Open Doors

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Open Doors
Founded1955
FounderAndrew van der Bijl
TypeChristian charitable organisation
Legal statusStichting
FocusSupporting persecuted Christians worldwide
Region served
70 countries
Revenue$116.3 million (2015; including affiliates)
Websitewww.opendoors.org

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Open Doors is a non-denominational Christian mission supporting persecuted Christians around the world. It works with local partners to distribute Bibles and Christian literature, give discipleship training[1] and provide practical support, including emergency relief. It is based in Ermelo, the Netherlands. Open Doors is also a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International.

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 persecuted Christians in Communist Poland.[2] 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.[3] 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. The name "Open Doors" referencing that of a welcoming group due to the doors being open at all times. He was responsible for smuggling millions of Bibles behind the Iron Curtain.[4]

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 (42 m) barge, named Gabriella, was loaded with 232 waterproof, poly-wrapped, one-ton packages containing a million Chinese Bibles.[5] A 97-foot (30 m) tugboat named Michael was used to tow Gabriella 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.[6] Time magazine described Project Pearl as "A remarkable mission… the largest operation of its kind in the history of China."[7]

In 1988, Open Doors used Glasnost[8] as an opportunity to openly provide one million Russian Bibles to the Russian Orthodox Church, at a cost of $2.5 million.[9] Open Doors partnered with the United Bible Societies to complete the task in just over one year.[10]

In 2005, 428,856 people from over 70 countries signed Open Doors' global Right to Believe petition, saying Yes to religious liberty and No to the UN's Defamation of Religions Resolution.[11] 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 (72% of its budget) with $4.7 M spent on fundraising (18% of its budget) and $2.8 on administration (10% of its budget).[14]

As of 2022, Open Doors was reportedly active in 70 countries.[15][4]

On September 27, 2022, Brother Andrew, the founder of Open Doors, died at age 94 at his home in Harderwijk, Netherlands.[16][17]

Programs

Open Doors and its affiliates conduct programs in many countries:[18]

  • Delivering Bibles and other Christian literature[8]
  • 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.[19]
  • 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[20]
  • 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
  • Acting as a "watchdog group" and reporting on the killing of Christians in various countries[21]

World Watch List

The organization publishes an annual World Watch List which ranks countries by the severity of persecution faced by active Christians. The WWL is based on research and comparison of field researchers, external experts, academics,[who?] and publicly available research documents but is subjective. 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.[22] Countries are ranked on a scale from 0 to 100 depending on the persecution of church life, national life, community life, family life, private life and violence against Christians. Countries are categorized under "Extreme Persecution", "Very High Persecution" or "High Persecution". In 2021, all top 50 countries were in both the "Extreme Persecution" and "Very High Persecution" categories for the first time since the World Watch List was originally published.[23] In 2022, Afghanistan overtook North Korea to become the country with the highest level of persecution. North Korea returned to the top of the list in 2023, with the highest levels of persecution ever seen.[24] The report found Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa at the epicentre of violence against Christians.[25]

The 2024 list[26] claimed that the number of Christians suffering persecution and discrimination for their faith has risen to 365 million.[27] In 2025, this had once again risen to 380 million.

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Extreme levels of persecution

  1. File:Flag of North Korea (March 2026-).svg North Korea
  2. File:Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia
  3. File:Flag of Libya.svg Libya
  4. File:Flag of Eritrea.svg Eritrea
  5. File:Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen
  6. File:Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria
  7. File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan
  8. File:Flag of Sudan.svg Sudan
  9. File:Flag of Iran.svg Iran
  10. File:Flag of the Taliban.svg Afghanistan
  11. File:Flag of India.svg India
  12. File:Flag of Syria (2025-).svg Syria
  13. File:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia
  14. File:Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia (Aceh only)
  15. File:Flag of Brunei.svg Brunei Darussalam

Very high levels of persecution

  2. File:Flag of Mali.svg Mali
  3. File:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria
  4. File:Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq
  5. File:Flag of Myanmar.svg Myanmar
  6. File:Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives
  7. File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
  8. File:Flag of Burkina Faso.svg Burkina Faso
  9. File:Flag of Laos.svg Laos
  10. File:Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba
  11. File:Flag of Mauritania.svg Mauritania
  12. File:Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco
  13. File:Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan
  14. File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh
  15. File:Flag of Niger.svg Niger
  16. File:Flag of the Central African Republic.svg Central African Republic
  17. File:Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Turkmenistan
  18. File:Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua
  19. File:Flag of Oman.svg Oman
  20. File:Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia
  21. File:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia
  22. File:Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia
  23. File:Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam
  24. File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan
  25. File:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico
  26. File:Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt
  27. File:Flag of Mozambique.svg Mozambique
  28. File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar
  29. File:Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg DRC
  30. File:Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia (except Aceh)
  31. File:Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon
  32. File:Flag of the Comoros.svg Comoros
  33. File:Flag of Tajikistan.svg Tajikistan
  34. File:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan
  35. File:Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan
  36. File:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia only)
  37. File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey

See also

References

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  1. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hertzke, Allen D. (2004). Freeing God's children. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-0804-8. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
  4. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Darling, Daniel (March 29, 2021). "Hide It Under a Bushel? Maybe". Christianity Today. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Open Doors: Project Pearl - 25th Anniversary of Delivering 1 Million Bibles to China". Christian Today (Press release). 24 June 2006. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hoyle, Russ; Wong, Bing W (1981-10-19). "Risky Rendezvous at Swatow". TIME. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  8. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."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.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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. Template:ProQuest. (Registration required)
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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. Template:ProQuest. (Registration required)
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.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.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Open Doors' Global Petition Presented at United Nations - Open Doors USA". Open Doors USA. December 9, 2010. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Open Doors USA 2015 annual report" (PDF). Open Doors USA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  14. ^ Open Doors USA 2018 annual report. Open Doors USA website Script error: No such module "webarchive". Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."HOW WE SUPPORT". opendoors.org. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Brother Andrew · Serving Persecuted Christian's Worldwide". www.opendoors.org. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Brother Andrew, missionary who fearlessly crossed borders to smuggle Christian literature into Communist lands – obituary". The Telegraph. 2022-09-29. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  18. ^ George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 1688
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dykstra, Jerry. "Preparing for Persecution in Indonesia". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sentinel staff (Oct 13, 2017). "Ottawa County Patriots to host event about Christian persecution". Holland Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nigeria's Christian death toll gets tepid response from West | Terry Mattingly". www.yahoo.com. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."World Watch List Ranking Methodology". Archived from the original on 2017-11-15.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."World Watch List 2021: Trends · Serving Persecuted Christian's Worldwide". www.opendoors.org. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."World Watch List: Trends · Serving Persecuted Christian's Worldwide". www.opendoors.org. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The 50 Countries Where It's Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2023". News & Reporting. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
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  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.eliot.kern (2024-01-17). "World Watch List 2024 claims rise in Christian persecution - Eternity News". Retrieved 2024-01-17.

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