Barnabas Aid - International Headquarters River Street, Pewsey, Wilthire. Phone: +44 1672 565030 Latitude: 51 deg 23 min 18 sec N Longitude: 1 deg 45 min 48 sec W .
Home
News
Archives
Lent Prayer - North Korea

Email:

Lent Prayer - North Korea

To

Email address:
Separate multiple addresses with a comma (,). Maximum of 10

From

Your name:
Your email address:
Security test:
Please enter the numbers that appear here in the box below.
 refresh captcha
CAPTCHA Image
Security code:

Details provided here will never be used in any other context

Published: 00:01 GMT Standard Time - Thursday 22 March 2012

Lent Prayer - North Korea

Project(s): 86-642

Country/Region: Korea, North, South and East Asia

North Korea is extremely isolated and oppressed. The strict Communist regime oversees a country that is cut off politically from the rest of the world. The population is shockingly poor, and suffering is rife. Most people do not have enough food for each day, and many die of starvation. Religious activity is tightly controlled, and everyone is expected to adhere to the official ideology of Juche (self-reliance).

north-korea-4x3.jpg
Christian bakeries in North Korea provide Christians with a job. The bread is given away free
to schools and kindergartens

Christianity is particularly feared by the authorities. It was first introduced to Korea by missionaries in the late 18th century, and Korea was once one of the most Christianised countries in Asia. However in 1945 the north of the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the then Soviet Union, and this territory soon became the new nation of North Korea, under Stalinist rule. In 1948, President Kim Il-Sung introduced the principle of Juche, and although the constitution and other laws and policies claim to protect religious freedom, in practice religious activity is severely restricted by the government. Genuine religious freedom does not exist.

Today, it is illegal to be a Christian or take part in any Christian activity in North Korea. Christians live under constant threat of imprisonment, torture or execution if the authorities discover their Christian faith. Those who are considered to have acted against the state ideology may see their whole families placed in prison labour camps, notorious for brutal treatment and torture of inmates, sometimes to death. In May 2010, three leaders of an underground church were executed. Christians also share in the poverty, malnutrition and shortages suffered by the general population.

Yet remarkably, the Church is growing, and there are thought to be at least 400,000 Christians in North Korea.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in North Korea, who suffer so much for their faith. Pray that they will remain faithful to the Lord as they endure harsh and repressive conditions. Pray that the Lord will continue to sustain the hundreds of underground fellowships that exist in the country. Pray for strength and courage for those who are in prison camps. Pray that all Christians will continue to be able to meet together and share fellowship and encouragement with each other, and that the Lord will grant them protection. Pray for Christians following the death of President Kim Jong-Il and that any resulting political change will be for their benefit.

Barnabas Aid projects include:

  • Christian bakery project (Ref. 86-642)

This article is taken from

“Praying for the Persecuted Church in Lent 2012” -  Download.

Help us: Share this article

Email:

Lent Prayer - North Korea

To

Email address:
Separate multiple addresses with a comma (,). Maximum of 10

From

Your name:
Your email address:
Security test:
Please enter the numbers that appear here in the box below.
 refresh captcha
CAPTCHA Image
Security code:

Details provided here will never be used in any other context

christian, persecution, charity, church, persecuted, sookhdeo, Islam

Other articles

Latest Emergency

/_images_files/content/article_files/Syria/201305/Medical-care-4X3.jpg

Follow Barnabas

or

receive news & appeal emails as they are published

From Twitter

From Twitter_icon

  • Pastor facing legal action after #church attack, Indonesia: "he has been criminalised b/c he was defending himself" http://t.co/lfGoAAC6ga 4 hours ago

  • Kazakh pastor detained on charges of harming health following police raid on communion service http://t.co/dIzhQHnY2s 22 hours ago

  • Control of Syria's oilfields by al-Qaeda-linked militants "a decisive moment in the conflict" http://t.co/05jcOG5XJs Mon, May 2013 14:28

  • Saudi A: 2 jailed over conversion. Iraq: #Christian affairs advisor bombed. Indonesia: protest over president's award http://t.co/ZjPhau03Ay Mon, May 2013 12:20

  • Christian teacher detained in Egypt over allegations that she insulted Islam has been released on bail http://t.co/8pcQreBswV Fri, May 2013 16:59

Read more...

Daily prayer

Daily prayer_icon

  • Give thanks to the Lord for the courage and boldness of the Christians in North Korea who carry on witnessing for Christ despite the savage penalties imposed by the Communist regime. Those who share their faith or distribute Bibles risk torture and probable execution if they are caught, and their families may be dispatched to the country’s infamous labour camps to be starved or worked to death. Yet remarkably, the Church in North Korea is growing well, and some who have fled abroad and become Christians there have even gone back to share Christ with family and friends in their poverty and distress. Pray that God will keep His brave witnesses from harm and continue to add to their number (Acts 2:47). Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 15 hours ago

  • Mohamed Ibaouene (36), a convert from Islam to Christianity, was convicted in July 2012 of “proselytising” in Algeria. The verdict was passed in his absence and without his knowledge. He was later sentenced to a year in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (£420; US$630). Mohamed challenged the conviction, and on 13 February 2013 the appeal court rescinded the jail term but doubled his fine. A Muslim colleague had brought the accusation against Mohamed after the latter refused to renounce Christ. Pray for justice for Mohamed and that the rights of Algerians to freedom of religion will be respected both by other citizens and by the law. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Tue, May 2013 00:00

  • The various measures recently taken against Christian churches and institutions by the government of Sudan add up to a ruthless campaign that may be intended to eradicate Christianity from the country altogether. They were launched by a media drive against alleged “Christianisation” and have focused in particular on those involved in Christian ministry. Numerous church buildings have been demolished, and Christian literature has been seized. President al-Bashir has declared his intention of making Sudan entirely Islamic and of strengthening the place of sharia. Pray that God will frustrate the plans of the authorities and that the churches of Sudan will remain faithful in the face of intimidation. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Mon, May 2013 00:00

  • The Sudanese authorities have intensified their crackdown on Christian activities by targeting Christian-run schools. Two of these in the capital, Khartoum, have been ordered to close. One is a primary school that the authorities discovered was not teaching Islamic studies or separating boys and girls. The other provided English-language lessons for 500 adults; three of its staff had been arrested and interrogated over suspicions that they were evangelising Muslims. Pray that Christian work and witness in Sudan will continue despite the increasingly crippling restrictions being imposed upon them, and that the Gospel will spread there. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sun, May 2013 00:00

  • An upsurge of arrests and deportations of Christians in Sudan has further unsettled the country’s vulnerable Christian minority. In January three Christians of South Sudanese origin were detained and then ordered to leave the country because of their involvement with churches and a Christian radio station. The following month a group of at least 55 Christians were detained without charge, falsely accused of receiving money from foreign countries. Dozens of expatriate Christians have also been deported. Pray that this frequent and severe harassment will stop, and that the churches of Sudan will be allowed to worship and serve the Lord in peace. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sat, May 2013 00:00

Read more...

Quick navigation

© Barnabas Aid 1997 - 2013 All rights reserved.
Barnabas Aid is a registered trade mark