Encouraging and inspiring response to Barnabas Day of Prayer

Country / Region: Middle East and North Africa, Africa, Europe, South and East Asia, United States, Australia, South America, Russian Federation

“Barnabas Fund… never leave us to stand alone with those who are being persecuted. We appreciated your time to pray with us this time and we are planning for next year.” – The Rev. Thomas Tut, Sudan

Persecuted Christians in prison in Sudan at prayer

November 16, 2012: A big thank you to everyone who took part in our Day of Prayer for the persecuted Church on 1 November; events were held in at least 35 countries, and thousands joined in online.

We have received many encouraging and inspiring reports from our partners around the world, who really took hold of the initiative and rallied local Christians to pray for their persecuted family elsewhere.

A group of Afghan Christians, who are in exile in India because of their faith, held a prayer meeting. They told us:

All brothers were happy and thankful to the Barnabas Fund for organizing this prayer meeting which gave us a reason and opportunity to come to gather and pray especially for the persecuted church… We know very well the heart of the persecuted brothers and sisters and also the importance and necessity of prayer and such kind of prayer meetings for the persecuted church.

In Uganda, prayers were said over the radio in a live broadcast led by two church leaders. One of them said:

I read some prayer items in the guide … and invited the listeners to call and pray. Our telephone lines in the studio were jammed. One Muslim listener called to thank us for praying for Libya.

A Day of Prayer event in Guyana

Events took place in at least 35 countries, from Costa Rica to Turkey, Japan to Sierra Leone, Iran to Pakistan. In India, 4,440 churches participated.

The Day of Prayer had a significant online following also as prayer points were posted on our Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus pages frequently throughout the day. Our daily reach on Facebook trebled on 1 November from an average of around 3,000 to over 9,000 people.

Our prayer guide, which featured 48 countries in half-hourly slots, was accessed by over 3,700 people online, while around 1,900 printed copies were distributed from our UK offices.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director of Barnabas Fund, said:

It has been wonderful to hear how the Lord has used the Day of Prayer to inspire Christians throughout the world to intercede for their persecuted brothers and sisters. But the spiritual battle goes on, and I hope that many people will now make praying for persecuted Christians a daily practice.

– barnabas team