Open Doors Australia

Open Doors Australia Serving the persecuted, strengthening the Church. Open Doors started in 1955 and now operates in over 70 countries worldwide.

We exist to help strengthen the persecuted church, where faith costs the most.

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This page is a place for you to connect with the persecuted church. We want to give you the opportunity to share your prayers, thoughts and comments for our brothers and sisters. We love hearing from you and do our best to reply and respond to questions! Here are our page guidelines:
We will do our best to

make sure that postings to this page are in line with our mission, vision and values (check them out at www.opendoors.org.au). Community posts to our page are not necessarily representative of the opinions of Open Doors Australia or Open Doors International and may not be accurate. We will remove posts and ban users under these conditions:
- Use of offensive, profane or defamatory language
- Discrimination or attacks on specific groups of people or individuals
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- Content determined to be inappropriate, in poor taste, or otherwise opposed to the purposes of this page
- Act in a manner that violates any law or regulation.

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia. 🙏 At least 12 Orthodox Christians were killed in multiple attacks...
19/06/2026

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia. 🙏

At least 12 Orthodox Christians were killed in multiple attacks in the predominantly Muslim community in Arsi Zone. During the night of the attacks their properties were burned down along with the 101-year-old Telata St. Gabriel Church. More than 280 people were displaced.

Local sources say the attackers gave warnings of their intentions to the residents. While some have sought to portray these attacks through an ethnic lens, the information available so far indicates that the attacks have primarily targeted Orthodox Christians and Orthodox churches. No one but these Orthodox Christians in the predominantly Muslim Arsi Zone reported similar incidents during the time.

The Arsi Zone has been attacked by armed groups since 2020. The Reporter Magazine reports “this specific zone has faced an ongoing pattern of mass casualties and displacements targeting Orthodox Christians, with violence escalating significantly since July 2020. Prior to this latest incident, the most recent mass killing occurred in October 2025, when more than 30 Orthodox Christians were killed and numerous others were displaced.”

Please pray:

🙏 Pray for families of those who were killed, that Holy Spirit will comfort them.
🙏 Pray for physical, emotional, and spiritual provision and safety of those who are displaced.
🙏 Pray for the government to have wisdom and willpower to bring justice to the perpetrators.
🙏 Pray for the Christians in Arsi Zone for wisdom and safety in the situation.
🙏 Pray that the attackers will come to know Jesus.

On this day 45 years ago, a crew of 20 faithful believers smuggled one million Bibles into China under the cover of dark...
18/06/2026

On this day 45 years ago, a crew of 20 faithful believers smuggled one million Bibles into China under the cover of darkness. The barge (pictured here) carried 232 one-ton blocks of Bibles, with each block filled with 48 watertight boxes containing 90 Bibles.

The operation, known as Project Pearl, was in responding to Chinese Christians’ requests for Bibles. By 1981, Christians in China weren’t allowed to gather at church or own a Bible. Many were imprisoned, tortured or even killed for their faith in Jesus.

In the dead of night, thousands of underground Christians waited expectantly for the Bibles to arrive. As the boat drew closer, they jumped into the water, risking arrest, to haul the Bibles to shore.

Celebrate with us today! Let this anniversary remind you that we serve and worship a God is still doing miracles today.

When a su***de bomber detonated his backpack during an evening church service in Damascus, Elias* nearly bled to death f...
16/06/2026

When a su***de bomber detonated his backpack during an evening church service in Damascus, Elias* nearly bled to death from a severed femoral artery. His brother, Geryes, was completely dismembered.

Elias’ daughter, Sarah*, also suffered injury. Her hair was burnt. Her face swollen beyond recognition. Blood streamed from her eyes. Twenty-five people died that evening in less than a minute.

Jenny*’s father was in the same church service. He suffered fatal injuries from the blast and later died on the operating table. "We miss him a lot; the house is dark without him,” Jenny says.

Persecution is terrifying and some acts too horrible to speak of. But please don’t look away. Behind every injury, every death, every wound inflicted is a precious Christian life. Where we can, we must help.

You can support persecuted believers like Elias and Jenny at bit.ly/4tuVZFp
Your prayers are deeply appreciated. 🙏

*Names changed for security purposes

These are the words of Zaid, a believer in Yemen with a God-sized vision to plant a house church in every Yemeni town.In...
15/06/2026

These are the words of Zaid, a believer in Yemen with a God-sized vision to plant a house church in every Yemeni town.

In a country where following Jesus can mean torture, imprisonment, and even death, this church leader refuses to bow to fear.

Through your prayers and gifts, our partners have come alongside him to help him start a local discipleship house where new believers can meet, live together, and be discipled day after day—a place to equip believers to lead house churches across the country.

“Your support strengthens us,” Zaid says. “Your prayers let us know we are not alone.”
Zaid asks us to pray with him and other leaders that Yemen will come to know Christ.

“Pray for peace, not only peace from war but also spiritual peace. We want Jesus to reign over Yemen. May the Lord continue His work and give me the strength to lead the ministry He called me to do.”

Please take time to pray for Nigerian Christians today. Violence on Christians in northern Nigeria continued last month ...
11/06/2026

Please take time to pray for Nigerian Christians today.

Violence on Christians in northern Nigeria continued last month with two mass kidnappings, which included children as young as two, and an incident where captives were beheaded trying to flee.

In another incident on 12 May, a faction of Boko Haram terrorists known as Jama’atu Ahlis-Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) beheaded at least seven captives when they tried to flee the camp where they were held in the mountains of Borno State.

According to reports, the executions were done in view of other captives, mostly women and children, to intensify fear among them. The faction holds over 400 other captives who remain in deteriorating conditions in remote mountain camps.

Various media reports share that multiple captives have died in recent months amidst starvation, physical abuse, forced labour, a lack of medical care, and psychological pressure awaiting an uncertain fate.

Please pray:

🙏 Pray for the physical, emotional and spiritual safety of the children. Pray that someone in the place where they are held, will take care of the needs of very young children.
🙏 Pray that God will grant their parents with peace that surpasses human understanding.
🙏 Pray that the government and security institutions will do everything necessary to secure the release of these children.
🙏 Pray that Holy Spirit will change the hearts of the attackers to release the captives, love Jesus, stop their actions and turn to Him for their salvation.

Pray with us by name for Bahar Sahraian(pictured), an Iranian lawyer imprisoned (again) in one of the country’s most not...
08/06/2026

Pray with us by name for Bahar Sahraian(pictured), an Iranian lawyer imprisoned (again) in one of the country’s most notorious prisons.

Bahar is widely recognised for defending political prisoners, Iranian Christians, and members of religious and ethnic minorities who often have no protection under Iran’s judicial system.

For years, she has stood beside the persecuted and most vulnerable. Her arrest is a reminder that the regime is not only targeting believers but also those courageous enough to defend them.

We call for our sister to be released in Jesus’ name. Please share this with everyone you know…

Zaid* lives in Yemen. He was a devout Muslim for years until the night his life changed. He says: “Growing up, I prayed ...
07/06/2026

Zaid* lives in Yemen. He was a devout Muslim for years until the night his life changed. He says:

“Growing up, I prayed often. I went to the mosque and followed all the rituals to please [Allah], but deep down, I wasn't convinced. I went online to read about other religions. They were kind, but I didn't always believe them. One night, Jesus came to me in a dream. I was in a green place. I saw a bright light. It said, ‘I left the 99 and came for you.’ I felt unspeakable joy. I knew I had encountered the true God.”

Zaid now has another dream: “There are more than 40 million people [in Yemen]. My vision is for every town to have its own house church. Many believers have lost their families because of their faith, but your prayers let us know we are not alone.”

Please pray for Zaid and other believers like him who have lost everything for following Jesus. 🙏❤️‍🩹

Mustafa* is an Iranian who first heard about Jesus through social media while living in a small town in northern Iran. H...
05/06/2026

Mustafa* is an Iranian who first heard about Jesus through social media while living in a small town in northern Iran. Hungry to know more about Christ, he left his country because he could not find anyone to guide him in the Christian faith. After leaving Iran, he connected with a church that supports refugees in a neighbouring country. There, he began sharing the Gospel with Iranian tourists. As his faith grew stronger, he started sharing his faith through social media, the very same way he himself had first heard about Jesus. He later applied for asylum in the neighbouring country.

Only recently, he received devastating news from the third country that he was promised to settle in, stating that his sponsorship had been cancelled, and his case was closed. Additionally, only a few days ago, immigration authorities called him and informed him that his residency had been cancelled and that he would be deported back to Iran on 21 May. That night was filled with fear and uncertainty, but Mustafa spent the night praying.

The next morning, something miraculous happened. The embassy of the third country suddenly called him and said, “Your case has been accepted, and your flight has been booked for 21 May.” For a few moments, he was speechless. Then he began praising God, overwhelmed and astonished by the hand of God at work in his life. If Mustafa was deported to his home country, he would have been captured and imprisoned for his faith. He thanks his family in Christ for praying and reminds us that God is still at work, doing miracles. He also asks us to pray for his country, that he would be able to return one day, along with other Iranian Christians, and live peacefully and worship Jesus freely in their home country.

*Representative image

In early May, multiple attacks involving bomb-dropping drones, shootings, and deliberately set fires woke rural communit...
04/06/2026

In early May, multiple attacks involving bomb-dropping drones, shootings, and deliberately set fires woke rural communities in Xicotlán, Tula, and Alcozacán, Guerrero Mexico.

The wave of violence erupted when two waring cartels, “Los Ardillos” and “Los Tlacos”, engaged in a destructive territorial battle. The widespread violence forced approximately 1,000 people to abandon their homes. Among them, around 400 are believed to be evangelical Christians.

This latest wave of widespread violence has been the most devastating by far, forcing entire communities to flee their homes, affecting evangelical Christians, and leaving churches empty.

Strong territorial control exercised by criminal groups and armed roadblocks have prevented access to several communities, severely hindering emergency relief efforts and gathering of reliable information about what is happening on the ground.

“The only way to collect information is through volunteers on the ground and local pastors. We are reconstructing events under extremely dangerous conditions, where every confirmed detail requires significant effort,” explained Victoria Vélez*, a member of the Open Doors team in the country.

For now, the local church is urgently calling for prayer for the displaced families and for an end to the violence devastating the region.

“In the midst of this crisis, what we need most is prayer support to help us endure,” Pastor Jairo says.

*Name changed for security purposes

Please pray:

🙏 For the protection of displaced communities, that God will guard them from danger.
🙏 For provision for displaced families, that food, water, shelter, and care will reach them.
🙏 For peace in Guerrero and for the spiritual endurance of the Church in Mexico.

Northern Mozambique is reeling from a series of arson attacks by Islamic extremists. Our local partners report that extr...
01/06/2026

Northern Mozambique is reeling from a series of arson attacks by Islamic extremists. Our local partners report that extremists set fire to St. Louis de Montfort Church and the kindergarten managed by the church. A nearby school was also set on fire.

Since the insurgency began, a million Mozambicans have been displaced and thousands killed. Due to insecurity in the area, our local partners are unable to provide affected believers with prayer and presence ministry. They ask for your prayers.

· Pray that the St. Louis de Montfort Church congregation and church leaders will remain strong in their faith.
· Pray for the perpetrators to be apprehended.
· Pray for Islamic extremists in the area to meet Jesus.
· Pray that communities in Mozambique will have better job opportunities and a stronger economic situation.

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