Open Doors Australia

Open Doors Australia Serving the persecuted, strengthening the Church. Open Doors started in 1955 and now operates in over 70 countries worldwide.

We exist to help strengthen the persecuted church, where faith costs the most.

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This page is a place for you to connect with the persecuted church. We want to give you the opportunity to share your prayers, thoughts and comments for our brothers and sisters. We love hearing from you and do our best to reply and respond to questions! Here are our page guidelines:
We will do our best to

make sure that postings to this page are in line with our mission, vision and values (check them out at www.opendoors.org.au). Community posts to our page are not necessarily representative of the opinions of Open Doors Australia or Open Doors International and may not be accurate. We will remove posts and ban users under these conditions:
- Use of offensive, profane or defamatory language
- Discrimination or attacks on specific groups of people or individuals
- Advertisements, personal promotion, competitions
- Content determined to be inappropriate, in poor taste, or otherwise opposed to the purposes of this page
- Act in a manner that violates any law or regulation.

Mustafa* is an Iranian who first heard about Jesus through social media while living in a small town in northern Iran. H...
05/06/2026

Mustafa* is an Iranian who first heard about Jesus through social media while living in a small town in northern Iran. Hungry to know more about Christ, he left his country because he could not find anyone to guide him in the Christian faith. After leaving Iran, he connected with a church that supports refugees in a neighbouring country. There, he began sharing the Gospel with Iranian tourists. As his faith grew stronger, he started sharing his faith through social media, the very same way he himself had first heard about Jesus. He later applied for asylum in the neighbouring country.

Only recently, he received devastating news from the third country that he was promised to settle in, stating that his sponsorship had been cancelled, and his case was closed. Additionally, only a few days ago, immigration authorities called him and informed him that his residency had been cancelled and that he would be deported back to Iran on 21 May. That night was filled with fear and uncertainty, but Mustafa spent the night praying.

The next morning, something miraculous happened. The embassy of the third country suddenly called him and said, “Your case has been accepted, and your flight has been booked for 21 May.” For a few moments, he was speechless. Then he began praising God, overwhelmed and astonished by the hand of God at work in his life. If Mustafa was deported to his home country, he would have been captured and imprisoned for his faith. He thanks his family in Christ for praying and reminds us that God is still at work, doing miracles. He also asks us to pray for his country, that he would be able to return one day, along with other Iranian Christians, and live peacefully and worship Jesus freely in their home country.

*Representative image

In early May, multiple attacks involving bomb-dropping drones, shootings, and deliberately set fires woke rural communit...
04/06/2026

In early May, multiple attacks involving bomb-dropping drones, shootings, and deliberately set fires woke rural communities in Xicotlán, Tula, and Alcozacán, Guerrero Mexico.

The wave of violence erupted when two waring cartels, “Los Ardillos” and “Los Tlacos”, engaged in a destructive territorial battle. The widespread violence forced approximately 1,000 people to abandon their homes. Among them, around 400 are believed to be evangelical Christians.

This latest wave of widespread violence has been the most devastating by far, forcing entire communities to flee their homes, affecting evangelical Christians, and leaving churches empty.

Strong territorial control exercised by criminal groups and armed roadblocks have prevented access to several communities, severely hindering emergency relief efforts and gathering of reliable information about what is happening on the ground.

“The only way to collect information is through volunteers on the ground and local pastors. We are reconstructing events under extremely dangerous conditions, where every confirmed detail requires significant effort,” explained Victoria Vélez*, a member of the Open Doors team in the country.

For now, the local church is urgently calling for prayer for the displaced families and for an end to the violence devastating the region.

“In the midst of this crisis, what we need most is prayer support to help us endure,” Pastor Jairo says.

*Name changed for security purposes

Please pray:

🙏 For the protection of displaced communities, that God will guard them from danger.
🙏 For provision for displaced families, that food, water, shelter, and care will reach them.
🙏 For peace in Guerrero and for the spiritual endurance of the Church in Mexico.

Northern Mozambique is reeling from a series of arson attacks by Islamic extremists. Our local partners report that extr...
01/06/2026

Northern Mozambique is reeling from a series of arson attacks by Islamic extremists. Our local partners report that extremists set fire to St. Louis de Montfort Church and the kindergarten managed by the church. A nearby school was also set on fire.

Since the insurgency began, a million Mozambicans have been displaced and thousands killed. Due to insecurity in the area, our local partners are unable to provide affected believers with prayer and presence ministry. They ask for your prayers.

· Pray that the St. Louis de Montfort Church congregation and church leaders will remain strong in their faith.
· Pray for the perpetrators to be apprehended.
· Pray for Islamic extremists in the area to meet Jesus.
· Pray that communities in Mozambique will have better job opportunities and a stronger economic situation.

Praise God for good news from Iraq! An Iraqi court has ruled in favour of a young Christian woman, Maryam*, allowing her...
28/05/2026

Praise God for good news from Iraq!

An Iraqi court has ruled in favour of a young Christian woman, Maryam*, allowing her to have her official religious status corrected in the government’s database after she was automatically registered as Muslim under Iraqi law.

The significant ruling restores Maryam’s ability to live in accordance with her Christian faith and sets an important precedent for religious minorities across the region.

Her case was supported by Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF), a faith-based, conservative legal advocacy organisation operating globally to protect religious freedom, free speech, and the sanctity of life.

According to ADF, Iraq will appeal the decision to the Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation, the highest court in these matters.

If the decision is not revoked by the Court of Cassation, it most likely opens the door for other Iraqis to change their religious registration.

In Iraq and other countries, inaccurate or imposed religious designations can result in mandatory enrolment of children in religious education programs not of their faith, barriers to marriage, automatic assignment of children’s religion based on parental records, inheritance complications, family law conflicts, and exposure of non-Muslims to Sharia court jurisdiction.

Please pray:

🙏 Pray that a positive decision will soon be taken by the Iraqi Federal Court of Cassation in favour of Maryam.

🙏 Pray this case leads to freedom of choice for more Iraqi Christians in similar situations.

🙏 Pray for the boldness of other Iraqi Christians. It is dangerous to be a Christian in Iraq; pray for their safety, courage, and strength.

Please pray with Hanan* and Elias* for the safety of their children and their extended family. Please pray for believers...
27/05/2026

Please pray with Hanan* and Elias* for the safety of their children and their extended family. Please pray for believers across the world traumatised by violence for their faith. Pray for their strength, their resilience, and their healing 🙏

*Name changed for security purposes

An Open Doors field worker, who helps with our ministry to North Korean believers, recently expressed how much your supp...
25/05/2026

An Open Doors field worker, who helps with our ministry to North Korean believers, recently expressed how much your support means to Christians in North Korea.

He shared a letter from a Christian in North Korea… a rare glimpse at life for believers who follow Jesus in the world’s most difficult country for Christians.

Our field worker adds: “None of this would have been possible without the steadfast prayers and generous support of believers worldwide. So, thank you, on behalf of our entire team, for everything you do.”

Swipe to read the letter. It will inspire your faith and give you new insight to pray. ❤️‍🔥

On 13 May 2026, a miracle took place In Aleppo, Syria, when a crowded church of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese was save...
21/05/2026

On 13 May 2026, a miracle took place In Aleppo, Syria, when a crowded church of the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese was saved from a terrible explosion during a funeral service.

At 10:30 a.m., a car from the funeral company drove into the churchyard to take the coffin to the cemetery. That’s when a congregant noticed a strange object suddenly fall out from under it.

At first the object was difficult to identify, but then they realised it was a bomb. The crowd was terrified. They had all gathered in peace but now they fled in fear.

The police were called and arrived quickly. Official experts confirmed that the object was a live, handmade bomb.

One congregant says, "We thank God that the bomb fell off before it exploded. If it had gone off while we were all inside, it would have been a massacre. We are lucky to be alive."

Nearly a year ago, in June 2025, a su***de bomber’s attack on Saint Elias church in Dweila, Damascus, killed 22 Christians during Sunday mass, leaving survivors deeply traumatised.

Please pray for all Christians in Syria.

Pray:

🙏 For God’s protection over Syria’s Christian congregations. Praise Him for revealing the bomb before it caused untold destruction,

🙏 For Christians to receive a powerful and unshakeable peace in Christ, and

🙏 For extremists, that they miraculously find Jesus and become protectors instead of persecutors.

Elias* lost a sister, two brothers, and four cousins when a su***de bomber crashed through the doors of his church and d...
19/05/2026

Elias* lost a sister, two brothers, and four cousins when a su***de bomber crashed through the doors of his church and detonated explosives.

Twenty-five people died that day. Elias’ family remain faithful. They are scared but choose to follow God where He leads, even if that means staying put. You can read their full story here.

*Name changed for security purposes

We rarely get reports from places like Turkmenistan, not because persecution isn’t happening. Rather, it’s usually hidde...
15/05/2026

We rarely get reports from places like Turkmenistan, not because persecution isn’t happening. Rather, it’s usually hidden.

But our field team in Central Asia recently shared that police had carried out raids around the only Christian church in and around Balkanabat city.

And they’re asking us to pray…

At least 50 Turkmen citizens were detained before entering the church and taken away for questioning.

An unnamed police source told the media: "They were asked questions such as: 'Who
encouraged you to convert to Christianity? Were you offered money? Why did you leave Islam?’"

The same source said that violence, pressure, and threats were used in an attempt to make believers return to Islam.

In Turkmenistan, police and security services monitor the places where people gather, ensuring the regime maintains strict control of religion.

The detainees’ further fate is unknown. They and their families remain silent out of fear of further persecution. Will you pray with us?

Outrage and protests are erupting across Pakistan at the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court that ordered a 13-ye...
14/05/2026

Outrage and protests are erupting across Pakistan at the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court that ordered a 13-year-old Christian girl to return to her abductor, a 30-year-old Muslim man.

In July 2025, Maria Shahbaz was kidnapped, forcibly converted, and married to her captor. Her parents' pleas for justice were rejected when the court released its decision at the end of March this year.

Now, citizens and human rights groups alike are calling for change, and a national consultative committee has been assembled to review the case.

Stand with them and pray for Maria, her parents, and the protection of all vulnerable girls in Pakistan.

Please pray:

🙏 Pray that the national committee has the power and will to make positive changes.
🙏 Pray that the court ruling will be reversed and that Maria can return to her family.
🙏 Pray that recent new laws to restrict marriage to women 18 years and above is legally enforced.
🙏 Pray for a societal change that sees child marriage as detrimental to the well-being and future prospects of girls.

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