North Korea (MNN) — You may have heard rumors that North Korea’s heavy surveillance and internment of Christians have destroyed the underground church. Floyd Brobbel with the Voice of the Martyrs Canada says those tactics stop traditional gatherings, but the church is far from dead.

 “We need to change our whole thinking when it comes to the persecuted church in North Korea,” Brobbel says. “It’s better to think of individual Christians trying to live out the faith that’s been passed down to them from family members very carefully.” 

North Koreans paying respect to statues of past leaders. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Ministries serving North Korea testify to under-the-radar Christian activity. Estimates say there could be more than a hundred thousand secret Christians. Voice of the Martyrs and other ministries broadcast Christian programming over the radio to encourage and strengthen hidden believers. 

Talking about the rhythms of North Korean Christians, Brobbel says, “They have a prayer life. The Ten Commandments, for example, have been passed down from generation to generation. They know the story of Jesus. Some may have access to a Bible.”

Calls are coming from the country for more Bibles, but when being caught means you and your family are sent to state labor camps for life, believers must be hypercautious about practicing their faith. 

“North Koreans are very suspicious of each other. There’s a saying ‘where two or three are gathered, one of them is a spy,’” Brobbel says. 

Hope for the oppressed

But unlike what the state claims, God’s people remain steadfast. 

“Despite these dangers, the underground church in North Korea is alive,” says a North Korean Christian according to Open Doors. “It worships not with sound, but with whispered prayers and memorized Scripture. Believers continue to follow Christ with quiet courage, deep faith and a willingness to give everything for the sake of the gospel.”

Image courtesy of Mike Bravo on Unsplash

Pray for God to resource and protect hidden believers.

 “The Bible tells us to be wise as serpents, innocent as doves,” Brobbel says. “Pray that Christians in North Korea find those who would be open to the Gospel and that they would be able to share the Gospel.”

Brobbel says that groups are working hard to bring Bibles into North Korea. Pray that if they fall into the hands of unbelievers or party officials, the Bibles will break the lies strangling their lives and allow them to see the truth of Christ. For those that get into the hands of believers, pray that they would strengthen the believers and spark a revival where Christianity wins and the dictatorial government loses.

 

Image courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs Canada