Open Doors' Youth Arm Launches Push for Persecuted Believers
by Jim Brown
July 12, 2004
(AgapePress) - A ministry that supports the persecuted Church is working to galvanize Christian teenagers to get involved in raising awareness about those around the globe who are suffering for their religious faith.Underground, the youth outreach of Open Doors USA, is sponsoring a 90-day event this summer called "PUSH 90." This initiative is an attempt to encourage prayers and raise awareness and funds for the estimated 200 million Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their belief in Christ.
Jeff Shreve, coordinator for Underground, says instead of focusing on that massive number, he often reminds people to "look at the individuals from the persecuted Church," and especially to "look at the young people."
Shreve recalls a recent, poignant story about two young boys in Ethiopia, whose father was a pastor at a local church. "Some of the local radicals broke in and killed him, while the mother and the two boys were able to escape," he says.
And the ministry's Web site features other such stories, such as the sad account of 19-year-old Javed Anjum, a Pakistani student who died in a Faisalabad hospital, after being tortured for five days in a Muslim seminary. Anjum was seized by people from the Islamic school when he stopped there to get a drink of water. He was held, pressured to convert to Islam, and beaten and tortured when he resisted. His injuries led to his death a few days later.
Also noted is a recent incident in northern Iran, where police arrested a Protestant Christian pastor, jailing him along with his wife and two teenage children. Open Doors has highlighted incidents like these and many others that are happening in countries around the world, from Africa to Zanzibar.
Shreve says the ministry is asking young people in the free world to take specific steps in order to show their support for their suffering fellow-believers. In addition to signing up as a "Citizen of the Underground" online and getting regular Internet updates on the persecuted Church, they are being asked to pray daily for persecuted Christians everywhere.
Furthermore, the ministry spokesman notes, Underground's youth are being encouraged to make some personal sacrifices. "We ask that they would fast one meal a week throughout the summer for persecuted Christians," he says, "and then we also ask that they would make a commitment over the next 90 days to share with the persecuted Church -- and that is towards our fundraiser."
One of the goals of Push 90 is to raise at least $10,000 for the persecuted Church over the next 90 days. Shreve says the money for the fund drive will be used to purchase Bibles, literature, and other materials for persecuted Christians worldwide.
