We serve Christians around the world whose brave faith in Jesus means they are, beaten, threatened, imprisoned, tortured, falsely accused, disowned and hated.

Afghanistan: ‘Should we flee for our lives, or stay?’

pattern

Christians in Afghanistan have been at extreme risk for years – and it’s got even worse. The Taliban are going door-to-door, hunting for believers to kill. Gulshan* is a courageous secret believer still living in Afghanistan – here’s her story.

As secret Christians in Afghanistan, Gulshan knows how much danger they’re in. Before the Taliban took over in 2021, Christians faced extreme persecution in Afghanistan – but afterwards, this intensified terribly. That’s why Afghanistan is number one on the Open Doors World Watch List for the first time in its history.

“The Taliban are conducting a door-to-door search to find us,” says Gulshan – ‘us’ being any of the country’s small number of Christians. “God alone knows who has informed them about the whereabouts and identities of the believers. If they find us, they kill believers on the spot.” Gulshan has relatives who were killed in this way, and her Christian neighbours have disappeared. She hopes and prays that they are safe somewhere.

Courageously choosing to stay

Many Christians were among Afghans who fled the country last year, and a significant number of these brave brothers and sisters are finding support from Open Doors partners in neighbouring countries. Others, like Gulshan, have stayed – either by choice, or because they aren’t able to leave. She misses what little Christian community she had previously been able to experience.

“It is our great desire to join with our brothers and sisters and worship God together, but now this is not possible,” says Gulshan. “We can only meet our pastor in the dead of night, so no one can identify him or us.”

There is also a humanitarian crisis in the country, with desperate food shortages. “We live in fear that either the Taliban will come for us or we will die of hunger. For the last three days, my entire family has been surviving on one bowl of lentil soup. I don’t know how to continue to take care of my family as the lentils are about to finish.”

“Our faith is in Christ”

Despite everything she is risking, Gulshan knows that she is following a faithful God. “Our faith is in Christ, and will remain so until our last breath. Dear God, help us to find a straight and smooth path in our lives.”

Knowing that you are praying for Afghan Christians like her makes an enormous difference for Gulshan. “I know that my Jesus and yours is one,” she says. “Through prayer, we are united as we are the Body of Christ. May the Lord make you aware of our pain.

“We are assured that our united prayers in Christ are the solution.”

*Name changed for security reasons

PRAY NOW...
1

For Gulshan’s family to be protected from the Taliban, and be provided with food

3

For Gulshan to know God’s love and tenderness more closely than ever.

2

That Christians would find ways to meet and worship together, despite the danger

Three ways you can respond:
  • 1
    Learn more and pray:

    Get our free glow-in-the-dark World Watch List Map and find out more about the places where faith costs the most.

    Get your map…
  • 2
    Pray regularly:

    Every Monday night at 7pm we'll be praying one prayer for one minute for the one in seven Christians around the world who face persecution. Set an alarm and tune in…

    Join us…
  • 3
    Choose to Lose:

    Raise money by getting sponsored to lose something you love for a short time. Sign up and we'll send you a fundraising pack…

    Sign up…
NEWS
                                    
September 25, 2023

See how your support is helping children in Iraq and Syria get back to school and find healing from the trauma’s of war…

Find out more
                                    
September 25, 2023

Alima has known rejection for most her life, but in Jesus she found hope and protection…

Find out more
                                    
September 18, 2023

Your prayers are needed following yet another awful attack on Christians in Nigeria, in which a student was killed.

Find out more
                                    
September 18, 2023

A summer camp for children and teenagers run by christians in Central Asia was raided by police and the camp leader was arrested and fined…

Find out more
                                    
September 12, 2023

Pray now as almost 3,000 people have died and hundreds more have been injured in the disaster…

Find out more
                                    
September 4, 2023

“We will not give up our faith; we believe that God will continue to reveal Himself to us and to these people…”

Find out more
                                    
September 4, 2023

Aasif bravely led more than 30 people to believe in Jesus, but in the end he paid the ultimate price for his faith…

Find out more
                                    
August 29, 2023

“Looking back, to be honest, we’re feeling nervous, fearful and worried, as it’s our first time to encounter this…“

Find out more
                                    
August 29, 2023

“The frequency and scale of such attacks – which are systematic, violent – appear to have increased in the last several years…”

Find out more
                                    
August 14, 2023

Been to a summer camp or festival? Did you know in some places it’s dangerous to host these kind of events, but, they are still happening…

Find out more
btn-scroll