Why You Are Important
By CFI Field Staff
The numbers are shocking. Almost 1.5 million Christians lived in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled his regime in 2003 and the rise of Islamic State, three-fourths of the country’s Christians are believed to have fled Iraq or died in sectarian violence.
Persecution continues for the remaining Christians in Iraq. Of the 200,000 Christians there in 2014, some 125,000 have been driven from their homes within the past year, according to a March report from “60 Minutes.”
A major problem for the Persecuted Church in the Middle East is that most Christians in the “free world” are either ignorant or oblivious of their suffering.
In Syria, almost a third of the population was Christian as recently as the 1920s. By this decade, only about 10% of the country’s 22 million inhabitants were members of Christian communities even before the current civil war and the brutality of ISIS.
Many American Christians remain unaware of the plight of their brothers and sisters in Christ, and many think that persecution is just a phenomenon in the Middle East.
But the fact is anti-Christian persecution is growing well beyond the Middle East. It is growing in countries such as China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, North Korea, and Burma to name but a few. In Africa, persecution is growing on a continental level.
Another problem is the “it couldn’t happen here” attitude. Some of us have the false perception that it is just “fear mongering” to say that Christians could suffer severe persecution in Western nations. However, the trend lines are not encouraging. Government restrictions and social hostility against Christians in Western nations have risen dramatically in recent years.
Today, the truth is more Christians face more persecution in more countries than any other religious community. And it is getting worse.
We need to do all we can, while we can, to help our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.
That is why Christian Freedom International is so vitally needed. And why you are such an important part of this ministry.
The mission of CFI is to help Christians who are persecuted and suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ. We are a non-denominational human rights organization providing real solutions to conditions of oppression and misery caused by religious persecution.
We receive no government grants or support of Hollywood movie stars; we are able to distribute aid, funds, and Bibles only from the gifts that you, and other caring Christians like you, provide.
By partnering on behalf of the Persecuted Church through CFI, you are making a difference; you are saving lives; you are taking the Word of God to the most isolated, persecuted places on earth. You are providing a voice to the voiceless. By receiving our newsletters and emails, it means you care, you are concerned; you are taking action. It means you are a key member of an organization that is informed and making a significant impact.
Through your prayers and support, together, we reach the part of the Persecuted Church that is the most repressed, most at risk, and most isolated. In areas of disaster, together we provide immediate relief to Christians and their communities who are ignored by conventional aid organizations.
It is our privilege to minister to the Persecuted through Bible distribution, medical aid, resettlement assistance, advocacy, asylum case-work, and aid to the disabled; to sponsor schools, vocational training, and self-help initiatives; to provide these services at no charge by CFI staff and volunteers. It is our goal to work together with Christians at home to ease the burdens of our struggling brethren around the world.
Thank you for partnering with Persecuted Church through CFI. Please continue to “remember the persecuted.”