Today, around the world over 200 million are suffering for their faith in Jesus Christ. The number of Christians who have been martyred for their faith in the 21st Century averages over 170,000 each year.

Many Christian victims of persecution say that the prayer of believers in countries where religious freedom does exist serves to encourage and strengthen them spiritually; and, expression such as IDOP helps to bring global awareness to their plight. While the focus of IDOP is supporting the persecuted, those who participate have said they find spiritual strength and encouragement in the stories of persecuted believers who evidence courage in the face of arrest, imprisonment, torture and even death for their faith in Jesus Christ.

Open Doors, a partner in Canada's IDOP, compiles an annual list ranking 50 of the top offending countries in the world. North Korea has been identified for the 10th straight time as the most dangerous place to be a Christian, followed by Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia. Ranking is based specifically on persecution for faith, not political, economic, social, ethnic or accidental reasons.

"Increasingly, it is becoming impossible to ignore the connection between the countries who are the worst violators of religious freedom and the issues of other human rights violations and matters of global security," notes Levesque.

The Canadian Government continues carefully taking steps toward the establishment the Office of Religious Freedom as promised in the last election. "This development has been applauded by many Christian organizations, including the EFC, as an acknowledgement of the importance of monitoring and protecting this fundamental human right which has become the focus of more restrictive and aggressive activity than any other on the planet," concludes Levesque.

For more information, visit www.idop.ca