tired yet?

can you keep a

secret?

#wearen

iraq stats

suMMer stats

www.opendoorsyouth.org fB.com/opendoorsyouth @opendoorsyouth

GOT THE MAG? Tweet us @opendoorsyouth to let us know what you think!

CH

RIS

TIA

N G

IRL

wH

o H

AS

fLed

Ho

me,

No

w L

IvIN

G I

N A

mA

ke-

SHIf

T C

Am

p I

N A

CH

uR

CH

yAR

d I

N e

bR

IL

3

4

6

7

8

INSIDE THIS EDITION

AUTMUN 2014 EDITION #4

North Korea / Somalia / Syria / Iraq / Afghanistan / Saudi Arabia / Maldives / Pakistan / Iran / Yemen / Sudan / Eritrea / Libya / Nigeria / Uzbekistan / Central African Republic / Ethiopia / Vietnam / Qatar / Turkmenistan / Laos / Egypt /

Burma/Myanmar / Brunei / Colombia / Jordan / Oman / India / Sri Lanka / Tunisia / Bhutan / Algeria / Mali / Palestinian Territories / United Arab Emirates / Mauritania / China / Kuwait / Kazakhstan / Malaysia / Bahrain / Comoros / Kenya

/ Morocco / Tajikistan / Djibouti / Indonesia / Bangladesh / Tanzania / Niger / North Korea / Somalia / Syria / Iraq / Afghanistan / Saudi Arabia / Maldives / Pakistan / Iran / Yemen / Sudan / Eritrea / Libya / Nigeria / Uzbekistan / Central

African Republic / Ethiopia / Vietnam / Qatar / Turkmenistan / Laos / Egypt / Burma/Myanmar / Brunei / Colombia / Jordan / Oman / India / Sri Lanka / Tunisia / Bhutan / Algeria / Mali / Palestinian Territories / United Arab Emirates /

Mauritania / China / Kuwait / Kazakhstan / Malaysia / Bahrain / Comoros / Kenya / Morocco / Tajikistan / Djibouti / In-donesia / Bangladesh / Tanzania / Niger / North Korea / Somalia / Syria / Iraq / Afghanistan / Saudi Arabia / Maldives / Pakistan / Iran / Yemen / Sudan / Eritrea / Libya / Nigeria / Uzbekistan / Central African Republic / Ethiopia / Vietnam / Qatar / Turkmenistan / Laos / Egypt / Burma/Myanmar / Brunei / Colombia / Jordan / Oman / India / Sri Lanka / Tunisia /

Bhutan / Algeria / Mali / Palestinian Territories / United Arab Emirates / Mauritania / China / Kuwait / Kazakhstan / Ma-laysia / Bahrain / Comoros / Kenya / Morocco / Tajikistan / Djibouti / Indonesia / Bangladesh / Tanzania / Niger / North Korea / Somalia / Syria / Iraq / Afghanistan / Saudi Arabia / Maldives / Pakistan / Iran / Yemen / Sudan / Eritrea / Libya

/ Nigeria / Uzbekistan / Central African Republic / Ethiopia / Vietnam / Qatar / Turkmenistan / Laos / Egypt / Burma/Myanmar / Brunei / Colombia / Jordan / Oman / India / Sri Lanka / Tunisia / Bhutan / Algeria / Mali / Palestinian Territo-ries / United Arab Emirates / Mauritania / China / Kuwait / Kazakhstan / Malaysia / Bahrain / Comoros / Kenya / Morocco / Tajikistan / Djibouti / Indonesia / Bangladesh / Tanzania / Niger / North Korea / Somalia / Syria / Iraq / Afghanistan / Saudi Arabia / Maldives / Pakistan / Iran / Yemen / Sudan / Eritrea / Libya / Nigeria / Uzbekistan / Central African Re-

public / Ethiopia / Vietnam / Qatar / Turkmenistan / Laos / Egypt / Burma/Myanmar / Brunei / Colombia / Jordan / Oman / India / Sri Lanka / Tunisia / Bhutan / Algeria / Mali / Palestinian Territories / United Arab Emirates / Mauritania / China / Kuwait / Kazakhstan / Malaysia / Bahrain / Comoros / Kenya / Morocco / Tajikistan / Djibouti / Indonesia / Bangladesh

/ Tanzania / Niger / North Korea / Somalia / Syria / Iraq / Afghanistan / Saudi Arabia / Maldives / Pakistan / Iran / Yemen / Sudan / Eritrea / Libya / Nigeria / Uzbekistan / Central African Republic / Ethiopia / Vietnam / QataR

POST

AGE P

AID

www.opendoorsyouth.org/secretchurch | #secretchurch Free re

sources to help you

hold a Secret Church meeting

website

Visit www.opendoorsyouth.org/secretchurch to order or download your free resources

Millions of Christians have to keep their faith hidden. Church for them is different. They meet in cellars, forests and fields. They gather early in the morning, or late at night. They memorise the Bible and worship in silence. Above all else, they are desperate to meet with Jesus.

Order our free, new Secret Church pack to worship with your persecuted family.

Packed full of ideas to help you plan a covert meeting, this experience will help you and your group see how much following Jesus can cost. Be challenged by the faith and passion of persecuted Christians… this is church unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.

Find out more about Secret Christians and how they do church on page 4.

Have you been waking up with us over the last few weeks? we’ve been sending out early morning emails to everyone who’s signed up to our ‘It’s Time to wake up’ campaign.

But we’re not the only one’s trying to meet with Jesus at crazy hours.

Despite fear of arrest or punishment, Pasha – a teenager from Iran

- and his friends regularly meet between midnight and 2 o’clock

in the morning to pray, encourage one another and worship Jesus.

Tired, weary and constantly watching out for police or informants,

they meet like this to avoid being seen - in Iran almost all Christian

activity is illegal.

For most of us, it’s hard enough to get up for church on a Sunday, let

alone think about being up for a meeting ‘til 2 in the morning! But

maybe Pasha and his friends understand something that we’ve missed.

Isaiah promises that ‘they that wait on the Lord shall renew their

strength… they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not

faint’ (Isaiah 40:31).

More than sleep, a nice site down or lie-in, our true source of

strength is only found in God. That’s why despite the risk, Christians

around the world are totally committed to meeting together, often

in secret, dirty locations at ridiculous times of the day. There’s no

worship band or big name speaker. They just know that a simple

touch from Jesus can change everything (Luke 8:43), giving them the

courage and passion to keep going.

So, tired? Facing the impossible? Try waiting on God. Ask Him to

come, and see what happens. Give it time, but let God renew and

restore you. Go on, do it! Enjoy the rest of the mag – make sure you

drop us a line to say hello.

emma and dan open doors youth Team

open doors youthPO Box 6, Witney, Oxon, OX29 6WG

Cell +44 (0)1993 777300 desktop www.opendoorsyouth.org Email youth@opendoorsuk.org

© 2014 Open Doors. Registered Charity in England and Wales No.1125684

WE’rE 60 NExT yEAr!We know, we don’t look it, but soon

we’ll qualify for a free bus pass! But

forget the zimmer or walking stick,

next year we’re planning a right-old

knees-up to celebrate all that God

has done with Open Doors since

Brother Andrew first smuggled

Bibles into the Soviet Union back in

1955. Keep your eyes peeled for

new campaigns, all new Blackout

stuff and special resources to use

next year.

NEW WEbSITEOk, not so new now as it’s been

live since July, but our website is

looking pretty swish and is updated

regularly with some great articles,

posts, news, prayer points, and

includes a whole host of resources

too. You’re welcome round for

a good nose about anytime

you fancy. Just head to www.opendoorsyouth.org and get in

touch if you’re a budding writer!

PrAyEr NEWSFor latest the very latest prayer

news and to take action visit

www.opendoorsyouth.org

NEWS

3

Yet?

Image by Flickr user Greta PPP

CAN you keep A

wANT THe LATeST NewS? LIKE US ON FACEBOOK OR FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

the cost / autuMn 2014 Feature articLe

CAN you keep A SeCReT?

Despite her toddler sense

of self-control, she does get

something important: the

best secrets shouldn’t in fact

be secrets for long. When it’s

good news - stuff we really

want to share - then at some

point the secret gets let loose.

Ever had mates get engaged or

someone you know tell you they

are expecting a baby? Those

are brilliant moments when

the secret gets out – times to

celebrate and have a party!

But imagine you knew some

amazing news that you just

couldn’t tell anyone. This isn’t

about bad news, but something

so utterly incredible that it could

change someone’s world.

That’s the situation millions of

followers of Jesus around the

world find themselves in today.

They’ve met Jesus, understood

he reveals God’s unending

love for his world and know he

can transform broken lives and

broken societies. But they can’t

say anything. They can’t share,

they can’t speak. In many

places, the news of Jesus - this

truth - is illegal. It’s deemed

dangerous, untraditional,

blasphemous or just wrong.

Anyone speaking about him

faces serious trouble. Jesus, the

best piece of news in all history,

has to be kept a secret.

The secret churchZigsa is from Tibet, and is

one of no more than 500

Christians in the region.

Believing in Jesus is a massive

risk: the threat of arrest, social

exclusion or violence is very

real for those whose secret is

discovered. Previously Zigsa

had been a Tibetan monk,

but as his life unravelled and

his family disowned him, he

thought of suicide. Amazingly

he had an incredible vision

of Jesus that pretty much

saved his life. As a result

Zigsa became an evangelist,

and now he helps organise

underground meetings. Up

to ten people gather in dark

rooms to sign songs under

their breath. They pray, share

the scriptures they know and

then leave. Zigsa helps lead

several groups with around

25-30 these believers – all of

whom met Jesus thanks to him.

In contrast, in other places

around the world, secret

my daughter is rubbish at keeping secrets. That’s fair enough - she’s only 3 and most of the secrets she’s been party to

involve birthday presents. Just before my last birthday, in her excitement, she pulled out a bunch of unwrapped, hidden

presents to show me exactly what the secret she knew was.

CAN you keep A

By Dan Etheridge

4

downLoad or request Free secret church resources at www.opendoorsyouth.org/secretchurch

the cost / autuMn 2014 Feature articLe

CAN you keep A SeCReT?

gatherings happen in the

open. Sometimes it is easier

to hide in plain sight. In North

Africa some Christians hold

prayer meetings in the middle

of busy restaurants. A group

of men, converts from Muslim

backgrounds, will gather and sit

around a table, ordering food

and drinks. They all take it in

turns to speak. No one would

know that they have gathered

to pray and encourage one

another. The noise of the

restaurant helps to protect their

secret meeting – it’s safer to

meet in the restaurant than talk

on the phone or send emails.

However in Eritrea believers

are more cautious in public,

being very careful to keep

their faith on the down-

low. Gabrielle was arrested

not long after becoming a

Christian. The police burst

into an underground prayer

meeting she was attending.

They imprisoned and tortured

her, but she didn’t reveal the

names of her secret brothers

and sisters. She was held for a

year, but on her release some

pastors went to visit her…

“We could see that she had suffered much, but her joy was very visible and quite overwhelming… instead of anger or fear, Gabrielle simply said ‘It was a honeymoon with Jesus’”

Around the world millions of

other Christians meet secretly

- some at dawn, some in the

middle of the night. Venues

and times differ, the form of

services and meetings will vary

massively, but one thing unites

all who attend these secret

gatherings: an unrelenting

passion to know Jesus.

more often I live like my faith is a secret… These are amazing people,

striving to follow Jesus no

matter what the cost. I find it

hard to not compare my faith

with theirs, and when I do I’m

deeply challenged. People like

Zigsa are forced to keep their

beliefs secret, but despite the

freedom I know living in the

UK, I’m realising that I live like

Jesus is a secret part of my

life. If someone was to look

at my life and hear my words,

I’m wondering if they’d ever

know I was a Christian.

The challenge for me (and maybe you) is that I not only stand with and support my hidden, secret family, but I use my freedom and privilege to live for Jesus as loudly and visibly as possible – surely He’s a secret worth sharing.

pRAy

Spend a while asking God to help the Secret Church...

1. Pray for people like Zigsa, the

Christians from North Africa and

Gabrielle as they continue to

meet secretly to worship Jesus.

2. Ask they would have

courage, boldness and passion

to keep the church alive and

growing in their countries.

do something: Get free resources to run a Secret Church meeting...

Head to opendoorsyouth.org to order your free Secret

Church pack. Inside you’ll

find session plans and ideas

on how to hold your own

secret meeting. Stretch your

faith by experiencing some of

the the day to day reality of

the underground church.

ACT

5

oN TwITTeR? USE THE #WEAREN TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

Life for Christians in Iraq since the end of the war in 2003 has not been good. Around 900,000 Christians have left in the last decade - but this year alone, thanks to the atrocities committed

by Islamic State (IS) militants, the situation on the ground is increasingly dire. Reports of massacres, beheadings and public

executions have become depressingly normal as IS soldiers have taken control of large parts of both Iraq and neighbouring Syria. Christians and other minority groups have been driven from their homes. whole cities have been cleansed of all who don’t conform

to a particular view of Islam. It really is shocking.

#WEAREN

6the cost / autuMn 2014

#Feature #weAReN

#WEAREN

MILLION

Get your tshirt and donwLoad resources at: www.opeNdooRSyouTH.oRG/weAReN

“It’s a chaos situation. We don’t

know what to do, where to go.

We have been moving around

so much in the past years.”

Raja, a Christian who fled mosul a few years ago

Faiez and his family fled Mosul

back in July after an ultimatum

by IS militants to convert,

pay a tax, leave or die. At a

checkpoint on the way out of

the city militant soldiers took

everything from them except

their clothes. They even took

his 9 year-old sons’ pocket

money – worth just 10p.

The loss of homes and

possessions is one thing,

but many others have faced

physical violence and seen

friends and family killed.

What We’re doing…Open Doors launched an

emergency appeal back in

July and we’re now supporting

3,000 displaced families each

month. Through a network of

partner churches these families

are receiving emergency relief

packs that contain essential

items such as food, water,

medicine and blankets. This

aid comes on the back of work

we’ve been doing with partners

and churches in Iraq for over

a decade – work which has

included providing Bibles,

Christian books and training,

counselling and even micro

loans to help Christians earn

a living.

do SoMething: the #Wearen caMpaign

This symbol is the letter ‘N’ in

Arabic. Pronounced ‘noon’, it is

used as shorthand for the word

Nasrani, a traditional Arabic

word that means Nazerene, or

Christian. IS militants in Mosul

used this symbol to identify

and target Christian homes

and businesses. In response all

Christians (like Faiez) fled.

We’re using this symbol as

a way of standing alongside

our church family in Iraq.

Put it on your social profile,

use the #wearen hashtag,

or buy one of our t-shirts

(order one using the form

sent with this magazine) to

spread awareness about

what is happening. All profits

from t-shirt sales go to our

relief work in Iraq and Syria.

You can also download our

prayer point fact sheet and

PowerPoints to use in your

church or youth group.

Get all this stuff and more at opendoorsyouth.org/wearen

7

pray noW…• Pray for healing and

protection for Christians

traumatised by the violence

• For safety of our partners

and churches who

are offering relief and

counselling

• For an end to the bloodshed

and instability

These figures illustrate just how crazy the situation is.

forced to flee their homes

civilian deaths from violence

churches destroyed or occupied in mosul

people displaced this year alone (uN Iraq)

MILLION

early morning Secret Church gatherings

Around

people signed up to wake up and pray with us

Raised from t-shirt sales for the persecuted church

messages written to Iranian prisoners and

secret Christians in North korea

Tasty campfire meals with awesome youth groups

Seminars attended by

well over 1000 peoplewe’re a bit sad that

the summer-time has

been and gone. we’ve

loved getting out and

about seeing lots of

you at events like Soul

Survivor and New

wine, as well as other

smaller events and

camps. Here’s some

umbers from our time

with loads of you at

Soul Survivor…

Thanks to SyC2014!SYC 2014 is a youth camp with

a heart to see young people

connect with God and they

invited us to be part of their

2014 camp. The young people

at SYC raised an incredible

£2244.12 for Open Doors

Youth. Ginormous respect to all

involved – thanks so much. Find

out more about SYC at:

summeryouthcamp.co.uk

Want to do something and raise

money for your persecuted

family? You could have a bake

off and sell little cakes at the end

of church, do a sponsored run,

bunjee jump or even do some

(legal) busking! The options

are endless. Get in touch to let

us know what you’re planning:

youth@opendoorsuk.org

on yer bike! In August a group from

Wolverhampton Pioneer

Ministries set themselves the

challenge of cycling 400 miles

in 4 hours to raise money for

Christians who’ve fled their

homes in Iraq. Each mile cycled

represented 1,000 displaced

people. The guys raised £185

throughout the afternoon… a

massive thanks to all involved!

what could

do?