BELIEVERS SPREAD THE GOSPEL DESPITE CLOSURE OF CHURCHES
Pastor Salah Challah, senior pastor of the Full Gospel Church of Tizi-Ouzou, leads prayer and worship on the staircase outside of the locked church after Algerian police forced congregants to leave the church last fall. Police also assaulted several members of the congregation. Photo courtesy SAT-7
Similar to government restrictions on freedom of religion in many Muslim-dominated countries, all religious groups must register their places of worship with the government, except for followers of Islam. Often governments use strict requirements for places of worship, resulting in denial of applications. Pastor Salah asks believers around the world to pray for two specific requests: “I think that our fight is not against flesh and blood; we are asked to fight the dominion of dark powers, so our prayer request is that these dark powers of Satan will be cast away from Algeria; these powers that are blinding the authorities of our country. “I would like you to pray for me for the wisdom to know what to say in the right time; the thing I need most is wisdom.” Pastor Salah isn’t sure what’s next. But he is confident that God is still with His people in Algeria. “In the immediate future, we will maybe organize ourselves in house churches, and we will carry out lawsuits and political procedures,” Pastor Salah said. “I don’t have any bitterness in my heart against those policemen who beat us or those who have ordered the church to close.” He agrees “100%” with the biblical passages about forgiving his enemies. One passage of the Bible has been a particular comfort to him: Matthew 5:11. In that verse, Jesus says: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (NIV).
The Full Gospel Church of TiziOuzou. Photo courtesy Open Doors
What happens with worshippers when Christian churches are closed in Muslim-dominated, communist, and other countries around the globe? Basically, it depends on the country and the culture where the congregation worships. Many of those who have been forced to leave their churches are fanning out around their region to start small house churches. Pastors and others under government scrutiny or the threat of arrest sometimes leave their country for safer places. Todd Nettleton, host of Voice of the Martyrs Radio, recently talked with an Algerian believer. “One of the encouraging things he shared is how Muslim neighbors are responding to some of the closed churches. He said Muslim neighbors are posting notes of support on the shuttered doors of churches and expressing support for the rights of Christians to meet together and worship in Algeria. Even as their government tries to deny that right.” According to Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List, 105 churches were attacked, burned, or vandalized each month in Top 50 WWL countries. The closing and attacks on churches are epidemic. Some of the biggest offenders over the past few years are China, Sudan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Egypt, Iran, and Myanmar. In a blatant attack last fall against the church-at-large in communist China, Chinese government authorities tore down a megachurch’s building in the Funan, Anhui region, starting the demolition while the congregation was worshipping. The church’s pastors were also arrested and detained, according to U.S.-based ChinaAid. Government officials did not provide any documents ordering the 3,000-seat church building’s demolition. But they did produce arrest warrants for leaders Geng Yimin and Sun Yongyao. Both pastors were detained on the charge of suspicion of “gathering a crowd to disturb social order.” Bob Fu, President of ChinaAid, said hundreds and even thousands of churches have been closed or bulldozed in the last two years. In a blog post, SAT-7 CEO Rita El-Mounayer said an Algerian pastor told her: “A church isn’t just a physical building, it’s a body of believers. We are now more free (after the church closing) to speak to more people about the love of Jesus.” TODAYSCHRISTIANLIVING.ORG
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