As pastors speak and pray with their congregations, they say they’re also keeping persecuted Christians around the world in mind.

More than nine in 10 U.S. Protestant pastors (93%) say their church has engaged in at least one of six ways to bring attention to Christians suffering persecution within the past year, according to a Lifeway Research study. Around one in 14 (7%) say they haven’t done any of those six, and less than 1% aren’t sure.

“The United States has extensive freedom for people to practice their faith without fear of retribution,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Despite the distance from persecution, pastors and churches are not ignoring the persecution Christians are experiencing throughout the world.”

Prayers for the persecuted

Praying isn’t all churches are doing for global persecuted Christians, but it is what the most congregations are doing. More than 5 in 6 pastors say they have encouraged their congregation to pray (86%) or prayed in a worship service (85%) for persecuted Christians worldwide within the past 12 months.

“While persecuted Christians may be hard to reach, churches are bringing requests to God on their behalf,” said McConnell.

Evangelical pastors are more likely than their mainline counterparts to include prayer as part of their churches’ response to persecution. Compared to mainline pastors, evangelical pastors are more likely to say they have encouraged their congregation to pray for persecuted Christians worldwide (92% vs. 80%) and have prayed in a worship service for Christians suffering persecution (89% vs. 79%).

Pastors in the South are among the most likely to have encouraged their congregation to pray (89%) and to have done so during a worship service (88%). Those in the Northeast are among the least likely to encourage prayer (80%) and pray during a service (78%) for persecuted Christians.

Denominationally, Presbyterian/Reformed pastors are among the least likely to have encouraged their congregation to pray for Christians experiencing persecution around the world (75%) and prayed specifically for those persecuted during a service (72%).

Other means of ministry

Most pastors have used their sermons as an opportunity to bring up the topic of persecution, but fewer have gone beyond that. Two in 3 (66%) have talked about modern persecuted believers from around the world in a sermon.

Pastors are less likely to say they’ve handed out information about persecuted Christians (31%). Even fewer had an event to bring awareness of Christian persecution (17%) or showed a video during a worship service about persecuted Christians (16%).

“Examples and stories of newly persecuted Christians worldwide are readily accessible, and most pastors are sharing this news in sermons at least annually. Whether pastors are preaching from Bible passages that include persecution or those that promise Christians will face persecution, today’s global persecution is relevant to today’s biblical teaching,” said McConnell.

As with prayer, evangelical pastors are frequently more likely to be involved in other ways of raising awareness for Christians suffering persecution. They are more likely than mainline pastors to have talked about modern persecuted Christians in a sermon (75% vs. 53%), handed out information about the issue (36% vs. 24%) and shown a video about the persecution of Christians worldwide (22% vs. 9%).

Pastors at larger churches are among the most likely to have included something about modern persecuted Christians worldwide in a sermon in the past year. Pastors at churches with 100-249 attendees (75%) and those with 250 or more (74%) are more likely than those with fewer than 50 (59%) to have broached the subject in a sermon. Pastors of the smallest congregations are also the least likely to have shown a video (10%).

Additionally, Pentecostal (82%), Baptist (74%), non-denominational (72%) and Restorationist movement (70%) pastors are more likely than Lutheran (56%) and Presbyterian/Reformed (47%) pastors to have mentioned modern global persecution in a sermon.

Non-denominational (39%) and Baptist (33%) pastors are more likely than Presbyterian/Reformed (23%) and Restorationist movement (20%) pastors to say they handed out information about persecuted Christians in the past year. Non-denominational pastors are among the most likely to have had an event focused on the issue (27%). Lutherans are the least likely to have shown a video about persecution (4%).

Pastors 65 and older are among the most likely to say they have handed out information about persecuted Christians (37%) or hosted a related event (23%).

“Pastors are quick to say they are praying for persecuted Christians, but remembering them with other emphases or events is much less common,” said McConnell.

For more information, view the complete report. 

Aaron Earls is the senior writer at Lifeway Research.