Now that firsthand experience will be put to use in his appointment as the new head of the World Evangelical Alliance's Religious Liberty Commission.
Here, Godfrey speaks about his commitment to supporting the persecuted church and how the Religious Liberty Commission is helping suffering churches stand firm for Christ.
CT: Christian persecution watchdogs say that the persecution of Christians in the 21st century has been greater so far than in any other century. Do you feel overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge or do you feel like there is a place where you can make a real difference?
GY: I come from a country where there is so much persecution so my heart goes out to many in other countries where there is persecution. I think it is a big challenge but it is also a calling on the WEA Religious Liberty Commission to respond to these matters. Also, it is a time to prepare the church for suffering and persecution. If the church is prepared it can usually withstand persecution but if the church is not prepared then usually the church gets wiped out.
If the church is prepared then actually persecution is followed by the growth of the church, but where the church is not prepared the church is completely destroyed. That's why you find in countries like Japan that went through persecution in the 15th and 16th century, it is said that there were over 15 % Japanese Christians, but today there is only 3 per cent because the church was not prepared.
In a lot of other countries where the church was educated and trained to really go through persecution and see it as something that God is using to purify the church then you find that the church experiences a tremendous growth. It can be a great opportunity.
In my own country, we were a very divided church led by several centric personalities. But when persecution came it brought leaders together to pray together to really seek God and to work together and that was something I never saw before persecution came to Sri Lanka.
CT: What do you think of Christians in Iraq who feel that the persecution there is too much and are leaving, whilst some Christians are saying they should stay?
GY: I think it is a very tough decision for us to either stay or leave because each Christian and each church has to make that decision. From the outside it is very easy to say run or stand. I would leave the decision to the people there to make that choice.
