Today’s guest blog comes to us from Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra for Christianity Today.

2014 was the world’s worst year for the persecution of Christians in the modern era. Until 2015 surpassed it.

The 2016 World Watch List (WWL) from Open Doors analyzes how African countries now outnumber Mideast countries on the list, affecting far more Christians numerically (though not as severely). Christian martyrdoms and destruction of churches nearly doubled during the “Year of Fear,” yet only 4 of the top 10 persecuting countries rank among the 10 most violent ones. Meanwhile, the spread in severity among top persecutors shrank by half, and five countries that would have qualified for last year’s list did not make this year’s list because the minimum threshold of persecution is up 50 percent.

More than 7,000 Christians were killed for their faith last year, up drastically from 4,344 in 2014 and 2,123 in 2013. Those numbers don’t include North Korea or parts of Iraq and Syria, where accurate numbers are hard to obtain, Open Doors said. All three of those countries are among the WWL’s top five persecutors.

In addition, 2,400 churches were damaged or attacked worldwide, more than twice the number in 2014.

Violent Islamic extremism was the main culprit, “with its rise being the lead generator of persecution for 35 out of the 50 nations on the list,” stated Open Doors. “Its two hubs are in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, regions where persecution has risen to a level akin to ethnic cleansing.”

The news isn’t all bad, reported World Watch Monitor. After a dictatorial Buddhist president was defeated in Sri Lanka, state-sanctioned violence seems to be decreasing. Many of the 120,000 Christians who fled from ISIS are now safely harbored in Kurdish Iraq. Mexican pastors are effectively praying against drug lords, a Muslim security guard sacrificed himself to stop suicide bombers approaching a church in Pakistan, and Muslims and Christians are cooperating with each other in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon.

And in the biggest apology ever for Christian persecution by other Christians, 145 global church leaders met in Albania last year and said they were sorry for having abused each other.
“There is an Indian saying, ‘Children only throw stones at a ripe mango tree,’” WWM said. “And persecuted Christians the world over will often say, ‘We are persecuted because we are doing something right, and this persecution shows we are ripe fruit for Christ.’”

Click here to read the full article.

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About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.