CHINA — Christians Arrested, Church Leader Imprisoned — ChinaAid On Oct. 19, Neixiang police officials arrested 60 Christians attending a worship service, according to ChinaAid Association. After charging them with “disturbing social orders under the name of religious activities,” police fined the believers and put five brothers in 10 days administrative detention. On Oct. 30, police decided... 

IRAQ — Christians Martyred — Agence France-Presse Three Christians have been killed in Mosul recently, and community leaders warn that violence will increase leading to the March 7 parliamentary election, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). On Feb. 16, unidentified gunmen shot two Christian students with an automatic weapon. Police told AFP that Zia Toma, a 21-year-old engineering student,... 

SRI LANKA – Church Attacked, and Pastor Threatened – National Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka On Nov. 5, about 200 members of the Buddhist-led political party Jathika Hela Urumaya attacked the Jesus Never Fails Good News Centre church in Koswatta, Sri Lanka, according to the National Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. The attackers hurled stones at the building, damaging the exterior, windows,... 

SOMALIA — Underground Church Leader Killed — Compass Direct News On Jan. 1, Mohammed Ahmed Ali, a 41-year-old underground church leader, was shot to death by members of the Muslim extremist group al-Shabaab, according to Compass Direct News. Mohammed and his wife, Amina Ibrahim Hassan, were reportedly being monitored by the extremists because they had converted from Islam to Christianity. The extremists... 

Did you know: “In its original meaning, the word martyr, meaning witness, was used in the secular sphere as well as in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible. The process of bearing witness was not intended to lead to the death of the witness, although it is known from ancient writers (e.g. Josephus) that witnesses, especially of the lower classes, were tortured routinely...