Installment I of the Holy Week article series, titled “Light in the Shadow of the Cross.”
By Wendy Kinney | Exclusive for SaraACarter.com
The first piece, written for Palm Sunday, is called: “Faith Under Siege: A Global Cry from the Persecuted Church.”
The series will unfold daily throughout the week—building with each day as we walk where Jesus walked, pause at the places He paused, and remember what He was carrying. Each article begins with where He was in that moment and draws a powerful connection to the persecution His followers face around the world today.
Together, the series will move us toward Resurrection Day—inviting readers to reflect more deeply, pray more urgently, and see the cross not only as a moment in history, but as a present-day reality still being carried by His people.
———-
Faith Under Siege: A Global Cry from the Persecuted Church
On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Crowds laid palm branches before Him, shouting “Hosanna!”—a public celebration of the long-awaited Messiah. But this triumphal entry marked the beginning of His road to the cross. Just days later, those cheers would give way to cries of “Crucify Him.”
As we enter Holy Week, let us begin where Jesus did—riding toward the suffering that lay ahead. And let us remember that His Body still suffers today.
Because across the world, millions of believers are walking their own road of persecution. Some will worship in silence. Some will hide. And some will not make it through the week alive.
Christian persecution is rising—fast, brutal, and global. From the blood-stained sanctuary floors in Kasanga, Congo… to the burned churches in Nigeria… to the prison cells of China… to the ruins of Christian villages in Syria… the war on Christianity is no longer subtle. It is loud. It is coordinated. And it is being ignored.
The Body of Christ is under siege—and the West barely notices.
This is not just neglect. It is abandonment.
Nigeria: Burned Churches and Butchered Faith
In northern Nigeria, Christian villages are regularly attacked by Boko Haram and Fulani militants. Churches are torched. Congregants are slaughtered. Survivors are often left to grieve alone, abandoned by both government and global media. Entire regions have been depopulated of Christians—but where is the outrage?
China: Surveillance and the Silencing of Saints
In China, the persecution is colder but no less brutal. Crosses are torn from churches. Bibles are rewritten to suit the state. Pastors are jailed without trial. House churches are raided and dismantled. Worship itself is being criminalized. Christians are tracked, monitored, and punished for their faith.
Syria: Betrayed in the Ruins
Once home to ancient Christian communities, Syria is now a shattered nation where believers are hunted. After the fall of Assad, the rise of Ahmed al-Sharaa—an extremist militant—has brought an even darker reign. Christians in Latakia and Tartus have been slaughtered. Churches have been turned to ash. The world helped destabilize Syria—and then walked away.
Congo: Beheaded in a Church—and Forgotten
On February 12, 2025, in the village of Kasanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo, seventy Christians were abducted by ISIS-linked militants and forced into a Protestant church. Inside that sanctuary, they were beheaded—one by one.
Their bodies were discovered two days later, still inside the house of worship where they once prayed.
And the world said almost nothing.
No front-page headlines. No global outrage. No emergency sessions. It barely made the news.
This is what persecution looks like. And it demands to be seen.
South Asia: Faith on Trial
Christian persecution is rising sharply across South and Southeast Asia. In India, radical Hindu mobs have stormed churches, attacked worshippers, and driven Christian families from their homes—all while local authorities look the other way. Anti-conversion laws are used to harass and imprison pastors, and churches are routinely vandalized.
In Pakistan, blasphemy laws have become weapons. A single accusation—true or false—can lead to a death sentence or mob violence. Christian girls are kidnapped, forcibly converted, and married off under the guise of “religious freedom.” Families live in fear every day for simply professing the name of Jesus.
Myanmar, Indonesia, and parts of Southeast Asia are also seeing a troubling rise in state and militant-backed persecution. The targets may change—but the reason remains the same: faith.
We can’t name every nation here. But what’s happening is global. It’s accelerating. And the Church can’t afford to stay silent.
Egypt: The Cross Under Fire
In Egypt, Coptic Christians have long lived in the shadow of persecution—but recent attacks have once again laid bare the danger of following Christ. In Upper Egypt, Islamic extremists recently burned Christian homes, terrorizing families and driving them from their communities. Churches remain targets. Believers face open hostility in the streets, in their schools, and in their workplaces.
Though the Egyptian government has promised reforms, the reality for many Christians remains unchanged. They worship knowing the next service could be their last. They live with the knowledge that the mere presence of their faith may provoke violence.
And still, they remain.
Japan: Freedom in Question
Japan is often seen as a peaceful democracy with religious liberty, but recent moves by its government have raised alarms. The court-ordered dissolution of the Unification Church, though not a Christian denomination, signaled an aggressive shift in how religious groups are treated. Other minority faiths, including Christians and Jehovah’s Witnesses, have reported increased pressure under expanded child protection laws that classify certain faith-based practices as abusive.
It doesn’t always look like violence. Sometimes, persecution shows up in paperwork—in laws that silence worship and crush dissent. And make no mistake—it’s coming for belief.
Let This Be the Week the Church Wakes Up
We are the Body of Christ. And His flock is being slaughtered all over the world.
Yet much of the Church is distracted—fighting over branding, chasing relevance, or debating things Scripture already settled. While Christians are being executed in sanctuaries, many pulpits remain silent. While our brothers and sisters are imprisoned, raped, and martyred, the Western Church is debating marketing strategies and platform growth.
This Holy Week cannot be business as usual.
Let this be the week we wake up. Let this be the moment we return to our knees. Let this be the day we remember what it means to belong to a persecuted Church—and to carry one another’s burdens across borders, languages, and blood-soaked soil.
“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it…”
—1 Corinthians 12:26
Pray for them. Speak for them. Weep for them.
And prepare your heart—because the next article in this series will take you to the church in Kasanga, where seventy believers were beheaded in the sanctuary.
This is not history. This is now.
We begin Holy Week with palms in our hands.
Let us not arrive at Easter with blood on our conscience.
