The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church this year will be held on 6 November where millions of Christians around the world will be praying for their fellow brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their faith.

|TOP|Release International (RI), which serves the persecuted church in 30 nations, has launched new ground-breaking resource materials to help Christians in the UK to identify and pray together on this day.

The resources include presentations with reports of first-hands testimonies from Christians persecuted in Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

The shocking reality of persecuted Christians worldwide reveals that more Christians were killed for their faith in the 20th century than in the previous 1900 years combined, tell Release International. Reportedly, thousands of Christians are killed every year as a direct result of their faith.

According to RI, "Up to 250 million Christians are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ every year. Millions more are under pressure with their human rights abused.’"

“Our aim is to mobilise prayer for persecuted Christians and to draw from their experience,” says Eddie Lyle, the chief executive of Release International. “The material focuses on the testimonies of persecuted Christians in Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Each one is a light in the darkness, shining for Christ despite the suffering and ill-treatment they face.

“My prayer is that God will powerfully touch hearts and minds by his Spirit, and enable us to intercede in prayer with both passion and godly imagination.”

|QUOTE|A new DVD package entitled Light of the Darkness, contains video news reports, the Faces of Persecution video which shows stories and testimonies from Christians persecuted around the world, and other resource materials to print from a computer are provided. Printed materials can also be downloaded at the RI website. (www.releaseinternational.org/idop)

The Light of the Darkness guide include materials to guide churches with creative ideas for holding a ‘Prayer Concert’ or church meeting focusing on the persecuted churches worldwide. A sermon outline is provided, including youth and children’s materials, drama sketch, and a background briefing on Christian persecution worldwide.

The presentation of Light in the Darkness includes slides to help churches arrange their own ‘Prayer Concert’ for persecuted Christians.

An OHP world map which highlights the persecution countries is included for churches to use at a prayer meeting or service. The Light in the Darkness response card features a prayer ledge and a postcard to send to the Sri Lanka embassy.

The DVD package is available from Release International in electronic format to print from a computer.

‘From India to Indonesia, Nigeria to North Korea, Christians are intimidated, massacred, raped, harassed, tortured, pressured to renounce their faith, discriminated against and even killed,’ according to RI.