It can be hard to grasp the subject of persecution here in the West. We live at ease and in wealth like the world has never known. Only in the last few years have we begun to sense a gathering storm of anti-Christian worldviews on our own horizons. But in many other nations, to be a Christian is to know persecution.

In a recent visit to a mission field where Christians persecution is the norm, I had the privilege of hearing the weighty stories that many brothers and sisters told of the cost of discipleship. As they have taken up their crosses to follow after Christ, they have suffered much. I will pass on some of their stories. But most of all I will tell you that the Lord is doing great things among these brothers and sisters even as they suffer.

The Lord has done great things for them. Everywhere I turned I heard reports of growth among the churches. God has been adding converts, and the window of this blessing has not been closed by persecution. Men and women are hearing about Jesus Christ for the first time, being convicted of their sin, placing their faith in Him, and receiving baptism, even though there is a cost. Out of their understanding that God has saved them to worship Him, they gather together as they are able. Where there is more freedom, some worship in groups of 100–150, while in other cities restrictions and monitoring means they can only gather by 10s and 20s. But gather they do, because they long to worship, to hear the Word of God read and preached, and to sing psalms in praise to God.

As churches grow and face restrictions, some have decided to establish more worship locations. This means they need more ministers, ruling elders, and deacons to serve in most of the churches. In God’s goodness, He is providing for this need, giving ministers to continue proclaiming the gospel to the lost, along with ruling elders to disciple those young in their faith and to shepherd the flock of God. Their ministry needs resemble those in the States, but they have the added burden of suffering for being a Christian.

The need for teaching elders is so great that certain ones have pursued theological education so that they can carry on seminary-level training of men for the ministry even at great cost to themselves. If you think about it, this is what a healthy indigenous church does. By God’s grace, the church trains its own ministers in its own context. But from another perspective, this seminary work also takes steps to prepare for an uncertain future. Even if the borders closed, Christ will have His church and, through these careful steps, the church is prepared to continue.

I’ll list just one other blessing. The church under persecution has a breathtaking vision for the gospel mission of the church. You might guess that a church suffering persecution would be afflicted with tunnel vision, seeing only the troubles they face and narrowing their prayers and work to the pressing day-to-day nature of living out their faith in the midst of fiery trials. However, I heard them praying not only for their own people—a large mission field in and of itself—but also for the gospel to be taken to other people groups and nations around the world, even to the Muslim and Jewish peoples. I heard them praying for the United States. What a thrilling demonstration of their faith.

While sowing the seeds of the gospel, they also sow in tears. Along with reports of blessings, everywhere I turned I also heard about the persecution they face. For safety’s sake, I cannot go into detail but will paint with broad brushstrokes.

They face the threat of imprisonment. Perhaps you have heard of notable cases of pastors being arrested and put in prison. Not all cases are as notable and make the news. But it is happening more broadly than we know. Some have been arrested and questioned. Some have been jailed for a short time, others for years.

They face surveillance. One of the best-known places where surveillance occurs is China. A recent change in espionage laws incentivizes people to report suspicious activity. This includes a reward of up to 500,000 RMB (roughly $70,000) for information about suspicious individuals or suspected espionage activities. But surveillance is being used against Christians in other countries as well.

They face economic sanctions and diminished educational/vocational opportunities. When found guilty, some have received fines or lost benefits. Some have lost jobs or advancement because of their faith. Our brothers and sisters also voiced pressing needs for their children. Mandatory public education is decidedly atheistic and communistic. Choosing alternative forms of education, as many have, cuts off opportunity for students to advance into higher education, leaving them limited in their options vocationally. They pray for the development of forms of Christian higher education that might prove to be accepted, or they pray for churches in the West that have a burden for this need who might have the vision and funds to sponsor some of their children at Western universities.

It has long been said that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Matthew Henry put it this way, “Never did the church so much prosper and so truly thrive as when she was baptized in the blood. The ship of the church never sails so gloriously along as when the bloody spray of her martyrs falls on her deck. We must suffer and we must die, if we are ever to conquer this world for Christ.”

I like the way Psalm 126 puts it. “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (vv. 5–6).