“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.” —1 Corinthians 12:26
Across the 10/40 Window—where the majority of the world’s unreached people live—the Church is under fire. From North Africa to the Middle East to South Asia, believers face pressure, threats, imprisonment, and even death simply for choosing to follow Jesus. In these places, Christianity isn’t a cultural tradition—it’s a costly decision. And persecution isn’t rare. It’s reality.
In restricted and persecuted places, Christianity isn’t a tradition—it’s a costly decision.
Yet the gospel is still moving forward.
At Activate Global, we work alongside local leaders who carry this weight daily. They are not victims. They are pioneers. And their faith—tested in fire—challenges us to reconsider what it really means to follow Christ.
According to the World Watch List 2025, more than 380 million Christians now experience high levels of persecution. But the heat is most intense in the 10/40 Window. In nations like Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, and Somalia, simply owning a Bible can mean death. In parts of South Asia, house church leaders are dragged from their homes or targeted with mob violence. In places like Yemen and Pakistan, leaving another religion to follow Jesus isn’t just socially costly—it’s a capital offense.
The Church isn’t shrinking. In fact, it’s multiplying.
Underground gatherings are growing. Disciples are being made in prison cells, in hidden villages, and behind shop counters. Persecution, it turns out, isn’t a barrier to gospel movement—it often becomes the soil where bold, resilient faith takes root.
What drives this kind of courage? Part of it is the unshakable conviction that Jesus is worth everything. But part of it is practical too. In persecuted places, believers need more than encouragement—they need a way forward.
That’s why our work centers on equipping leaders with simple, sustainable tools. Kingdom Business provides believers with a credible identity and economic foundation. Disciple-Making Trainings offer reproducible, grassroots strategies that don’t depend on buildings or Western presence. And our coaching relationships help leaders navigate risk, trauma, and multiplication with wisdom and Spirit-led clarity.
We don’t build around the fire. We thrive in it.
We’ve seen remarkable stories rise from the ashes. A leader in South Asia who once feared speaking his faith now trains dozens of others. A Christian entrepreneur in the Middle East runs a shop that doubles as a quiet gathering place for seekers. In North Africa, a pastor driven from his home now disciples others across borders using encrypted platforms.
These stories aren’t the exception. They’re becoming the norm.
Still, persecution isn’t something to romanticize. It’s painful. It’s isolating. Families are torn apart. Churches are burned. Communities suffer. And yet, in the midst of that suffering, the Church continues to shine with hope that the world cannot extinguish.
Yusef, once a persecutor of Christians in his own community, became a follower of Christ when one he had mocked shared the gospel with him. After 16 years of wrestling with the testimony of that man, Yusef finally accepted Christ. A former gang member, Yusef continues to face death for turning his back on his old way of life and his own government.
As war tore through his country, Yusuf’s wife and child were taken from him, and he was forced to flee. Yet even in the face of loss, his faith remained steadfast. Now, he is preparing to return—not as a gang leader, but as an attorney, equipped to seek justice and stand for truth in his homeland.
The gospel doesn’t stop in the fire. It spreads through it.
We continue to invest in ministry to the unreached—and often, the persecuted—because these are the very places where Jesus is building His Church. Where governments try to silence truth, and where the light cannot be put out.
So we press on. Not because the fire is easy, but because Jesus is worth following—even in the hardest places on earth.
Persecution reveals what we really believe. It tests the strength of our discipleship. It reminds us that comfort is not the goal—faithfulness is. And most of all, it invites us to pray, to give, and to stand with those whose faith has already been proven genuine.
“I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” —Matthew 16:18
Let’s keep building.