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OVER 388 MILLION CHRISTIANS FACING HIGH LEVELS OF PERSECUTIONThe latest report on Christian persecution shows that the situation has gotten worse.
Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world. Yet none of this is reported in the main media. The world needs to know the truth, but then ‘truth’ these days is a regular casualty in the pressure to eradicate the Christian faith from the public square. The organization Open Doors released their World Watch List 2026, where they track the severity of the persecution that Christians are facing around the world. So, what are the figures in the latest World Watch List?
First of all, it is important to remember that the figures you are about to read, are conservative numbers – the real numbers are likely to be much, much higher because of under-reporting. Over 388 million Christians now face high levels of persecution for their faith. This is up from 380 million in the year before, and means that around 1 in 7 Christians worldwide face high levels of persecution for the faith. 81 countries are listed where Christians face high, very high or extreme levels of persecution. This means that we are not far off from the point where almost HALF of ALL the countries on earth are places where Christians face high levels of persecution. And why isn’t this being reported all over the news?!
Furthermore, 25,794 houses, shops, businesses or other properties belonging to Christians were attacked. In addition to this, another 3,632 churches and other public Christian properties were attacked in just a one year period. And there is the tragedy of 224,129 Christians who were forced to leave their homes, go into hiding in their country or leave their country entirely because of persecution for being Christians. In Nigeria for example, large numbers of Christians have had to flee their homes because of attacks by Islamists. These people are actual refugees. Yet we never hear anything about them in the news.
There is also something that is called ‘community expulsion of converts’, where Christian converts get expelled and forced out of their villages or homes by family members or village elders because of their faith. According to Open Doors, in one village in Laos, six families were exiled. They were given an ultimatum to recant – which they refused – choosing to remain faithful to Jesus. As a result, their homes were destroyed and they were forced out of the village.
It is clear that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world. Daily, they are having to endure hardship and persecution because they choose to follow Jesus. However it is increasingly happening in the West! Just consider the news items below. [Source: Open Doors]

NORTHERN IRELAND: AN ELDERLY PASTOR FINED FOR PREACHING THE GOSPEL
A district judge in Northern Ireland has convicted retired pastor Clive Johnston, 78, the former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, of breaking the country’s abortion buffer zone laws by preaching a sermon on John 3:16 on a public sidewalk across from a hospital. He is charged with “conducting a protest” that could influence a “protected person” and failing to comply with orders to leave, and was fined approx $Aus 900.
His legal team at The Christian Institute said in a news release that Johnston “had no banners or placards, and made no mention of—or allusion to—abortion during his preaching.” Johnston called the conviction “a dark day for Christian freedom. We held a small, open air Sunday service near a hospital, and now at 78 years of age I find myself, for the first time, convicted of a crime.”
Calling the ruling “creeping censorship”, Christian Institute Director Ciarán Kelly said options for an appeal are being considered. Despite assurances to the contrary when this legislation was being considered, we now see that an already controversial and deeply unjust law has now been selectively applied to criminalize Gospel preaching.” [Source: Decision Magazine]

NORTHERN IRELAND: CONVERSION BILL COULD CRIMINALISE PARENTS AND PASTORS
A bill to outlaw so-called conversion practices has been introduced in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The legislation, if passed, could impose a prison sentence of two years on anyone found to have caused a person “fear, alarm or distress” as a result of an attempt to “suppress” gender identity or sexuality. Critics have warned the bill is too broad, which could end up criminalizing church leaders or parents for routine conversations.
A formal legal opinion by Aidan O’Neill KC, supported by The Christian Institute (CI), states that the legislation fails to define its terms around coercion. He believes this could penalise parents if they have private discussions with their children about how they dress, or if they dissuade them from gender transitioning, with no defence for acting out of love or concern. Prayers and pastoral discussions could be criminalized if their content did not conform to the new state requirements, only to affirm, validate, and support the identity as expressed by an individual from time to time”, the opinion adds.
Simon Calvert, CI deputy director, told Premier Christian News the bill represents a “speech crime” being used by activists who disagree with evangelical Christian beliefs on sex or gender. Calvert pointed to the state of Victoria in Australia, which has introduced a conversion practices ban and issued guidance to pastors about what they can pray. He added: “It says you have to pray with a person in a way that reassures them that they are perfect as they are. Well, the Christian faith doesn’t say that we’re perfect as we are. It says that we’re made in the image of God, it says that we have unique dignity and worth, it says that we are loved, but it certainly doesn’t say that we are perfect. It says that we’re sinners in need of a Saviour. And why did Jesus die if we’re perfect the way we are? So the very idea that the state is issuing approved prayers that clearly contradict the fundamental basis of the Christian faith tells you where this could lead  – where the activists want it to lead.” [Source: Premier Christian News]

THE GOSPEL NOT WELCOME IN A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
A Christian preacher walked into a Christian school, opened with the words of Jesus, and told students to repent and believe. Naturally, modern Australia treated this as a scandal. Jonathan Vickers, a ministry trainee at St Lucia Bible Church, addressed Year 7 and 8 students during chapel at St Peters Lutheran College in Indooroopilly on 27 August. Parents were outraged, media reports claimed students had effectively been warned that gay people, and those who waited too long to become Christians, could go to hell. Even Queensland’s Education Minister joined in the fray, calling the reported incident “unacceptable”. The Acting Premier declared that telling young students they would suffer eternally for being gay was “completely inappropriate”.
There is just one rather important problem with that story. According to St Lucia Bible Church, homosexuality was not mentioned. No sexual identity was singled out. Vickers’ message concerned Jesus’ parable of the heavenly banquet in Luke 14:15–24, where everyone is invited but not everyone accepts. All the students were urged to repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ. That is Christianity. It is not homophobia, vilification, or psychological abuse. It is the Christian gospel delivered inside a school that publicly calls itself Christian. Vickers pointed out the obvious: “St Peters advertises very clearly that they are a Christ-centred community, so a talk based on Jesus’ words should be unremarkable.”
St Peters responded to complaints by sending three messages to parents and distancing itself from aspects of the presentation. College leaders referred to “homophobic language, discrimination, vilification or the demeaning of another person”, despite the church’s categorical statement that homosexuality was never mentioned. Head of College Tim Kotzur said the college regretted that some comments had caused concern. He said the Christian faith should not be communicated through “fear or shame” and announced a review of the chapel service and the process for selecting external speakers.
As George Christensen* commentating on this incident pointed out: “Apparently Kotzur is totally unaware of the vast difference between shaming someone and warning that sin has eternal consequences…..The moment a preacher speaks about sin, repentance, or judgment, the cries begin. Students have been “harmed”. Parents are “outraged”. Politicians demand action. Administrators announce a review. The intention is clear. Christian preaching must be domesticated until it no longer challenges anyone, condemns anything, or demands repentance from anybody. This is how the anti-Christian zeitgeist operates.” And eventually it turns into persecution. [Source: The Daily Declaration. *A former Senator in the Australian Parliament, and now a conservative commentator. ]

INSIDE AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST DRUG REHAB CENTRE WHERE RESIDENTS PRAY, PAY RENT AND GET OFF WELFARE
 Lyndon-James spent 26 years going in and out of Western Australia’s prison system for various drug-related criminal offences. His life of crime—breaking into houses, stealing cars, dealing drugs, and becoming addicted—stemmed from family breakdown, which he says is a common theme among individuals with addiction issues that require rehab. “Every time I wanted to change, I just hung around normal people, but I felt like I didn’t belong. I had a lot of unforgiveness and bitterness,” he told The Epoch Times.
The turning point occurred in 2001 when he saw a five-year-old boy kick a ball in between his father’s legs and noticed how joyful that moment was for them. “My whole life, I wanted to make my son feel special. I never spent any time with my kids. I was always on drugs,” Lyndon-James said. Facing his then-impending jail sentence, he became emotional, saying: “I remember chucking a prayer up…..‘God, I need your help. I can’t do this anymore.’” 
After serving jail time, Lyndon-James enrolled in Bible College, completing the course in 2005, and became a volunteer prison chaplain for the next five years, watching former acquaintances cycle through the prison system. From 2010 to 2012 he worked on the streets, taking people to different rehabilitation centres and studied different rehabilitation programmes. The Lord used this time to show him the need for a programme that rehabilitated both body and soul.
In 2012 he established  Shalom House in Perth, housing 160 residents who go through a uniquely structured faith-based drug rehabilitation program—one inspired by Lyndon-James’ own rehab. journey. “The whole program is set up where residents take responsibility for their choices,” he said at a briefing organised by the Drug Advisory Council of Australia (DACA) at Victoria Parliament last month. “We are unashamedly a faith-based rehab, so we are Christian. I make no apologies for that. Shalom House runs a “tight ship”: residents go through a medically supervised cold-turkey drug detox programme, give the centre control of their finances including Centrelink accounts, pay $300 in weekly rent, go to church, pray, and work.
The residence provides “holistic rehabilitation” services to men, women, and families for a minimum of 12 months. “It’s not just about delivering them free from addiction, it’s about reintegrating them back into society as normal, productive persons and the community free from drugs and substances. And get them off welfare. That’s what we do,” he said. “The whole of the program is designed for them to take ownership of their mistakes and to pay for their own rehab. We are a registered not-for-profit, tax-deductive organisation. We don’t ask for money, we don’t ask for funding, we don’t get funding, we don’t apply for grants,” he said.
“I’ve got thousands of success stories. Is it because I’m faith-based? Yes, I am unashamedly a Christian man. I tell them you don’t have to become a Christian but we are going to church, read our Bible and pray. If you don’t want to go to church, you can go to another rehab. I just want to change lives, restore families, and make a difference.” [Source: Enoch Times]

CHRISTIANS IN AFGHANISTAN ARE AT RISK OF A “GENOCIDE”
Christians in Afghanistan are at risk of a “genocide” according to an expert in religious freedom and Islamic extremism. Martin Parsons says following the Taliban takeover in the 1990s, Christians who refused to renounce their faith were routinely executed. He told Christian Today, that non-Islamic, allegedly immoral women were killed and thrown into rivers.
Today, Christians remain in substantial danger, he says. Of particular concern is the Taliban’s apostasy law, which states that a sane adult male who converts from Islam will be given three days to “repent” or face execution. Women who convert are to be held in prison for life and subject to regular beatings. And children will face relevant punishment when they reach maturity.The only thing preventing this is an apparent division within the Taliban leadership between those who want to go back to the 90s and those who desire a level of acceptance. [Source: Christian Today]

LAWYER FOR CHINA’S ZION CHURCH TARGETED BY COMMUNIST REGIME
A Chinese lawyer who helped defend the Zion Christian Church as the communist regime was persecuting it has left China under pressure from government authorities. Ruth Wang has temporarily escaped to Taiwan and is seeking resettlement in another country, hoping for help from the US or Canada. She said Chinese officials ordered her VDoor Law Firm to close.
As previously reported in World news, 18 members of the Zion Church in China, including its founder, Pastor Ezra Jin, were arrested in one of China’s largest crackdowns on a single church in decades. Wang’s legal team represented the pastor and others in October 2025, when security officials put them in prison. Pastor Jin was eventually released, two months ago, and is now in the United States with family after President Donald Trump brought his case to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a meeting in May.
Nine other pastors have been freed, but eight remain in jail. And Wang’s plight further exposes how China has refused to stop pressuring the church and those affiliated with it, despite Jin’s release. Zion Church is one of the largest unregistered churches in China, with scores of worship sites and more than 5,000 members. As an underground church, they utilize apartments, restaurants, and even karaoke bars in around 40 cities across China.
The regime has previously targeted the VDoor Law Firm. The license of the firm’s founder and Wang’s mentor, Zhang Kai, was revoked, and he was barred from leaving the country; other lawyers at their firm were suspended from practising for six months, Wang said. Wang was already out of the country, visiting Japan on vacation last month, when Chinese officials asked her to come and meet with them in Beijing. She chose not to return, fearing for her future.
Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, a nonprofit human rights organization based in the US, said Wang’s case shows how lawyers who dare to defend persecuted Christians are then targeted by the regime. Fu urged Taiwan’s government to protect Wang’s family and ensure they would not be forcibly returned to mainland China. He also called on the US and other democratic governments to help find a safe solution for her. Taiwan won’t allow her to stay, saying it can’t accept cases of political asylum from mainland China because of tensions with the Chinese government. China claims Taiwan belongs to it, and has been working for years toward taking over the island country. [Source: CBN News]
– compiled by Guido Kettniss