19
Apr
2018PAKISTAN: Christians shocked and fearful after third attack
Azhar and Rahib were shot in broad daylight on the streets of Quetta city this week – the third extremist attack on local Christians in just four months. Christians in southern Balochistan province are now living in fear as 15 believers have…
06
Apr
2018PAKISTAN: Four members of Christian family killed in Easter attack
Easter should be a joyful time for family gatherings but for one family in the Pakistani province of Balochistan their celebrations came to a sudden and brutal end. Four members of the same family, who had come together for Easter from different…
05
Apr
2018Egypt election – Premier Newshour Interview
Release’s Andrew Boyd speaks on Premier Christian Radio’s Newshour programme about the recent presidential election in Egypt. Click the icon below to listen. mp3 (6MB) 128kbps 6m 14s
03
Apr
2018Protect Your Persecuted Christians, Mr President
Abdel Fattah al–Sisi has been confirmed as President of Egypt after a low-turnout election for which there was no effective opposition. Most of Mr al-Sisi’s opponents declined to stand in the elections, citing intimidation. A former army chief was arrested after declaring…
03
Apr
2018EGYPT ELECTION: ‘PROTECT YOUR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS, MR PRESIDENT’
Abdel Fattah al–Sisi has been confirmed as President of Egypt after a low-turnout election for which there was no effective opposition. Most of Mr al-Sisi’s opponents declined to stand in the elections, citing intimidation. A former army chief was arrested after declaring…
08
Mar
2018Childrens’ Prayer Sheet – Easter 2018
Here is the Children’s Prayer Sheet for Easter 2018 (Click the image to download) You can download previous Children’s Prayer Sheets here
06
Mar
2018Interview opportunity with leading China persecution campaigner Bob Fu, in the UK in March with Release International. Also new book on persecution.
Former house church leader, prisoner of faith, and one of the leading voices for the persecuted Church in China, Bob Fu contends that the persecution of Christians in China is worsening and is now as severe as at any time since the…
26
Feb
2018GATHERING STORM FOR CHINESE CHRISTIANS UNDER ‘EMPEROR’ XI
Latest crackdown tears Christian mural from home, arrests pastor. A leading campaigner has warned of a gathering storm for persecuted Christians in China. Release International partner, Bob Fu, says the persecution of Christians has increased dramatically under President Xi Jinping, and is…
16
Feb
2018Thank God for the release of Lao Christians!
Six Christians in Laos who spent more than a month in jail for celebrating Christmas have now been set free. Release contacts say the Christians in Vientiane province were taken into custody because they had not sought official permission to hold a…
16
Feb
2018AUDIO REPORT: Chinese New Year – New restriction on Christians in China
A new year means new rules. Year of the Dog looks set to be Year of the Underdog for Christians in China. Release’s Andrew Boyd warns persecution is set to rise as new rules given to local authorities are being used to further…
15
Feb
2018CHINESE NEW YEAR HERALDS NEW RESTRICTIONS FOR CHRISTIANS
New year, new rules as Year of the Dog looks set to be Year of the Underdog. Release warns persecution set to rise as new rules clamp down on the Church. The Chinese New Year looks set to be a year of…
07
Feb
2018NK PRE-OLYMPIC MILITARY PARADE MUST TRIGGER PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED
The North Korean missile crisis must be turned into a rallying cry for prayer for persecuted Christians in that country, says Release International, which supports Christians under pressure around the world. North Korea is staging a massive show of military might ahead…
31
Jan
2018Theresa May in China – ‘Use your influence, Mrs May, to press for religious freedom’
Prime Minister Theresa May is in China for a three-day visit to bolster trade. But concern is growing about the rising persecution of Christians in China. In January, officials dynamited a 50,000-strong megachurch and have fined Christian leaders elsewhere for taking up…
26
Jan
2018New religion law in Vietnam fuels Christians’ fears
Please pray for our family in Vietnam as new laws on religion threaten to limit their freedoms. Vietnam’s Law on Belief and Religion, which came into force on January 1, has alarmed Christians because it insists religious groups must be registered and…
22
Jan
2018RELEASE 50YR MILESTONE PROMPTS PERSECUTION CALL TO ACTION
Release International has reached a significant milestone – the 50th year of its ministry in serving persecuted Christians around the world. ‘Since 1968, the prayers and gifts of supporters throughout the UK and Ireland have helped thousands of Christians who are persecuted…
19
Jan
2018CHINA: 200 Chinese Christians arrested in ‘cult’ crackdown
A crackdown on ‘cults’ in Yunnan province has led to mass arrests of Christians – with many now facing long jail sentences. Six members of a church in the Lincang area have just been handed sentences of up to 13 years –…
09
Jan
2018KYRGYZSTAN – ‘AMAZING SIGN’ ENCOURAGES CHURCH AFTER BOMB ATTACK
A church in Kyrgyzstan was badly damaged in a firebomb attack but one thing survived and has now inspired the congregation. Muslim militants used Molotov cocktails to set fire to the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church in Kaji-Say in the early hours of…
08
Jan
2018MILITANTS BURN BAPTIST CHURCH IN KYRGYZSTAN. ALTAR BIBLE SURVIVES BLAZE UNHARMED
Muslim militants have firebombed a Baptist church in Kyrgyzstan, causing extensive damage. The Bible on the altar survived the arson attack, encouraging Christians to stand firm in their faith. Radicals doused the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church with petrol and set it on…
29
Dec
2017MANY SPARED AS EGYPT CHURCH BOMB ATTACK FAILS
Terrorists strike as Egyptian churches brace for violence. Nine killed, but many spared as bomb attack fails. Release calls for prayer for Egypt’s Christians. The death toll in an attempted suicide bomb attack on a church in Egypt [Friday Dec 29] has…
28
Dec
2017PERSECUTION TRENDS 2018: AS CHINA TRIES TO BAN CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS RELEASE WARNS OF CHURCH CLAMPDOWN
Countries of concern for 2018 in new Release report include China, Nigeria and India. China has been cracking down on Christmas celebrations in some districts, banning Santa Claus and Christmas hats to further tighten its squeeze on Christianity. China is a key…
18
Dec
2017CHRISTIAN GROOMING EPIDEMIC IN EGYPT
Girls and boys targeted for kidnap and conversion. Release urges Egypt to protect its Christian minority. Christian girls in Egypt are being targeted for kidnapping, forced marriage and conversion, says Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world. Release describes an…
15
Dec
2017THANK YOU FOR YOUR FAITHFUL PRAYERS IN 2017
We believe in the power of prayer so we’re hugely grateful to you for interceding on behalf of our persecuted family this year. Your prayers help sustain prisoners behind bars, bring comfort to those who mourn and remind those who are suffering…
08
Dec
2017INDIAN PASTOR AND WIFE BEATEN UP
Please pray for Indian pastor David Livingstone and his wife Aram, who were beaten up when Hindu extremists attacked their church in north Karnataka. A group of about 25 extremists interrupted a church service, and dragged the pastor and his wife outside,…
29
Nov
2017Persecution turns to joy for Indian Christians
Next time you pray for someone to be healed, spare a thought for six Indian Christians who paid a heavy price for doing just that. As they prayed over a woman who was sick, Hindu extremists attacked them. Then, when police were…
16
Nov
2017PAKISTAN – PRAY FOR OUR BROTHER ZAFAR WHO IS IN PRISON AND IN DISTRESS
Our brother Zafar is facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars in Pakistan over false accusations of ‘blasphemy’ – and really needs our prayers. Zafar Bhatti, who is being held in Adyala Jail in Rawalpindi, was sentenced…
24
Oct
2017MORE SUDAN CHURCH LEADERS ARRESTED
Faced with the threat of arrest would you continue to worship God? That is the challenge being faced on a regular basis by Christian leaders in Sudan. On Sunday police arrested five Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC) leaders after they refused to…
11
Oct
2017TURKEY – Worship rises from pastor’s prison cell
Our American brother Andrew Brunson is still behind bars in Turkey – a year after he was arrested – yet his faith remains strong. He faces four life sentences based on allegations that he was involved in the plot to overthrow the…
02
Aug
2017IRAN – MARYAM RELEASED FROM PRISON!
Thank you for your prayers for Maryam Naghash Zargaran, an Iranian convert to Christianity, who, we are delighted to report, was released from prison yesterday. Maryam has served a four-year sentence in the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran. She was…
12
May
2017ANOTHER CHRISTIAN FALLS VICTIM TO PAKISTAN’S BLASPHEMY LAW
Zafar Bhatti faces the prospect of spending the rest of his days behind bars after a court in Pakistan sentenced him to life in prison for ‘blasphemy’. A judge in Rawalpindi found Zafar guilty of sending blasphemous text messages from his mobile…
11
May
2017YOUR PRAYERS ARE POWERFUL: THANK GOD FOR THE RELEASE OF PRISONERS IN SUDAN!
We’ve just heard that Pastor Hassan Abduraheem Kodi Taour and Abdulmonem Abdumawla have been freed from prison in Khartoum today. The two men have been in jail since they were arrested along with our Czech brother, Petr Jašek, in December 2015. In…
13
Mar
2017IRAN – ONE SMALL STEP FROM BAPTISM TO DETENTION
An Iranian mother and son have paid a heavy price for turning to Christ – just months after they were baptised. Veronika and Augustine were arrested in Urmia, northwest Iran, on February 20 and haven’t been seen since. Please pray that they…
27
Feb
2017SUDAN: FREEDOM FOR OUR CZECH BROTHER PETR
Czech Christian aid worker Petr Jašek is reported to be safely back in Prague after Sudan’s President pardoned him and released him from jail yesterday. The Czech Foreign Minister brought Petr home last night after flying out to Khartoum to negotiate his…
22
Feb
2017MALAYSIA: ABDUCTION FEARS FOR MALAYSIAN CHRISTIANS
Three Christians have gone missing in Malaysia – and friends fear they have been abducted because of their church work. Pastor Raymond Koh was reportedly taken from his car in Petaling Jaya city last week. Another pastor and his wife, who have…
21
Feb
2017MALAYSIA: ABDUCTION FEARS FOR MALAYSIAN CHRISTIANS
Three Christians have gone missing in Malaysia – and friends fear they have been abducted because of their church work. Pastor Raymond Koh was reportedly taken from his car in Petaling Jaya city last week. Another pastor and his wife, who have…
15
Feb
2017WILL THEY BE LASHED FOR TAKING COMMUNION WINE? IRANIAN CHRISTIANS AWAIT VERDICT
Three Iranian men are waiting to hear whether a court will uphold their sentence to 80 lashes for taking communion wine. Their appeal decision is expected within 20 days. Release International is calling on the Iranian authorities to overturn the sentence. Yaser…
04
Oct
2016CHINA – HOUSE CHURCHES ACROSS CHINA ‘ORDERED TO REFORM’
China’s house churches are under fire again – as the authorities step up the pressure on congregations across the country. Please pray for our Christian family in China, facing what appears to be an official crackdown spreading throughout the country. The warning…