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Open Doors

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This article is about the Christian foundation. For Italian film, see Open Doors (film). For the Nosa album, see Open Doors (album). For architectural open house, see Doors Open Days.
Open Doors
Founded1955
FounderBrother Andrew
TypeChristian Charity
FocusStrengthening persecuted Christians worldwide
Area served
70+ countries
Key people
Brother Andrew
Revenue
$116.3 million (2015; including affiliates)
Websiteopendoors.org

Open Doors is a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians in over 70 countries.[1] They work with local partners to distribute Bibles and Christian literature, give discipleship[clarification needed] training[2] and provide practical support, such as emergency relief aid. Open Doors' stated aims are to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilising prayer, support and action among Christians from around the world. It is based in Ermelo, The Netherlands. Open Doors is also a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International.

Open Doors has 25 affiliate offices around the world.[3] Open Doors USA, the United States' affiliate office, is in Santa Ana, California.

History

Open Doors was founded in 1955 by Andrew van der Bijl, a Dutchman more widely known as Brother Andrew, when he decided to smuggle Bibles to discriminated Christians in Communist Poland.[4] He continued this work in smuggling Bibles to many of the Soviet-controlled countries and in 1957 was given a blue Volkswagen Beetle which he used to make deliveries within the Communist bloc.[5] With this new car he was able to carry more literature. Thereafter, the work of Open Doors continued to expand as it extended its network throughout Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

On 18 June 1981, Open Doors delivered one million contraband Chinese Bibles in one night to a beach near the city of Shantou in southern China on a mission they named Project Pearl. Project Pearl was carried out by an international crew of 20, led by Brother David. A semi-submersible, 137-foot barge, named Gabriel, was loaded with 232 waterproof, poly-wrapped, one-ton packages containing a million Chinese Bibles.[6] A 97-foot tugboat named Michael was used to tow Gabriel to the beach, weaving through a maze of anchored Chinese navy ships. The crew arrived at the beach at 9 pm. 10,000 Chinese Christians had gathered to bring the Bibles to shore and then deliver them all over China.[7] Time magazine described Project Pearl as "A remarkable mission… the largest operation of its kind in the history of China."[8]

In 1988, Open Doors used Glasnost[9] as an opportunity to openly provide one million Russian Bibles to the Russian Orthodox Church, at a cost of $2.5 million.[10] Open Doors partnered with the United Bible Societies to complete the task in just over one year.[11]

In 2010, 428,856 people from over 70 different countries signed Open Doors' global Right to Believe petition, saying Yes to religious liberty and No to the UN's Defamation of Religions Resolution. The petition was presented to the UN in New York in December 2010.[12]

In 2015, Open Doors (including its affiliates) delivered 3 million Bibles and literature, and delivered relief and aid to 239,164 people.[13] In 2018 the USA organization spent $19,291,134 on programs to the persecuted church with $4.7 M spent on fundraising and $2.8 on administration.[14]

Programs

Open Doors and its affiliates conduct the following programs in many countries[15]:

  • Delivering Bibles and other Christian literature[9]
  • Providing pastoral and discipleship training
  • Conducting seminars on Christian living, family life. "Standing Strong Through the Storm" is the seminar they use to teach churches on how to survive under persecution.[16]
  • Running Bible-based literacy courses
  • Supplying equipment and vocational training to help widows, families of prisoners of conscience, the displaced, and the unemployed to earn a living[17]
  • Providing legal aid and spiritual and emotional comfort to prisoners and their families
  • Financing and supplying equipment to pastors, churches, and Bible colleges
  • Supplying printing presses, radios, cassette players, photocopiers, and A/V and transport equipment
  • Sponsoring Bible colleges, reconciliation ministries and restoration centres for Christian refugees, widows and orphans.

World Watch List

The organization publishes an annual World Watch List which ranks countries by the severity of persecution that Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. The WWL is based on the research and comparison of field researchers, external experts, academics[who?], and publicly available research documents. It is a qualitative instrument based on these subjective opinions. In 2012, the methodology of the WWL was comprehensively revised in order to provide greater credibility, transparency, objectivity and scientific quality.[citation needed] In 2013, further refinement of the methodology took place.[18] Countries are ranked on a scale from 0 to 100 depending on persecution in the areas of church life, national life, community life, family life, private life and use of violence against Christians. Depending on the score, countries are arranged into the categories "Extreme Persecution", "Very High Persecution" and "High Persecution".

The 2020 list of the 50 highest ranked countries are as follows:[19]

Extreme Persecution

  1.  North Korea
  2.  Afghanistan
  3.  Somalia
  4.  Sudan
  5.  Pakistan
  6.  Eritrea
  7.  Libya
  8.  Iraq
  9.  Yemen
  10.  Iran
  11.  India

Very High Persecution

  2.  Saudi Arabia
  3.  Maldives
  4.  Nigeria
  5.  Syria
  6.  Uzbekistan
  7.  Egypt
  8.  Vietnam
  9.  Turkmenistan
  10.  Laos
  11.  Jordan
  12.  Tajikistan
  13.  Malaysia
  14.  Myanmar
  15.    Nepal
  16.  Brunei
  17.  Qatar
  18.  Kazakhstan
  19.  Ethiopia
  20.  Tunisia
  21.  Turkey
  22.  Kenya
  23.  Bhutan
  24.  Kuwait
  25.  Central African Republic

High Persecution

  2.  Palestine
  3.  Mali
  4.  Indonesia
  5.  Mexico
  6.  UAE
  7.  Bangladesh
  8.  Algeria
  9.  China
  10.  Sri Lanka
  11.  Azerbaijan
  12.  Oman
  13.  Mauritania
  14.  Bahrain
  15.  Colombia
  16.  Djibouti

See also

References

  1. ^ Marking, J. G. (2005). A Voice Is Calling: Living the Life You Know Exists. A Voice Is Calling. p. 117. ISBN 1-933204-07-9. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  2. ^ Green, George W. (2003). Special use vehicles: an illustrated history of unconventional cars and trucks worldwide. McFarland. p. 151. ISBN 0-7864-1245-3. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  3. ^ "Open Doors worldwide". opendoors.org. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  4. ^ Hertzke, Allen D. (2004). Freeing God's children. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-0804-8. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  5. ^ Desmond, Kevin (2005). The Least Likely: If God Can Use Them, He Can Use You!. Kregel Publications. p. 113. ISBN 0-8254-6061-1. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  6. ^ "Open Doors: Project Pearl - 25th Anniversary of Delivering 1 Million Bibles to China". Christian Today (Press release). Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  7. ^ Hattaway, Paul (May 8, 2007). "Brother David "God's smuggler to China" had died at 70 today". Radio Free China. Assist News Service. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  8. ^ Hoyle, Russ; Wong, Bing W (1981-10-19). "Risky Rendezvous at Swatow". TIME. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  9. ^ a b "Local News in Brief: Santa Ana Group to Legally Ship Million Bibles to Russia". Los Angeles Times. 1988-08-06. p. 2. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  10. ^ Brodeur, Nicole (1988-10-15). "OC charity to ship first load of Bibles to Soviets by Dec. 25". Orange County Register. p. b.08. ISSN 0886-4934. ProQuest 272237755. (Registration required)
  11. ^ Owen, Mary (1989-12-30). "County-based ministry has sent 1 million Bibles to Christians in USSR". Orange County Register. p. E.05. ISSN 0886-4934. ProQuest 272433825. (Registration required)
  12. ^ "Open Doors' Global Petition Presented at United Nations - Open Doors USA". Open Doors USA. December 9, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  13. ^ "Open Doors USA 2015 annual report" (PDF). Open Doors USA. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  14. ^ Open Doors USA 2018 annual report. Open Doors USA website Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. ^ George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 1688
  16. ^ Dykstra, Jerry. "Preparing for Persecution in Indonesia". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  17. ^ Sentinel staff (Oct 13, 2017). "Ottawa County Patriots to host event about Christian persecution". Holland Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  18. ^ "World Watch List Ranking Methodology". Archived from the original on 2017-11-15.
  19. ^ "2020 World Watch List Report". Open Doors. 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
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