At the start of each year Release International publishes a Persecution Trends article in our Voice magazine. In that article we look at how and where persecution is likely to affect Christians across the world over the following twelve months. 

On today’s Podcast host Sarah is joined by Release's Head of Communications Tom Hardie to discuss the article for this year and thinking about what life is going to be like for our Christian brothers and sisters in 2020. 

India is the largest democracy in the world and not necessarily the first place we would associate with persecution. But recently violent attacks against Christians and churches have been increasing.

On today’s podcast host Sarah is joined by Pastor Kumar Swamy who works for Release International’s partner ministry in India.

Freedom of religion, freedom of belief, is something we tend to take from granted in the West. We can believe in any god or no god - and crucially we can change our mind. When the evidence stacks up, or when we have an encounter we just can’t explain, we can change our position. 

But in many places that kind of freedom does not exist. Choosing to change, choosing to follow Jesus if you are not from a Christian background is simply not an acceptable option. 

On today’s podcast host Sarah is speaking to a remarkable couple from South East Asia. They made that daring choice to follow Jesus and now they are working discreetly to help others in a similar position.

How would you feel if you were arrested and imprisoned because of your faith? In some parts of the world the prospect of spending time in prison is an immanent risk for Christian believers. In Pakistan hundreds of Christians have been falsely accused under the notorious blasphemy laws and many are currently behind bars. 

On today’s podcast host Sarah is joined by Release worker Imtiaz and Release partner Waseem who is based in Pakistan. We’re going to discover what life is like, not just for Christian prisoners, but also for their families. And we are going to be reminded of just how important it is for Christians here in the UK to remember them.

We all have busy lives, there are lots of things that compete for our attention and it is easy to get consumed by the stuff that is right in front of us. IDOP gives us a focused opportunity to step back for a moment – to remember, and to pray for our wider Christian family who share in the sufferings of Christ. 

On today's podcast host Sarah speaks with Release workers Kenneth, Jack and James about all things related to IDOP.