By Meron Araya A Message from the Persecuted Church to the Western Church

Meron Araya is graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with a Master of Divinity. She came to TEDS with a background in Civil Engineering and a few years of experience in the industry and also teaching at community colleges. She splits her time between writing, serving the church, and researching global issues focused on North and East Africa. Most Christians in the West understand that Christians around the world are persecuted for their faith. But often, the western church does not have any framework to understand the reality on the ground for oppressed Christians. What kind of challenges do they face? What is dayto-day life like in the persecuted church? And how can the western church stand in solidarity with the persecuted church? In the top 50 World Watch List (WWL) countries alone, 254 million Christians experience high levels of persecution for their faith in Christ. In perspective, 1 in 9 Christians worldwide experience high levels of persecution. In the year 2018 alone, 4136 Christians were killed for faith related reasons in the top 50 WWL countries. In 2018, on average every month 105 churches were attacked, burned, or vandalized, in the top 50 WWL countries. Everyday 11 Christians are killed for their faith within these countries. 1 The statistics against the persecuted church is staggering and is deserving of attention.

Persecution takes many forms and expressions in various parts of the world. The main sources of persecution are Communist and Post- "Tragically, American Christians are typically unaware of the violence our international brothers and sisters face for following Jesus Christ." - Jonathan Falwell

1. Open Doors USA. (2019). Christian Persecution by the Numbers - Open Doors USA. [online] Available at: https://www.opendoorsusa. org/christian-persecution/ stories/christian-persecution-bythe-numbers/ [Accessed 14 May 2019]. communist oppression, extreme Islamic oppression, dictatorial government leadership, ethnic antagonism, and religious nationalism. In some parts of the world, persecution is martyrdom. In other parts, it is forced conversion. It is threats to one’s family. It is church distraction. It is personal violence against Christian individuals. It is church attacks. Persecution is a humanitarian crisis and it is an assault against the dignity and the humanity of people of faith.

The everyday life of the persecuted church is full of taking risky decisions for the sake of the gospel. For many of our Christian friends in different parts of the world, a very simple decision to attend a small group gathering is a matter of life and death. Their safety, their future plans, their families are at risk every time they decide to attend a small group gathering.

My journey of faith began in my home country Eritrea, which is number 7 in the top 50 World Watch List, alongside North Korea at number 1, Somalia at number 3, and Nigeria at number 12. I came to faith in Christ a year before a massive persecution began in Eritrea. The early years of my discipleship were deeply shaped by the trials and the struggles of sustaining faith in Christ under the enormous pressure of persecution. At the time, as a young believer, I was just beginning to grow roots in my faith and had no clue of what it would require of me to follow Jesus. By the grace of God, surrounded by the faithful witness of both men and women who persevered at a tremendous cost to their own lives and their family’s lives, my faith was strengthened. The biggest challenge for many of my persecuted friends in Eritrea and in many other parts of the world is invisibility and silencing. Eritrea being a fairly new nation in the horn of Africa, with a population of about 5 million, the issue of persecuted Christians does not get enough coverage nor visibility in the global justice discourse. And this lack of accountability further empowers the government to continue to impose its communist In many ways, injustice in the Western context is primarily understood in predefined categories of race, gender, and sexuality. However, many global issues of oppression and injustice do not fit into these pre-existing categories based on race, gender, or sexuality.

ideologies infused by dictatorial leadership on Eritrean Christians. As the global body of Christ, we have a biblical mandate to raise our voices on behalf of our persecuted brothers and sisters who feel isolated, abandoned and silenced.

In many ways, injustice in the Western context is primarily understood in pre-defined categories of race, gender, and sexuality. However, many global issues of oppression and injustice do not fit into these pre-existing categories based on race, gender, or sexuality. Persecution is a good case in point. It is a global phenomenon that affects people from various continents cutting across many layers of race, ethnicity, and gender. Western Christianity will need to re-imagine a broader theological and sociological category to understand global injustice. Western Christianity will need to re-imagine a broader theological and sociological category to understand global injustice.

"The world never burned a casual Christian at the stake." - John R. Rice

For those us who live in the West, we have to resist the urge to tell halfsided stories about the persecuted church. Yes, the persecuted church have gone through and still is going through immense trials that comes at such a tremendous cost. However, the persecuted church is neither weak nor a victim. It is neither a hero nor powerless. It is a church that embodies deep abiding faith and an immense amount of resilience in Christ. It is a church that indwells the enduring presence of the Holy Spirit. It is a church that has learned to lament and bleed together, but it is also a church that hopes in the redemptive grace of Christ in unison.

We, the persecuted church – we are not our struggles. We are not the trials that we have gone through. We are not victims of the enemy’s schemes. We are part of the family of God that have persevered through the fiery furnace of persecution. The suffering of the persecuted church cannot be separated from the blazing passion for Christ. It is the passion and the love of Jesus that enables the persecuted church to endure and to persevere.

I would be amiss if I did not mention my persecuted friend’s utter distaste towards heroism. When we think about the boldness of their faith and their great courage, our temptation here in the West is to make heroes out them. We want to consume their stories and idolize their courage or emasculate the resilience of their faith. The persecuted church always detract focus from themselves and points to the pioneer and perfecter of their faith who endured the cross for the ARTICLES | ART | VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY | MOSAIC SPOTLIGHT

joy that was set before him. They rejoice in simple unrecognized, uncelebrated, and unacknowledged obedience. Their lives are a manifestation of godly greatness at its finest lived out in silent worship. For the global church, the persecuted church upholds an image of deep faithfulness and utter satisfaction in Christ

alone in season and out of season.

We do not idolize the persecuted church but we participate in their suffering by honoring their stories. The hundreds and thousands of men and women believers all across the globe who are nameless and faceless to us but their stories are held in affection among their communities. But importantly, they are known and esteemed by the ONE that they love so much. He holds their stories and their rewards awaits them in heaven. On that day, you and I will stand in the side lines of heaven and we cheer them as they receive their rewards from our King and our Lord. The persecuted church is neither weak nor a victim. It is neither a hero nor powerless. It is a church that embodies deep abiding faith and an immense amount of resilience in Christ.

*This essay is adapted from Meron’s talk given at Rev 7 – a yearly international students gathering at TEDS in the Spring of 2019.