🔥 Most dangerous places, ways to pray & more [updated]

1. From the Editors: Trends & Tools
2. World: The 50 Most Dangerous Places to Be a Christian
3. India: New Believers Escaping Through the Flames
4. Kazakhstan: Police Pressure Churches to Register with the State
5. Iran: Ways to Pray for a Nation in Crisis
6. Angola: Celebrating 50 Years of Independence with a Commemorative Bible

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This time of year, we see an uptick in annual reports of various kinds, many of them providing info and insights you can use to update your own messages, presentations, and more.

Looking for data on religion?

At this writing, Gordon-Conwell’s Status of Global Christianity page still shows last year’s report, but a new one should be released soon.

Meanwhile, check out two interesting pieces that came out last year from the Pew Research Center. As you read, ask yourself: What are the implications?

• Many religions are heavily concentrated in a few countries
• If the U.S. had 100 people: Charting Americans’ religious affiliations

We also have new data on religious persecution.

Open Doors has released its 2026 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. See story and video below.

And see also the recently released 2026 Red List, which also reports on the most dangerous places to be a Christian according to five categories of concern (Global Christian Relief).

Plus some interesting links...

For when life feels precarious, Marti came across news about an interesting new proof-of-life app developed in China. “Are You Dead?” has become the #1 paid iPhone app in China (BGR).

If you were born somewhere else, how would your life be different? Check out a great data visualization comparing income, education, life expectancy, and more (Giving What We Can, via Flowing Data). Spin the globe and scroll down the window for a one-minute, three-question quiz to test your knowledge of global inequality. I (Pat) failed big time!

On a more positive note, you might want to check out What the World Eats to discover and compare global cuisines with data-driven culinary infographics. Fun!

Hope this gives you something to chew on.

Pat and Marti

World: The 50 Most Dangerous Places to Be a Christian

Source: Open Doors, January 2026

The World Watch List is Open Doors’ annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. Explore each country profile and download the data and stories for in-depth information about following Jesus in the most dangerous places. You’ll learn more about Christian persecution and discover how to stand with your brothers and sisters in prayer and action.

Watch the video below or read about the trends, some of them encouraging. You can find many related resources on the Open Doors website.

You might also appreciate an article about the report, The 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Be a Christian in 2026 (Christianity Today).

India: New Believers Escaping Through the Flames

Source: Asia Harvest, January 17, 2026

As we step into a new year, we’re reminded that much of the work we do to serve persecuted believers in Asia happens quietly and often goes unseen.

In fact, many urgent needs we meet never get reported due to the surrounding dangers—but every so often, we’re able to share a glimpse into what believers are facing and how timely help can make a difference. This video captures one such moment from India, where 11 new Christian believers narrowly escaped being burned alive when extremists set their homes on fire as they slept, leaving everything they owned in ashes.

Read the full story.

Meanwhile, for the first time in its history, neighboring Pakistan held state-sponsored Christmas celebrations as a display of support for the nation’s Christians. See Pakistan Makes Christmas Official (God Reports).

Kazakhstan: Police Pressure Churches to Register with the State

Source: Forum 18, January 9, 2026

In November, police raided a Baptist church’s worship meeting, blocking the doors. Those present rejected pressure to write statements. When church leaders refused to register the church, police took administrative cases to court, but a judge dismissed them in December.

In September, police visited [another] Baptist church. A woman who complained that the church was teaching children later admitted she wrote the complaint “under pressure and dictation from the police.” Police interrogated a pastor’s child in school in the parents’ absence. Police in both cases refused to comment.

Read more.

Note that the country’s religious laws allow only state-registered religious communities to hold worship services, which must be held at state-approved locations. As a rule, Council of Churches Baptist churches do not seek state permission to exercise their freedom of religion. The Muslim community faces even tighter restrictions: only mosques subject to a state-controlled board are permitted to exist.

Iran: Ways to Pray for a Nation in Crisis

Sources: Various

“If you’ve been watching the news lately, you’ve likely seen the unrest unfolding in Iran. What’s happening there has real implications for the Church,” writes Global Christian Relief.

Read 5 Ways to Pray for the Church in Iran Right Now (and pray).

“May the people of Iran hear of Jesus. May they know Christ’s nearness. May they experience His powerful deliverance,” says Prayercast.

Watch and share their video, Pray for Iran.

“We are living in a time of unprecedented Muslim conversion to Jesus,” points out Ted Esler, and encourages us to look for ways God is at work in Iran and beyond.

Read The Veil Is Tearing.

Angola: Celebrating 50 Years of Independence with a Commemorative Bible

Source: United Bible Societies, December 20, 2025

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Angola’s independence and the 60th anniversary of the Bible Society of Angola (BSA), the BSA formally presented a special Commemorative Bible for the National Independence Jubilee.

The Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service, held on November 8, 2025, at the 11 de Novembro Stadium, brought together the entire Angolan Church in a unified act of worship and thanksgiving. The service theme, “Angola, 50 Years of National Independence, Rejoice in Christ!” (Leviticus 25:10-18), set a tone of joy and spiritual reflection for the celebration.

More than 40,000 worshipers attended the service, including leaders from various religious, political, and civil society organizations.

Before the presentation, a Catholic bishop highlighted the spiritual significance of the moment, stating: “We produced this Bible so that in the coming years the country will be governed according to the Word of God.”

Following the presidential presentation, all dignitaries, both governmental and ecclesiastical, received their own copies of the commemorative edition. For this historic event, the Bible Society printed 12,000 Portuguese Bibles in Brazil.

Read the full story.

Also from UBS, read about Family Bible 100 Steps, a movement launched in Europe to help families build habits of Scripture engagement, now with tools in 22 languages. They hope to distribute one million of the family Bibles by sometime in 2026.