Persecution Story of 2006

This is the time of the year that the media tends to drag out their "story of the year." And so, rather than bucking the system, I would like to propose one of my own.

As the editor of The Persecuted and Prayer Alert, I work with the rest of my staff in determining what stories we are going to run from week to week. Sadly, in 2006 one country seems to have come up far too often for anyone's liking. Would you like to guess which one it is?
What might surprise you is that it is not a Muslim country, nor a Communist one. Nor is it a totalitarian regime. In fact, it is a fully functioning democracy. Its Prime Minister is a member of a religious minority and the country has generally good relations with the west.

And yet, throughout 2006, we have received numerous reports each week of Christians being attacked, killed and thrown into jail on various false charges.

My proposal for the persecution story of 2006 is the continuing and increasingly violent persecution of Christians in India. Earlier this year, a team from VOMC traveled to India to review our projects and to document the persecution of Christians there. While I am encouraged by the fact that we are making a significant difference in the lives of many Christians in India, I am also desirous to do even more. I was also saddened that we were forced to withdraw from partnering with ministry in India when they made decisions that would have made it impossible to maintain financial integrity and accountability that we value. I am grateful, however, that other partnership possibilities are emerging that will provide us (and you) with opportunities of letting our Indian brothers and sisters know that they have not been forgotten in 2007.