80% of the world’s evangelical Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the last 50 years, God’s church has grown exponentially in these areas.

These regions have tremendous mission sending potential to help bring the gospel to unreached peoples, but they currently send only 20% of the world’s cross-cultural missionaries!

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Ambokile*, his wife, and two children live in East Africa where they reach out to the local community. As Christians, their family is in the minority in this area. Sharing about Christ with anyone of another faith can lead to severe persecution. When some local people became followers of Christ, Ambokile&rsquo;s family became a target. They had to leave their house and flee the area to protect their lives. &ldquo;This was a traumatic experience for us all,&rdquo; Ambokile shared. &ldquo;I struggled to explain what happened to my children. They did not understand and had many fears. I also had to deal with my own trauma while trying to care for them.&rdquo; Prayers and support from other believers helped Ambokile and his family deal with the trauma. Since then, he has decided that he needs to prepare his family to deal with persecution because &ldquo;we continue to live in a persecuting world&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;
You might not live in a place where being a Christian puts you or your children in physical danger, but Jesus warned us that a time of great persecution is coming when all nations will hate his followers (Matthew 24:9-10). Now is the time to prepare our families for the time when persecution comes.
Persecution in the Bible
Persecution is a topic that both Jesus and the apostles addressed regularly. The Bible says that if we want to live a godly life, we will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). We should not be surprised when the world hates Christians as they hated and killed Jesus and many believers who followed him (e.g. Mark 13:13; Luke 6:27; John 15:18-20; 1 John 3:13).&nbsp;
Three verses in the beatitudes are dedicated to dealing with persecution: &ldquo;Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.&rdquo; (Matthew 5:10-12)
This passage is hard for us to apply as adults when we face insults or other forms of persecution because of our faith. It is even harder when our children get confronted with these challenges. So, what can we practically do to help them?&nbsp;
Build a strong biblical foundation
After Ambokile and his family had processed the trauma, he decided to disciple his children more intentionally. He shared stories that would help his children see God&rsquo;s presence and power. God wants us to tell our children about his mighty works and teach them what it means to follow him (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 6:20-25; Joshua 4:21-24). For this, we can use Bible stories and modern testimonies of believers around the world. It is important that we do not glamorize Christian life but explain the cost of following Christ in our own lives and that of others (Luke 14:25-30).
Help them develop spiritual habits
While building a strong biblical foundation, it is important that children develop spiritual habits. Daniel lived in a hostile country and heard that those who prayed to anyone other than the king would be killed. His first response was to run to God for help and he continued to pray in his room like usual (Daniel 6:10-11). Daniel had a well-developed spiritual habit of prayer.&nbsp;
Prayer is an important habit when facing adversity. Ambokile decided not only to pray for his children but to teach them to pray always (Ephesians 6:18)--when going to school, on the soccer field, or when going to a friend&rsquo;s house. Ambokile also taught them to pray for those around them that did not yet know Jesus and helped them to pray for their persecutors.
Other spiritual habits that can help children in times of persecution are Bible reading, memorizing Scripture, and worship. These spiritual habits are modeled by Bible characters who responded to persecution (Peter and John: Acts 4, Stephen: Acts 7, and Paul and Silas: Acts 16).&nbsp;
Surround them with community&nbsp;
Lorrin serves with her family in the northern part of Zambia. One day, witchdoctors** were going through villages in their area to cleanse them from evil spirits. They went from house to house, forcing people to pay them a fee for cleansing. When they knocked on the door of one of the Christian families, the mother opened the door and refused to get the house &lsquo;cleaned&rsquo;. Furious, the witchdoctors cursed the house and family with sickness and death if they would not leave the house. Many people in the community were afraid of what would happen, but the family stood firm and prayed. This family's daughter was part of a children&rsquo;s group that Lorrin led. That week, Lorrin wondered if all the children would attend. They all came and embraced their friend. They prayed together for her family, and nothing happened. The children, and later the rest of the community, saw that God was bigger and stronger than the witchdoctors.
This story contains important elements that help children deal with persecution. First, having Christian friends who can not only support them in prayer, but also stand by their side during difficult times is vital. Children need a safe place to talk and be accepted. As parents, we can support them in finding believing peers and create space in our family to talk about persecution and pressures. Ambokile shared that when he started to talk with his children about the emotional side of persecution, he learned some things from his children, too.&nbsp;
Lorrin&rsquo;s story also features a parent who models faith and obedience despite persecution or pressures. As we learn to follow in the footsteps of Christ, our children will observe us and may decide to follow him, too (1 Peter 2:21).
Hopefully these tips will help you disciple your children to stand strong for Jesus despite persecution and pressures around them. Here is a Scripture-based prayer to pray for your children (Proverbs 22:6: Deuteronomy 31:6,8: Romans 5:3-5).&nbsp;
Lord, thank you that when my child faces problems and trials, you will use it to grow their endurance and character. I pray that this will strengthen their confident hope in you. Thank you that you love my child deeply and I pray for your protection and presence in their daily life. Help me to guide them into following you with their whole heart. Amen.&nbsp;
* Name changed to protect the family.
** Witchdoctors in Africa, also called traditional healers, attempt to heal sickness or drive out evil spirits through magic and spiritual rituals.&nbsp;

Via Families

Helping Children Deal With Persecution

Helping Children Deal With Persecution

Marleen Mortin