German Evangelical Alliance: Pray for persecuted Christians on November 13

One in eight believers are persecuted for their faith, the General Secretary of the World Evangelical Alliance, Thomas Schirrmacher says. That is reported by PRO. He is concerned about a growing trend in pressure on Christians and therefore calls believers to pray for their persecuted brothers and sisters in the faith. “The Bible commands us to pray for those who are abused and says that if any part of the body suffers, we all suffer.”

In reaction to this call to prayer, the German Evangelical Alliance produced a special prayer booklet for November 13th. It printed 19,000 notebooks, which can be used in church services, community events, Christian home meetings or personal prayer moments, PRO writes, based on a press release of the German Evangelical Alliance.

“I invite you to actively participate in the World Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians with an attitude of love and identification with the persecuted Christians”, Dr. Reinhardt Schink says. He is a board member of the German Evangelical Alliance. The Alliance continues to rely on the “transforming power of prayer and God's sovereign action and intervention in the countries of the world, but also in the hearts of the persecutors”, the organisation writes in the press release.

The Evangelical Alliance in Germany points out that converts from Islamic countries find themselves in increasingly difficult situations. “It is frightening that in recent years migrants who have decided to follow Jesus Christ have been deported or are to be deported to their home countries, even though they were persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and sometimes even receive death threats”, the Alliance states. “The situation of these people should matter to us”, Schink says.

A whole week dedicated to prayer will take place from January 8 to 15. Its theme will be “Joy”, the Evangelical Alliance in Germany announced. In Europe alone, already 35 countries will join, under which Germany. Reinhardt Schink from the German Evangelical Alliance says that prayer meetings are lights in a darkening world.

The Alliance also has available booklets, posters and documents to be used in the week of prayer.

KADER:

The Evangelical Alliance was founded in London as an international association. It now has about 600 million members in 129 countries. The Evangelical Alliance in Germany is one of the members. It includes around 900 local Christian groups.