

We’re able to share Cho’s story because his ministry is over. A few months ago, he sadly died from a long-term illness and he is now in heaven with Jesus. That’s why it’s safe to tell you about his extraordinary calling and his work as a secret Open Doors fieldworker.

“My purpose in life is to save souls,” he said simply. Cho believed that with God, anything is possible. He knew North Koreans had been taught to fear Christians, but he wanted them to know the truth: Jesus loves them.

When North Koreans cross the border, they are usually desperate for food – so that’s what Cho would bring, to show he was a friend.

“Look here,” he said to Eun-Yeong and the man with her, Cheol-Ho*, putting down his bag and backing away a few paces. “I have some food and water. It’s yours.” The desperate couple ate and drank, and began to trust Cho.

“There’s also a tarp and some blankets in the bag,” he added. “I’ll come back again to bring you more food. It will be much safer for all of us if I come after dark, so no one is watching. Stay in the shelter until then and make sure you are not found.”

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD

The next day, Cho returned. When Eun-Yeong asked why he kept coming back, Cho told her about Jesus and gave her a Bible. At first, she refused to listen.

He was used to this response. North Koreans often haven’t heard of Jesus, but have been warned against Christians. The authorities say that Christians are spies who want to kidnap and abuse them. It can take time to break down this mistrust.

“I give a Bible to every North Korean I meet,” Cho would say. “Sometimes they read it. Sometimes they refuse. My job is to tell people about Jesus. It’s up to God to touch their hearts. And anything is possible with God.” 

A Life-Changing Decision

As often as he could, Cho returned to see Cheol-Ho and Eun-Yeong. One night, Eun-Yeong rushed towards him as he approached. “I have something I need to tell you,” she said. “I’ve been reading the book you gave us. Then yesterday, I had a dream. There was a person in my dream. He called me by my name. I think it was this ‘Jesus’ this book talks about, and I want to find out more about Him.”

Cho introduced Eun-Yeong and Cheol-Ho to a safe house where they could learn about Jesus and it was at the safe house that Eun-Yeong and Cheol-Ho dedicated their lives to Jesus! In human terms, it seems impossible that North Koreans would ever make this decision – but God used Open Doors fieldworkers to ensure it could happen.

But now that they were Christians, being caught and sent back to North Korea was even more dangerous. They might be executed. Even having met a Christian would mean their punishment would be more severe, let alone having chosen to defy the North Korean authorities and decide to follow Jesus themselves.

But Eun-Yeong and Cheol-Ho didn’t have to be caught by spies. They chose to go back themselves.

The Bigger Picture

What greater example of God’s impossible plan could there be? Despite the dangers, the courageous couple were determined to share their newfound faith with North Koreans desperately in need of the gospel.

A few months later, Cho received a coded message sent from North Korea. It simply said: “Our family has grown to five.” Three more North Koreans had heard the gospel and chosen to follow Jesus!

Today, there are around 400,000 secret Christians in North Korea, risking everything to follow Jesus. Cho’s story shows that even when something seems impossible, God can make a way.

Aweis’s story is not one we should know about. In Somalia, the church is invisible – hounded by violence, extremism and the fear of discovery. But Aweis’s defiant ministry testifies to God’s ability to do the impossible in one of the most dangerous places to be a Christian.

Aweis grew up on the outskirts of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. He comes from an Islamic background and his father, a Muslim cleric, sought to make him his successor. But when Aweis inadvertently came across a Christian radio station one evening, all that he had known was turned upside-down. 

He would use the radio to learn English, listening to the BBC World Service for hours every day. Suddenly, through the white noise of the radio trying to find a foothold in the different stations, there came the sound of Somali worship. 

For Somali people, being Somali is synonymous with being Muslim. When Aweis heard a Somali proclaim Jesus Christ, it was both strange and wonderful.  He remembers: “I said to myself, ‘Whoa, these are Somali people who are preaching Christ!’”  

As he listened, his life began to change. 

The first threat 

In the following days, he kept tuning in to find out more about Jesus and asked the station for a New Testament. This was while the postal system was still working in Somalia, and he received it by post, not even considering what his family might think or the danger it could cause.  

“It was just a matter of intellect, spiritual curiosity,” he recalls. “I had no plan to convert and follow Jesus.” 

However, when Aweis shared his findings with his father, that was when he received his first threat. 

“My father said, ‘I cannot stop you from reading your Bible, but if you become a Christian, I will be the one to kill you.’”  

From that time on, Aweis explored the Christian faith in secret. 

Rejected by family 

To become a Christian in Somalia is turn one’s back on one’s entire clan.  

“In Somali culture, you are nothing if you are on your own. If you are not connected to your clan, you are weak,” explains Aweis. “If your clan is removed from the equation, you have no value, you have no importance, you cannot make it in life. You don’t stand a chance to survive, let alone thrive.”  

So, when Aweis became a Christian three years later, he was ejected from his tightly knit community. His life was transformed. 

“My family refused to communicate with me, eat with me, spend time with me or include me in family dynamics and discussions. I was an outcast, someone who had defiled the family name,” he says. 

But Aweis never regretted his choice, finding deeper communion with Jesus in his suffering: “Every time I faced intensive persecution, I identified with Christ, and I felt closer to him.” 

Finding COMMUNITY

For seven years, Aweis walked alone, clinging to Christ but increasingly overwhelmed by loneliness. His desperation drove him to talk to someone who he thought must be a Christian. The risks were immense. 

“I said, ‘I need fellowship, do you happen to know any Somali Christians?’ She told me, “Wait here,” and left, for much longer than I expected,” Aweis recalls. “She came back with a young man, whom she introduced as Liban*.  

I later learned from Liban that she’d gone back to her office and prayed to Jesus to reveal if I was a genuine Christian looking for fellowship, or a mole trying to collect names and information to persecute the church. She prayed for about 20 minutes until God confirmed that I was safe.” 

Through this step of faith, he found a fellow believer – an entirely unthinkable discovery in Somalia. 

“It was like the whole world was open to me,” he says. “What was once seen as impossible became possible, because God was in it.” 

Together, they started looking for more believers. Little by little their community grew, and they reached 14.  

“It was the happiest time I’d had, since I’d come to the Lord,” Aweis explains. 

God had made the impossible possible. 

Remnant believers 

However, it wasn’t long before persecution began to catch up with them.  

Members of the church began to receive visions of persecution. Yet, in one of these visions, a believer said that he heard a voice from a bright light say to him, “Do not be afraid. You will not be eliminated; you will not be wiped out. Some of you will remain. You will become stronger.” 

One by one, the Christians were hunted down and killed. Liban, the first whom Aweis made contact with, was the also the first to be killed. 

“We were receiving these regular affirmations that the persecution would continue, and it would get bad, but at the end of the day we would emerge stronger,” Awe is explains. “God was guiding us throughout. It made us bolder. We prayed longer and we prayed better.” 

In the end, only two were left: Aweis and another believer. The rest were martyred for their faith in Jesus. 

Glory in sufferings 

What he had experienced was so painful that Aweis decided to leave the country to recover. In the Lord’s kindness, he received theological training to continue the work God had begun through him in Somalia.  

Today, Aweis diligently pursues his work in biblical translation and pastoral care for Somali believers in the Horn of Africa. He believes in the importance of discipleship and trauma care for his brothers and sisters, working for the day when the church in Somalia will be a bright presence amongst its communities.  

The threats against Aweis’ life continue, but so does God’s work through his ministry. 

“We know the risk, but if you have a calling, you count the cost and you proceed,” he says. “You do not stop, no matter what. Jesus means everything to me, so much so that my life will be worthless, not worth living if I did not have Him.” 

His prayers are for his brothers and sisters in Somalia, and also for those who persecute them. He says, “We have no anger against them. Our prayer is that they see the light and become disciples of Christ.” 

“There is no place where Christ cannot be followed. It’s impossible. The Holy Spirit can penetrate every wall.”AWEIS

Ultimately, the true impossibility for Aweis is stopping the work of the gospel. He testifies with boldness, “There is no place where Christ cannot be followed. It’s impossible. The Holy Spirit can penetrate every wall.” 

*Name changed for security reasons

Somayeh*, a MUSLIM woman from Iran, didn’t believe in Christianity. In fact, she went to church just to prove it wrong. But something unexpected happened—she felt a deep peace and connection she had never experienced before. That day, she decided to follow Jesus.

“The presence of God was overwhelming,” she says. “It was everything I had longed to feel in my prayers but never did.. When I walked out of the church, I felt like a bird released from a cage. As I prayed and learned, I grew in my faith and got to know Him. Through prayer, discipleship and the Holy Spirit, my new life truly began.”

NEW FAITH, NEW RISKS

Her new faith came with serious risks. In Iran, converting from Islam to Christianity is dangerous. When her husband found out, he became violent. He destroyed her Bible and even tore up her birth certificate. He threatened her life if she kept talking about Jesus.

But despite the pressure, God brought comfort: “In the midst of those tears, I heard a voice say, ‘Your name is written in the Book of Life,’ and those words gave me strength to carry on,” she says.

Despite the danger, Somayeh didn’t give up. She could only go to church once a month and had to listen to sermons in secret. But the pressure from her husband got worse. She says: “My husband had threatened to kill me if I preached the gospel. “But I couldn’t stay silent.”

Eventually, her husband moved the family to a new city to cut her off from other Christians.

AN IMPOSSIBLE CHURCH

Isolated and displaced, Somayeh cried out to God: “Why had this happened?” Suddenly, to her surprise, she felt God tell her: “I want to build a church here in this town.”

It was an impossible idea. But she set out. And, starting with a handful of Christians meeting in secret, it soon grew to an underground house church with more than 30 members.

“When we gathered, we never mentioned our meeting places over the phone – we used code words and were extremely careful,” Somayeh says. “All phones had to be turned off, and we even removed the batteries to avoid tracking.

“We saw miracles happening with us, and with people around us! Seeing the church grow was one of the greatest joys of my life.”

Then, one day, the intelligence services called with a chilling message: “We will see you soon.”

FORCED THE RE-LOCATE

Because of the intense dangers she was facing, Somayeh now lives in another country, but still serves secret Christians in Iran through an online ministry. To equip her, Somayeh attends Open Doors organised leadership training sessions, which help her to share her experience and wisdom with Christians who are still having to keep secret.

“I’m blessed to pass on what I’ve received, to bless others in return.” she says. “Thank you.”

Courageous believers like Somayeh pay a high price when people learn about their faith – but knowing they are part of the global body of Christ gives them hope, encouragement and determination to keep defying persecution and revealing the gospel. Please pray for Somayeh and the secret Christians in Iran that she is still serving. Use the points below.

*Name changed for security reasons

When Yasin* from IRAQ first took a Bible home, he covered the title in tape. He had to go undercover. He knew how dangerous it was for an Iraqi Muslim to own a Bible. But he was soon to take an even riskier step: deciding to become a Christian and share the gospel.

The first time Yasin read the Bible, he cried. “The first thing I read in this Bible in my own language was Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount,” he remembers. “I cried because of the beautiful words in it. The words of Jesus gave me peace in my heart.”

Though brought up in a Muslim home, Yasin wasn’t content in his faith. “Until I became an adult, I followed Islamic law and went to the mosque, but I was not comfortable with it,” he says. “I did not have much faith in Islam. It was a habit – but not true worship.” He prayed, asking God to reveal Himself.

A Miraculous Dream

Eventually, an answer came in a dream. “I saw someone coming towards me,” Yasin says. “He was so beautiful. He put his hand on my head and said, ‘You are my beloved child; this is the way, follow me.’” A Christian friend said, “This is God showing Himself to you.”

Yasin met a local pastor, a convert from Islam, and read the Bible for the first time. After attending a conference by Open Doors partners, he decided to follow Christ.

Yasin’s Transformation

Yasin kept his faith secret, even from his wife, Nara*. When he finally told her, she was horrified. But he asked her, “What do you prefer – the violent man I was before, or the servant I’ve become because of my new faith?” His transformation was undeniable.

Violence and Death Threats

Yasin began sharing the gospel with others. His brother, informed by a local mullah, attacked him multiple times. “He tried to kill me several times,” Yasin says. “One time, he broke my nose.” Others in the community also persecuted him. Someone even threw a firebomb at his house.

Despite the threats, Yasin’s faith remained strong. “The persecution is continuous,” he says, “but there is no other way; I want to give everything to God.”

Yasin’s family find faith

Over time, Yasin’s wife and children also chose to follow Jesus. “My daughter is a master’s student and now evangelises to people and is also preaching the gospel, like me and my son,” Yasin says. But their faith has come at a cost. The children remain unmarried due to being seen as ‘infidels’. Yasin had to close his shop and now works as a shepherd.

Still, he says, “Jesus offered Himself for me. He was insulted, He died on the cross. He did this all to redeem me. I will not deny or leave Him.”

God’s Mission

Yasin tried to leave his village, but God called him to stay. “I know God wants to use me here. I know that God has a mission for me, to bring the good news to my village.” Two people who once insulted him have now become believers and attend church with him.

*Name changed for security reasons