Be Sleepless for the Persecuted: The Story of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
“No Christian should sleep well at night while our brothers and sisters are being martyred,” said the late Charles Colson. Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and former “hatchet man” for President Richard Nixon, was one of the top Christian leaders who in 1996 committed to promoting a worldwide day of prayer specifically to pray for persecuted Christians.
In fact, once Colson learned the depth and extent to which his fellow Christians were being persecuted by their own governments or by non-governmental actors, he did not rest. Those of us who provided him with the facts that cold January in 1996 only hoped and prayed that other Christians, once awakened, would suffer similar insomnia over the martyrs.
I was part of the coalition that first met January 23, 1996 to create the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). There were a handful of Christian organizations, along with Southern Baptist and Catholic leaders, and other tireless advocates like Colson; Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom (now at The Hudson Institute); and former Reagan Administration official, Michael Horowitz.
We were convicted, knowing more people had died for their Christian faith in the twentieth century than in all previous centuries combined. We also believed that not only was persecution of religious believers – particularly Christians – a shockingly overlooked human rights issue, but that Western Christians have a Biblical mandate to be a voice for suffering Christians.
Now, in the twenty-first century, the number of Christian martyrs is even larger. Last year some 380,000 Christians were killed or severely persecuted solely for their faith. And it is still true today that persecution is shockingly overlooked. Also still true that we Christian brothers and sisters of the persecuted have the mandate to be their voice.
In an age before the internet was common and before social media was even created, many American church members didn’t think about their fellow believers around the world. They needed information and ideas about what they could do and how to pray. (Still do in these days of internet and social media!) A special day focused on the persecuted church would give structure to their prayers and advocacy. So we organized for our first International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, September 29, 1996,
I helped to create resources that were distributed to thousands of churches. I also drafted language for a resolution on worldwide persecution that was passed in both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate on September 17, 1996. The resolution encouraged stronger U.S. government advocacy and encouraged the President to appoint a special advisor on religious persecution. In addition, both House Resolution 515 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 71 endorsed the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.
Outside the political realm, we worked to encourage churches -- not just in America, but globally – to participate in IDOP. By early September, churches in 110 countries committed to actively taking part in the Day of Prayer. Christians in Sudan prayed for Christians in China. Christians in China prayed for Christians in Iran. Iranian Christians prayed for North Korea. Some of the most repressive, dangerous places to be a Christian pledged to pray for others being persecuted. It was humbling to those of us in freedom!
Two years later, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed into law, the International Religious Freedom Act. It was a watershed moment, the first time that religious freedom was enshrined in U.S. foreign policy. IRFA also provided tools for advocates that ask the question, “What can I do?” Once someone became aware of the overwhelming reality of global religious persecution, we did not want them to be paralyzed by helplessness.
Later it was felt that there would be more high-profile political participation in IDOP if it was moved to November, preferably prior to Election Day. And not just political. For instance, in 2000 the band Jars of Clay participated in IDOP. They performed a deeply moving, powerful song with an accompanying music video including footage from the Asian underground church: “This Road.”
I wish I could say twenty-nine years of intentional prayer for the persecuted church around the world have stopped, or even lessened, persecution. That is obviously not the case. Laws are not always implemented, religious freedom continues to be neglected in much U.S. foreign policy and in the mainstream media – with the recent stunning, Providential exception of outbursts about Christians being persecuted in Nigeria by Bill Maher.
Persecution continues and seems to increase every year. But miracles continue, as well. There have been triumphs of the human spirit in both those prayed for and those who pray. One such was the beautiful experience of prayer for the persecuted we have experienced at New Wineskins in 2019, 2022, and 2025.
The Anglican Persecuted Church Network was birthed at New Wineskins 2019. And the testimony of Dominic Sputo, the author of Heirloom Love: Authentic Christianity in This Age of Persecution, opened many eyes. The newfound awareness drove the crowds at the Friday night plenary to their knees in front of banners representing North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, and some 14 other countries. That experience was repeated at New Wineskins 2022, and just this past September at New Wineskins 2025.
Most of us who pray understand that God is quite able to change situations without our prayers. It is we ourselves that are changed through prayer. We are filled with new, deep compassion; we are convicted to speak out in every way we can; and, as Isaiah 58 says, we begin to “spend” ourselves on behalf of the oppressed and persecuted.
This year there are many groups providing resources and organizing prayers for IDOP 2025, even 29 years on. I have listed a sampling of them below for your information. In addition, on Tuesday, November 4, the Anglican Persecuted Church Network will join with Save The Persecuted Christians and Katartismos Global in hosting an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church Live X Spaces at noon, Eastern Time. Please join us! And whatever you do, don’t be silent. Don’t sleep too well when your brothers and sisters are being persecuted. Help save the Persecuted Church.
Find more resources here:
Faith McDonnell has recently become the Director of Advocacy at Katartismos Global, a Christian non-profit organization founded by The Rt. Rev. Mrs. Julian Dobbs for the purpose of "Equipping the Saints." Previously she directed the International Religious Liberty Program and Church Alliance for a New Sudan at the Institute on Religion and Democracy, Washington, DC. Faith has been an advocate for persecuted believers and for wider human rights issues for over 27 years, speaking, writing extensively, and mobilizing church members. Faith organized rallies and protests, drafted legislation on religious persecution for both houses of Congress, and for the Episcopal Church. In addition to co-leading the Anglican Persecuted Church Network, Faith co-leads GAFCON’s Suffering Church Network with the Rt. Rev. Andudu Adam Elnail.
