Over 380 million Christians face persecution yet 'the Church continues to grow': Open Doors
A North Korean Christian who escaped imprisonment twice is praying to see his child again and share Jesus with them, showcasing the determination persecuted believers have to keep God's Word alive amid surges in anti-Christian violence across the globe.
Jung Jik's story (name changed for security reasons) appeared alongside several others in the Open Doors US 2025 World Watch List report released Wednesday chronicling the 50 worst countries where Christians are oppressed for their faith.
"Even in some of these places where persecution is extreme, the Church continues to exist," Ryan Brown, the CEO of Open Doors US, told The Christian Post. "The Church continues to grow."
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According to the latest report, 380 million Christians — one in seven worldwide — face high levels of persecution and discrimination. As the organization has done for over 20 years, Open Doors US ranked North Korea No. 1 on its World Watch List.
"[North Korea] continues to be a place that is incredibly difficult for Christians," Brown stated. "Reports of violence have continued to escalate within North Korea, and it is expansive throughout the State."
Christians in North Korea could face execution or imprisonment in a labor camp if their faith is discovered, Open Doors warns. Despite the targeted oppression, however, the latest World Watch List reported that around 400,000 believers in North Korea are continuing to bear witness to the love of Christ.
As Jung attested in the report, a large underground Church still survives in North Korea. The believer, who resides in South Korea, remembered hearing his grandmother mumble Christian prayers, not realizing what they were at the time.
Jung's father also became a Christian after he fled North Korea in search of food, leading to his imprisonment. Jung would follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a follower of Christ and by fleeing North Korea.
"My heart still yearns for North Korea," Jung said. "There's still a large underground church. Because you pray, many people are miraculously healed, and they experience God's power. They come to faith."
The North Korean Christian has twice escaped imprisonment — once by climbing an electric fence while it was turned off, and another time when a guard asked him to fetch him alcohol.
During his imprisonment, the guards only referred to Jung by his number, and he was deprived of food.
Jung hopes to reunite with his child and teach them about Jesus.
Brown said Christians like Jung, who refuse to forsake Christ, are a model for Christ-followers in Western countries with the right to religious freedom. Throughout Christianity's history, Brown stressed that the Church has continued to thrive, even when persecution is extreme.
"There are places where the Church is, by all accounts, the life is being squeezed from it," Brown said, citing the North African country of Algeria, which ranked 19th on the 2025 World Watch List, as an example.
Per the report, "all Protestant churches [in Algeria] have been forced to close, and the number of Christians awaiting trial and sentencing is at an all-time high."
Other countries that have forced the Church underground include Afghanistan, which ranked No. 10 on the list. Due to the Taliban enforcing strict interpretations of Islamic law, converting from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death. Christians also face punishment or fear being murdered at the hands of their family, clan or tribe if they renounce Islam.
"There are places where the Church is being forced deeply underground, and any visible expression of that presence is very difficult to observe," Brown said. "But there are places where, in the midst of persecution, the Church continues to operate, the Church continues to minister."
The latest report also found increased violence scores in 15 sub-Saharan countries since the 2023 World Watch List. The 2025 report noted that the sub-Saharan Africa region is the most violent due to Islamic extremist groups taking advantage of government instability.
"Persecution is rising in countries such as Burkina Faso (20), Mali (14) and Chad (49), which enters the top 50 for the first time," the report found.
Christians in Yemen (3), Sudan (5) and Myanmar (13) are easy targets for persecution as anarchy and internal conflict within these regions grows, according to Open Doors.
Nigeria, which ranked seventh on the list, stands out from many of the sub-Saharan countries, as there wasn't much room for conditions in the region to worsen from previous years.
Christians in northern Nigeria are targeted by Fulani militants, Boko Haram and other extremist groups who murder or abduct people of faith. Thousands of Nigerian Christians have been killed in recent years.
According to a summary of the 2025 report's trends, "the measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology."
Brown urged world leaders like President-elect Donald Trump to address the issue of Christian persecution by making religious freedom a priority.
He said persecution of Christians is being used to create instability in many of the places documented in the report and why religious freedom must be "part of the conversation" when trying to achieve peace and stability in these countries.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
