A Growing Trend Of Persecution & Hostility Against The Church – Be Faithful & Without Fear!

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(6) Though the Lord is exalted, He looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, He sees them from afar. (7) Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life. You stretch out Your hand against the anger of my foes; with Your right hand You save me. (8) The Lord will vindicate me; Your love, Lord, endures forever— do not abandon the works of Your hands.’ (Psalm 138:6-8)

The Family Research Council this week put out a report on violence and hostile acts against Christian churches in the US, from 2018-2023. These acts of violence include vandalism, shootings, arson, theft, and physical assaults.  There are thousands of churches in the US, and they (and we Christians) have never been immune to societal woes, but the report is very concerning as we find hostile acts against churches was relatively steady between 2018 through 2021, with under 100 acts of crime committed upon churches each year, which one could conclude as tolerable, though not acceptable. 

In 2022, however, the number doubled to 195 acts committed, and in 2023, the number more than doubled again to 436 incidents against churches.  Most of the crimes reported in the five-year span were vandalism (709), followed by arson (135), assaults, threats or interruption to services (61), and gun-related incidents (22).  In 2023, Florida had 23 hostile acts against churches; in comparison California had 33. 

Most of the acts of vandalism, in my surmising of the report, appear to be from the fact a church – mostly empty and unattended most days and evenings – is an easy ‘target of opportunity’ for graffiti artists and window-smashers.  In the case of theft (which is surprisingly small, according to the report), most of what is stolen are safes (for holding collections) and audio/visual equipment; again, if a church doesn’t have an alarm system and no one is there, it makes an enticing target for the never-do-wells.  The increases of crime in 2022 and 2023 can be somewhat attributed to the Dobbs ruling over Roe v. Wade (as churches – especially the Catholic and Baptist denominations – are considered anti-abortion; i.e., pro-life), the ‘woke’ movement against traditional institutions and values, and the unfortunate trend of the removing consequences of crime and reduction of policing in the US.

Let’s consider Psalm 138, written by David; a Psalm of Thanksgiving.  A short Psalm of 9 verses, it gives great praise to God for the blessings and protection He gave David.  David at times was persecuted and hunted like prey; by Saul, by the Philistines, later by his own son Absalom.  Though David was not perfect, he was Faithful.

Today, we who are followers of Christ are seeing a growing upswing in the persecution of the church.  Violence and crimes against the church are growing exponentially.  We saw during the COVID lockdowns some governments, even within what we consider the Bible Belt, forcing church closures and dispersing or even arresting those who gathered to worship.  The growing hostility against Jesus, His people and His church have all contributed to Christianity becoming more and more a ‘fringe’ element in society, disliked for the Truth that we stand for.

Nevertheless, among our persecution, like David we need to be Faithful.  We need to know the Lord is watching over us, and with the Holy Spirit indwelling within we have Him with us at all times.  At some point, we may be confronted by those who are against us; we must remain Faithful in the promise God has made to us that He will deliver us, that we should not walk in fear but in His glory and light.  The early church was greatly persecuted and later many in Rome were martyred, but the church continued to grow because of the Faithfulness many had to continue spreading the Gospel message, despite the possibility of harm or even death for prophesizing in Jesus’ name.

Be prepared for these times by prayer, study, and fellowshipping.  There is strength in numbers, strength in the Word, and strength through Jesus.  Most importantly, when the persecution comes is the second-best time to share the Gospel message of Christ, to those who will be against us and His church; the best time is to share His message today.  You will have the strength only He, Jesus, can provide.