The Persecuted Church: Uzbekistan

Government control of the Uzbek church through the SNB (former KGB) is very strong. All religious communities have to be registered, but it is a long, tiresome and almost impossible process for the Protestant church. Often registration is refused or even withdrawn after it has been granted. There is no Uzbek indigenous church with registration.

Local community leaders put pressure on Christians by cutting off water supplies and/or electricity to force them out of the village or to make them renounce their faith. Almost in every town Mahalla (district) committees ask families to come in for “a conversation’. They threaten Christian families, who then move from one Mahalla to another.

Local and national television stations regularly broadcast programs about Protestant congregations, shedding a very negative light on Christianity. As a result several individuals suffer severe physical and psychological pressure and many people who are interested in Christianity feel intimidated.

Pray:

• Pray for the small church their to grow in this hostile environment and for Christians to remain steadfast in faith.
• Pray for church leaders as they seek to obtain registration to worship legally.

                                                                     (Courtesy of OpenDoorsUSA.com)

Dear Lord:

Today we stand in the gap for our brothers and sisters in Uzbekistan.  We cannot possibly comprehend the difficulty of following You in such circumstances.  We ask for Your presence to be very real and alive to the believers who struggle in this place and that their recognition of the Truth will encourage them in the face of despair and strengthen them when they want to give up.  I pray that the church would find favor with the government in order to allow them to worship freely and without fear of reprisal.  Amen.