Open Doors is a non-denominationalmission supporting persecuted Christians in the world. They work with local partners to distribute Bibles and Christian literature, give discipleship training[1] and provide practical support, such as emergency relief aid. Open Doors' stated aims are to raise awareness of global persecution, mobilising prayer, support and action among Christians from around the world. It is based in Ermelo, The Netherlands. Open Doors is also a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International.
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 barge, named Gabriella, was loaded with 232 waterproof, poly-wrapped, one-ton packages containing a million Chinese Bibles.[5] A 97-foot 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 different 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 with $4.7 M spent on fundraising and $2.8 on administration.[14]
In 2022, it would have programs 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 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 epicenter of violence against Christians.[25]
^Green, George W. (2003). Special use vehicles: an illustrated history of unconventional cars and trucks worldwide. McFarland. p. 151. ISBN0-7864-1245-3. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
^Hertzke, Allen D. (2004). Freeing God's children. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN0-7425-0804-8. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
^Desmond, Kevin (2005). The Least Likely: If God Can Use Them, He Can Use You!. Kregel Publications. p. 113. ISBN0-8254-6061-1. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
^ abDarling, Daniel (March 29, 2021). "Hide It Under a Bushel? Maybe". Christianity Today. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
^"Open Doors: Project Pearl - 25th Anniversary of Delivering 1 Million Bibles to China". Christian Today (Press release). Retrieved 2018-01-20.
^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.
^Hoyle, Russ; Wong, Bing W (1981-10-19). . TIME. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
^ ab"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.
^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. ProQuest 272237755. (Registration required)
^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. ProQuest 272433825. (Registration required)
^Marking, J. G. (2005). A Voice Is Calling: Living the Life You Know Exists. A Voice Is Calling. p. 117. ISBN1-933204-07-9. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
^"Open Doors' Global Petition Presented at United Nations - Open Doors USA". Open Doors USA. December 9, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
^"Open Doors USA 2015 annual report" (PDF). Open Doors USA. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
^Open Doors USA 2018 annual report. Open Doors USA website Retrieved 1 December 2019.
^"HOW WE SUPPORT". opendoors.org. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
^"Brother Andrew · Serving Persecuted Christian's Worldwide". www.opendoors.org. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
^Obituaries, Telegraph (2022-09-29). "Brother Andrew, missionary who fearlessly crossed borders to smuggle Christian literature into Communist lands – obituary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
^George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 1688
^Dykstra, Jerry. "Preparing for Persecution in Indonesia". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
^Sentinel staff (Oct 13, 2017). "Ottawa County Patriots to host event about Christian persecution". Holland Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
^"Nigeria's Christian death toll gets tepid response from West | Terry Mattingly". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
^Editors, C. T. "The 50 Countries Where It's Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2023". News & Reporting. Retrieved 2023-01-18. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
open, doors, this, article, about, christian, foundation, italian, film, film, nosa, album, album, architectural, open, house, doors, open, days, other, articles, open, door, denominational, mission, supporting, persecuted, christians, world, they, work, with,. This article is about the Christian foundation For Italian film see Open Doors film For the Nosa album see Open Doors album For architectural open house see Doors Open Days For other articles see Open Door Open Doors is a non denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians in the world They work with local partners to distribute Bibles and Christian literature give discipleship training 1 and provide practical support such as emergency relief aid Open Doors stated aims are to raise awareness of global persecution mobilising prayer support and action among Christians from around the world It is based in Ermelo The Netherlands Open Doors is also a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International Open DoorsFounded1955FounderBrother AndrewTypeChristian charitable organisationLegal statusStichtingFocusStrengthening persecuted Christians worldwideArea served70 countriesKey peopleBrother AndrewRevenue 116 3 million 2015 including affiliates Websitewww wbr opendoors wbr org Contents 1 History 2 Programs 2 1 World Watch List 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditOpen 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 barge named Gabriella was loaded with 232 waterproof poly wrapped one ton packages containing a million Chinese Bibles 5 A 97 foot 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 different 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 with 4 7 M spent on fundraising and 2 8 on administration 14 In 2022 it would have programs 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 EditOpen 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 Edit 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 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 epicenter of violence against Christians 25 The 2023 list of 50 ranked countries 26 Extreme levels of persecution North Korea Somalia Yemen Eritrea Libya Nigeria Pakistan Iran Afghanistan Sudan IndiaVery high levels of persecution Syria Saudi Arabia Myanmar Maldives China Mali Iraq Algeria Mauritania Uzbekistan Colombia Burkina Faso Central African Republic Vietnam Turkmenistan Cuba Niger Morocco Bangladesh Laos Mozambique Indonesia Qatar Egypt Tunisia DRC Mexico Ethiopia Bhutan Turkey Comoros Malaysia Tajikistan Cameroon Brunei Oman Kazakhstan Jordan NicaraguaSee also EditAnti Christian sentiment International Christian Concern Religious intolerance Religious persecutionReferences Edit 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 Hertzke Allen D 2004 Freeing God s children Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 0 7425 0804 8 Retrieved 2009 04 06 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 a b Darling Daniel March 29 2021 Hide It Under a Bushel Maybe Christianity Today Retrieved March 30 2021 Open Doors Project Pearl 25th Anniversary of Delivering 1 Million Bibles to China Christian Today Press release Retrieved 2018 01 20 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 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 a b 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 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 ProQuest 272237755 Registration required 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 ProQuest 272433825 Registration required 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 Open Doors Global Petition Presented at United Nations Open Doors USA Open Doors USA December 9 2010 Retrieved April 20 2018 Open Doors USA 2015 annual report PDF Open Doors USA Retrieved March 27 2018 Open Doors USA 2018 annual report Open Doors USA website Retrieved 1 December 2019 HOW WE SUPPORT opendoors org Retrieved November 5 2022 Brother Andrew Serving Persecuted Christian s Worldwide www opendoors org Retrieved 2023 01 18 Obituaries Telegraph 2022 09 29 Brother Andrew missionary who fearlessly crossed borders to smuggle Christian literature into Communist lands obituary The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 2023 01 18 George Thomas Kurian Mark A Lamport Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States Volume 5 Rowman amp Littlefield USA 2016 p 1688 Dykstra Jerry Preparing for Persecution in Indonesia Christian Broadcasting Network Retrieved 2009 04 07 Sentinel staff Oct 13 2017 Ottawa County Patriots to host event about Christian persecution Holland Sentinel Retrieved 2018 05 09 Nigeria s Christian death toll gets tepid response from West Terry Mattingly www yahoo com Retrieved 2022 07 07 World Watch List Ranking Methodology Archived from the original on 2017 11 15 World Watch List 2021 Trends Serving Persecuted Christian s Worldwide www opendoors org Retrieved 2021 10 27 World Watch List Trends Serving Persecuted Christian s Worldwide www opendoors org Retrieved 2023 01 18 Editors C T The 50 Countries Where It s Hardest to Follow Jesus in 2023 News amp Reporting Retrieved 2023 01 18 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a last has generic name help World Watch List 2023 Open Doors 2023 External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Open Doors amp oldid 1154196150, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
