(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us Friday, March 22, 2024, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
ALGERIA: Population 45.5 million, Christians 145,000 thousand
The major drivers of persecution in Algeria are society and extremist Islamic teachers who exert influence over state authorities. This means Christians experience persecution from their families, their communities and from the government.
Most Algerian Christians are converts from Islam. They face harassment and discrimination in their daily lives, and their families and community may try to force them to continue to adhere to Islamic norms and practices. They also face pressure – from both the government and their surrounding communities – to renounce their faith in Jesus and return to Islam. Many choose to keep their faith secret. Additionally, state pressure has increased on Protestant Christians to a level not seen in decades. Previously closed church buildings are still shut down, and many other churches were ordered to close. The government threatened to prosecute some church leaders if their churches continued to meet.
Algeria has laws restricting non-Muslim worship, including rules that prohibit anything that would ‘shake the faith of a Muslim’ or could be used as a ‘means of seduction intending to convert a Muslim to another religion’. These vague laws can be used to pressure Christians to keep their faith quiet and to beat down anything outside of the majority faith.
The majority of Christians live in the north of Algeria – an environment that has allowed Christian community to develop, although pressure from both government and society remains strong. But in other parts of the country, especially in the south, circumstances are difficult for Christians, with a very low number of available churches. While violent Islamic militants don’t have a wide support base among the general population, radical Muslim teachers exert an increasing influence over Algerian government and society.
Algeria has risen four places on the World Watch List. There have been increases in pressure in national life and church life – but it was the rise in violence score which had most influence on the overall rise. This was mainly caused by an increased number of churches being closed or forced to cease all activity. At the same time, a greater number of houses and businesses of Christians were raided, with the increased pressure forcing many to relocate both inside and outside the country.
Prayer Points
- Please pray to the Lord for the 78 year old President Abdelmajid Tebboune, that the Lord will touch him and soften his heart to start protecting the oppressed Christian minorities.
- Please pray to the Lord to be near to all our brothers and sisters and as they grow in the Christian way of life to keep them safe from harm.
- Pray to the Lord that the Holy Spirit will help the Algerian Christians to stand firm in faith.
- Pray to the Lord for the community leaders, that You would soften their hearts and that they would allow Your people to worship freely, without threat of arrest or harassment.
- Pray to the Lord that closed churches will be reopened, that the forces of darkness will not be able to hinder the efforts of the saints in this work.
- Pray to the Lord that each believer will have the opportunity to join with other Christians for fellowship and bible studies.
- Pray to the Lord for church leaders, that YOU Lord will encourage and protect them as they minister to the saints and may risk imprisonment just to continue to meet together.
- Pray to the Lord for believers who endure intense pressure to convert back to Islam and discrimination in their daily lives and work.
- Pray to the Lord against the ambiguous laws which hinder Christian activities by regulating non-Muslim worship, including prohibition of anything that would shake the faith of a Muslim.
- Pray to the Lord to bless and protect the NGOs who provide much needed support for Bible distribution, discipleship as well as leadership training as well as livelihood supplies.
- Pray to the Lord to open doors for evangelism and that believers can boldly share the good news.
- Pray to the Lord that in spite of the hostile climate more and more Algerians will embrace the Christian faith where their hearts and minds know His presence and peace.
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family and for the church.
- Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here.
- Armenian Genocide Happening Again. Read full report here: Genocide and Forced Deportation: Nagorno-Karabakh
- The Harvest: “37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Andy, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Moderator
Please forward prayer points to your church, prayer groups and others who will pray.
Prayer Conference Call Details
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What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God. The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern time in the United States (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and the two missions became one. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2015 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer moderator since 2016. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and their personal lives.
“Pray for us” is the number one request that we hear from the persecuted. As the members of the first century Church was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters are invited to the conference call and share the trials they are facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer. Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone.
We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you. If you are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in, and pray silently or mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator Team
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Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
VOICE OF THE PERSECUTED 