Five testimonies from North Koreans who have received Bibles during this time of Coronavirus

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Pastor Foley

It’s hard to lock down an underground church. Not even authorities hostile to the gospel plus a virus can accomplish that.

Here are five testimonies from North Koreans who have received audio Bibles and ministry packs from our underground field team members during the time of Coronavirus. None of the recipients were previously Christian. None are defectors; in fact, none plan to defect. (VOMK never aids nor encourages defection.) In every case (as is always true with VOMK), distribution is done person-to-person, rather than through some kind of system of mass distribution.

What I find most moving in these testimonies from current NK citizens are the raw expressions of prayer and devotion from them as new believers in Christ. Their only discipleship has been listening to the Bible, and yet in many ways they already understand more than others whose discipleship happens through humans with specially designed curriculum. #4, below, is the perfect example of that. This new North Korean Christian writes, “It looks like everything in my life is transforming into a new creation!”

May these testimonies refresh you and remind all of us that God never slumbers nor sleeps, not even during the time of Coronavirus.

  1. “Who can send his only son to save other people? For mere human beings, this is a very difficult concept that God sent his only Son Jesus to save us. I have finally found the amazing news. I have been educated and thought it was accidental and natural that the earth began to form and that monkeys became humans. As I was listening to the audio Bible, I have received this amazing news that God has saved the world through his suffering. God please forgive us, human beings, who distressed you. We will give our lives in return for God’s passionate love.”
  2. “When I had lived a comfortable, happy life, I was not able to fully grasp the full heart of God the Father. But, I have finally come to understand his heart through suffering and hardship. Dear God, please give your comfort to our hearts. We are truly thankful for your grace and love through this gift [ministry pack and audio Bible]. Our heart to trust, rely on, and follow you will never change.”
  3. “We have come to [worksite name omitted] where we are [work type omitted]. We are locked up all day here. We cannot even go out. We have met good leaders here that have given us audio Bibles. When we were given [the audio Bibles], we were earnestly requested to listen to it secretly only at nighttime in order to avoid the eyes of our state security comrades. We are encouraged to work throughout difficult nights as we are listening to the stories and songs. Thank you for giving [the ministry packs]. We are in an area where there is nothing to see or hear. We are sending our gratitude on behalf of all NKs in my group. We will keep these precious gifts for sure.”
  4. “Who could send God’s words to such people like us? We are writing letters to good people of God who risk their lives to send us this audio Bible. The first word that is penetrating my heart is that Jesus came down to earth to be crucified and resurrected and ascended and now is in heaven. I have come to have this question: What would our lives be without the presence of God? It looks like everything in my life is transforming into a new creation. Thank you for those who are sending the ‘new world’.”
  5. “We give thanks to those who are sending God’s love in this pandemic. We are also thankful for all gifts [ministry packs]. Thank you for awakening us and understanding our situation. Every time we listen to the stories, we feel peaceful and too good.”

 

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Four years after his martyrdom, Pastor Han continues to testify

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Pastor Foley

April 30, 2020 marks the fourth anniversary of the martyrdom of our dear brother and partner, Pastor Han Chung Ryeol. Pastor Han was the Korean Chinese pastor stabbed to death through his skull and heart in Changbai, China in 2016. But the story of Pastor Han’s ministry and death has continued to captivate Christians worldwide.

In the last year alone, Pastor Han’s story has been retold in a short film (in Korean, English, Russian, Chinese, and many other languages) that has been viewed by more than 100,000 church congregations worldwide; that same film has been watched by more than 400,000 viewers on YouTube; Pastor Han’s story was added to a new international edition of the 450 year old Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by our sister mission, Voice of the Martyrs US; and his story will be retold again this fall in an updated version of the international bestseller, Jesus Freaks. In many ways he has impacted more people for Christ after his death than before it.

Pastor Han was the pastor of Changbai Church and a longtime partner of Voice of the Martyrs Korea in providing discipleship, evangelism, and living necessities to the North Koreans who would cross the border into Changbai. He was found dead of multiple stab wounds in his car. Chinese authorities have not closed the case, but no information has been released by them about the motive or the killers since the time of his death.

Often governments just want situations like this to disappear. But in the case of Pastor Han, the story of his faithful life is continuing to appear in more and more countries around the world. Dr. Foley and I are especially excited that the film about Pastor Han has been shared with persecuted Christians in more than 70 countries. While Pastor Han would probably be embarrassed by all of the publicity, I am sure that he would be thankful that his story is able to continue to encourage the suffering church worldwide.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea partnered with our sister mission Voice of the Martyrs US and award-winning producer John Grooters on the film about Pastor Han, which was released in Korean, English, Russian, Chinese, and multiple other languages last fall. The film tells the story of one of the disciples of Pastor Han Chung-Ryeol, and about him carrying on the work of sharing the gospel when he hears that Pastor Han has been killed. Pastor Han shared his faith with at least 1,000 North Koreans before his death.

Voice of the Martyrs Korea released the Korean version of the film, an extended “director’s cut” which contains Korean dialogue and additional scenes not included in the English version. You can learn more at www.vomkorea.com/nkstory.

Pastor Han was our long-time friend and ministry partner. North Korea tried to silence him. China seems to hope his memory will fade away. But 1 John 2:17 says, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” So we believe that God is not only keeping alive but also amplifying the witness made by Pastor Han and his North Korean disciples, so that it is reaching Christians all over the world.

I encourage you to show the video during your worship services this week, whether you will be worshiping online or in person. But I also encourage you to share the video with your friends and families. The work Pastor Han began still continues four years after his death. It continues not only in North Korea and China, but now around the world. It can inspire us here in these challenging days to serve Christ faithfully, no matter the cost.

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“Big Data” church surveillance: the COVID legacy we need to prepare for now

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Pastor Foley

Churches are surviving the Coronavirus, but the next test—increased government monitoring and oversight of church activities and leaders—may prove to be more difficult and longer lasting.

The South Korean government is receiving high praise from other governments around the world for its use of so-called “big data” and artificial intelligence to profile and track members of the Shincheonji cult in the government’s fight against the Coronavirus. But now that the government has found these ‘big data’ tools to be so useful in dealing with a cult, it may be reluctant to put the tools back in the box. We should prepare for these tools to be re-purposed and their use possibly expanded to churches as well. Churches which undertake ministry activities or espouse beliefs that the government considers objectionable could be classified as possible public safety risks, thus justifying surveillance, public pressure, and intervention.

That is not speculation so much as the voice of experience, as our organization already regularly experiences such challenges. For nearly two decades Voice of the Martyrs Korea has done discipleship and evangelism with North Koreans wherever they are found, including launching Bibles by balloon into North Korea and arranging for Bibles to be carried back into North Korea by hand. When the South Korean government wants to put pressure on North Korea, they have even encouraged us to launch balloons. When they want to appease North Korea, they tell us that our work is a risk to public safety and order us to stop. Determining what is safe and what is not is always partly a political question for governments.

Many Christians wrongly assume that only dictators and totalitarian countries act in this way. Especially since 9/11, democracies have also increased their use of ‘big data’ and surveillance technologies on their own citizens. Beginning in Europe and then spreading outward from there, churches have increasingly become objects of surveillance in democracies because of traditional Christian positions on issues related to the sexual revolution, evangelism, missions, and public prayer. Churches must take action to prepare now for increased government intervention, since once a public safety risk is declared, it is almost impossible for a church to receive fair public consideration.

Churches in countries hostile to Christianity provide some of the best practices for churches in the rest of the world to study and adapt. I chronicled twelve of these practices and expanded them into chapter-length recommendations, with applications for both existing churches and church planters, in the book, Planting the Underground Church. ‘Underground church’ does not mean a church doing sneaky, hidden things. It means a church that has had to learn how to operate even when the government cuts off its public resources. That could mean frozen bank accounts, seized buildings, protests by neighbors against the church, or loss of legal status. These are things churches need to be preparing for now. And we can best learn from the churches in the places that have had to deal with these issues all the way back to the time of Jesus.

Planting the Underground Church is the second part of a trilogy I wrote on what the global church can learn from underground churches in countries hostile to Christianity. The first book, Preparing for the Underground Church, discusses the social conditions that are causing the global church to face increasing opposition. The third book, Living in the Underground Church, shows how the church can restore family worship to the central place in church life.

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