Open Doors: Mass Exodus in Iraq and Syria has Reached 'Biblical Proportions'

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Nov 05, 2014

Open Doors: Mass Exodus in Iraq and Syria has Reached 'Biblical Proportions'

A watchdog group, Open Doors, is asking for prayer as Christians in Iraq and Syria continue to flee ISIS. Mike Gore, of Open Doors Australia, said that the exodus of the Christians had reached “biblical proportions” this year.

"Christians, not just in their hundreds, Christians in their tens of thousands [are] fleeing Iraq and Syria with little more than the clothes on their backs, because of increased pressure from the Islamic State," Gore said during Sunday’s International Day of Prayer webcast.

"One of the things most people don't realize is that in northern Nigeria, on any given Sunday, five churches are attacked in a similar fashion," Gore said.

Gore did note that Christian mother Meriam Ibrahim had been released from prison in Sudan. Ibrahim was imprisoned for not identifying as a Muslim and marrying a Christian Sudanese-American. She was cleared of the charges and allowed to leave the country.

“She was sentenced to death in Sudan for refusing to recant her faith. And now through a global media outcry, she has received refugee status here in the United States,” he said.

Open Doors CEO and President David Curry said during the webcast that this is "the beginning of the conversation, not the end."

"We need to be praying every day for the persecuted church. You need to take action, to find where your passion lies and connect in ways to serve the persecuted church like you've never done before," Curry said. "I believe that this is going to be the issue that we are challenged with in the next decade."

Publication date: November 5, 2014



Open Doors: Mass Exodus in Iraq and Syria has Reached 'Biblical Proportions'