Today, May 24, Christians around the world celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary, inspiring the apostles to begin their mission of preaching the gospel to all peoples (Acts 2). But many Christians around the world will not be able to celebrate Pentecost openly or at all because of harsh persecution in their countries.
International Christian Concern (ICC) and other Christian advocacy groups are still trying to garner more Western attention and aid for persecuted Christians across Africa and Asia, including in Nigeria, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Gaza, Vietnam, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Indonesia.
Islamic Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) continue massacres in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The first attack was April 30 on Mungwere village leaving 10 Christians dead. “We are afraid that these terrorists are now entering a larger region,” said a local not identified by name, likely for his safety. “They were known to be in Beni, Lubero territories, and in Ituri province, but today they have reached Haut‑Uele province and killed our family members and kidnapped others.” Mungwere’s village chief said his people were asleep when the attack happened. Jihadis often deliberately attack at night to maximize casualties and ensure the people are unprepared to defend themselves.
And as Ebola spreads in the DRC, ADF struck again on May 19. Peresi Mamboro, one of the local civil society leaders of Babila Babombi, said the death toll was at least 17, with homes burned in multiple communities.
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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continued its increasingly aggressive crackdown on Christians this month even as dictator Xi Jinping made empty promises and meaningless compliments to U.S. President Donald Trump. ChinaAid's sources reported May 13 that a house church in Kaili City, Guizhou province, southwest China was the latest target for government oppression.
Local police arrested the house church's leaders, based on CCP officials' allegations asserting the leaders wrongly conducted Sunday school class with minors and other ordinary church functions. The arrestees are the men Wei Yongqiang, He Jinbao, Quan Xiaolong, Long Jian, and Cheng Yongbing and the woman Zhou Guixia.
ChinaAid founder Dr. Bob Fu said, “This is a deeply troubling escalation of China’s campaign against religious freedom. Criminalizing Sunday school and the peaceful sharing of faith with children is an outrageous abuse of law and a direct assault on the fundamental rights of parents and churches.”
The organization explained:
Under current Chinese law, the offense of “organizing minors to engage in activities undermining public order” has traditionally been applied to conduct involving fighting, theft, or other acts threatening social order.
Religious freedom advocates say that applying such a charge to religious education and family participation in Christian worship represents an expansion of criminal law… Kaili authorities have previously used fraud-related charges against religious leaders.
Catholic mogul Jimmy Lai also remains imprisoned for his anti-CCP views.
So as you celebrate Pentecost Sunday, do not forget to thank God for America's freedom of worship and pray for Christians around the world not so blessed.
