• More than 380 million Christians around the world suffered high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith (365 million in 2023). That's one in seven Christians worldwide.
• 4,744 Christians detained, arrested, or sentenced for faith-related reasons (4,125 in 2023). More than 2,100 of these incidents took place in India.
• 4,476 Believers were killed for their faith (4,998 in 2023). 3,100 of these deaths were in Nigeria.
• 28,368 attacks on Christian homes, shops, and businesses (almost double the 14,776 from 2023). Almost 20,000 of these attacks took place in sub-Saharan Africa.
• 209,771 Christians forced to leave their homes, to go into hiding or exile (295,120 in 2023). More than 40,000 of these were in Myanmar.

- Statistics from opendoorsus.org

World Watch List 2025

The beginnings of Living Stones International (then News Service 2000) and Dr. Pat were influenced by  Brother Andrew and his ministry, Open Doors. The following article is from opendoorsus.org's World Watch List for 2025. We share Open Doors' passion to support the Persecuted Church across the world, and we hope this inspires you to pray more for the courageous Believers who experience persecution for their faith in Jesus.

Open Doors

70 years of standing with the persecuted church

For 70 years, Open Doors has stood alongside Christians who face persecution for their faith.

It began with our founder, Brother Andrew, traveling to Poland in 1955 and encountering beleaguered Christians behind the Iron  Curtain. Today, 70 years later, that journey continues, with thousands of partners working through global underground networks in more than 70 countries.

Since 1955, the most dangerous places have changed. The biggest threats to Christians around the world have shifted over time.  Brother Andrew concentrated on the oppressions of Communism, but now the most violence comes from Islamic extremism.

Over those 70 years, so many of our brothers and sisters have laid down their lives for Jesus. They could confidently say, alongside Paul, that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). But over those 70 years, there is another story too. Thousands, millions of stories. Stories of individuals, families and communities whose lives have been transformed by the help and encouragement of Open Doors’ partners. Towns, regions and countries that have seen the light of Christ shone by a church equipped with strength and resilience. Persecution is growing at a heartbreaking pace – but the church is growing too!

Whatever the need, whatever the threat, whatever the darkness faced, Open Doors continues to support the church in the most crucial ways. Whether that’s smuggling Bibles and Christian literature, offering legal advice, training church leaders and other Christians or providing vital practical support such as emergency aid and trauma care.

The result is a real connection between believers. Because we are one family. We are one body. If one part hurts, we should all feel pain.

As Brother Andrew put it: “If I cannot feel their pain, I should get scared: maybe I’m an artificial limb. A wooden arm cannot feel pain. I don’t want to be a wooden arm. I want to be alive!”

That, perhaps, is the great gift the persecuted church offers us: their stories help restore feeling to our faith. We are informed, inspired and impacted. And prepared to play our part, working in partnership to bring the light and love of Christ into some of the darkest places in our world today.