The athletes competing in this month’s Winter Olympics have fought most of their lives for this opportunity. They’ve trained daily … driven themselves to the breaking point … experienced painful injuries.
Most have been preparing for this moment for years, practicing for thousands of hours. They’ve pushed through pain, exhaustion, and more in order to be the very best.
And now it’s finally paid off — they’re getting the recognition they deserve.
But while all eyes are on the athletes in PyeongChang, South Korea, about 50 miles away Christians in North Korea are facing a fight of their own — a fight that is all but forgotten.
North Korean believers face unimaginable persecution for their faith.
“They can’t even sing a hymn,” our partner said. “A father can’t sing a hymn to his daughter. If you get caught with a Bible or singing something, for three generations your [family] will be held — arrested and sent to labor camps.”
Christians in North Korea are fighting to stay strong despite this hostility. But every day is a struggle … especially without the comfort and encouragement of God’s Word.
As each new day starts, they have to remind themselves that no matter what persecution or hatred they face, Jesus is greater and will help them endure.
Those who are lucky enough to have Bibles can take comfort in Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:25: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (NIV).
Despite all the hours of hard work the athletes in PyeongChang have dedicated to their sport, their Olympic moment is going to be over in just two weeks. Some of them will go home with medals, but even the gold medal won’t last for eternity.
The treasures that our brothers and sisters in North Korea are laying up in heaven, on the other hand, will last forever.
Sadly, many of them have never had the opportunity to read Paul’s encouraging words or any of the other comforting passages of Scripture.
In a Bible desert such as North Korea, a Christian is fortunate to own even a single page from God’s Word. Many have never seen a complete Bible. Can you imagine?
North Korean Christians are fighting to maintain their faith in a country that wishes they didn’t exist. And they have to fight without a believer’s most powerful tool — God’s Word.
Olympic athletes have access to the best, state-of-the-art gyms and equipment to prepare themselves for game day. But our brothers and sisters in North Korea don’t even have a Bible. And they are facing a challenge far greater than any Olympic sport — standing up for Christ in the face of the greatest Christian persecution on earth.
Will you help?
For just $10, you can send one Bible to a believer in North Korea. The Bible you send will help a Christian find reassurance, share the Gospel with a friend, and grow closer to Jesus.
North Korean believers need your help now! They are thirsting for the Living Water of God’s Word in one of the biggest Bible deserts in the world.
When you help flood North Korea with Bibles today, you help a believer keep fighting for his faith so he can one day say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (1 Timothy 4:7, NIV).