Christians are one of the most persecuted groups in world. It’s estimated that every five minutes, a Christian is martyred for his or her faith. Johnnie Moore believes that the attack on Christianity has to do with spiritual warfare and the freedom that is offered to us through Jesus Christ.

“The values of Christianity, these Judeo-Christian values that we cherish in our nation and in nations like ours around the world, they are values that promote freedom; they promote diversity, they promote all of these things that are threats to authoritarians.”

“Whether it’s a purely demonic attack on Christianity, which I believe ISIS was, or whether it’s the attempts by authoritarian regimes like that of the North Koreans to suppress the voice and influence of Christians who think freely and have a free mindedness. Whatever it is, somehow Christians end up too often in the bull’s eye.”

Johnnie points out that as much as these authoritarian or terrorist groups attack Christians, those with faith continue to grow stronger. He reflects on the courageous men and women he encountered during one of his trips to Iraq.

“I was in Northern Iraq and I saw the Christians who had fled by the tens of thousands in the middle of the night as ISIS moved into their villages. They were sleeping in unfinished buildings, in the courtyard of churches, and in the streets. Some of them had been able to put up these ramshackle tents.”

“Days after these Christians had fled, with ISIS still on the assaults only thirty miles or so away, all these Christians put crosses up on their tents. They wore their crosses around their necks and sometimes they had Christmas lights to illuminate the crosses so they could be seen in the middle of the night because they weren’t ashamed of their faith.”

“As much as these terrible people tried to eliminate Christianity from the face of the earth, what they couldn’t do is make Christians ashamed of Jesus Christ.”

2 Timothy 3:12 tells us that if we want to live a godly life, we will face persecution. But we don’t have to live in fear. We can take up our cross daily and know that our future is secure in Christ.


Johnnie Moore author of , is a humanitarian who has been called one of the “world’s most influential young leaders” and “a modern day Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” He serves on the boards of World Help, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Dream Center LA, the U.S. Lausanne Committee, and the World Evangelical Alliance. He is President of The KAIROS Company.

Stories of courage from the persecuted church