Ryan Brown of Open Doors US says people with Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) are responsible for the deaths of 70 Christians whose beheaded bodies were recently found in a church in the DRC.
"Pray," Brown urges. "As we're coming alongside persecuted believers and seeking to support them so they can be the hands and feet of Christ and carry out The Great Commission in those places, the thing that they ask for most of all every time is … prayers."
He says they want to know they have not been forgotten by the global body of believers.
"Our World Watch List that we distribute every year that identifies 50 countries where Christians are most persecuted and discriminated against, that's a prayer resource," Brown notes.
Each country's profile gives a snapshot of what Christians face there, quotes from believers risking so much to follow Jesus, and prayer points for the Church to use.
DRC ranks 35th on the 2025 list.
"Even though most of the DRC is Christian, believers are increasingly vulnerable to persecution," Open Doors relays. "Pastors and Christian leaders are targeted and harassed for their faith, especially in eastern Congo. Their families are also at risk."
Christian men risk being maimed, abducted, forced to join militia groups, and killed, and men and boys can also face sexual violence.
"To escape, Christian men may be forced to pay large ransoms, driving their families deeper into poverty," says Open Doors. "Christian men also face workplace discrimination and may be denied jobs."
Open Doors works through local partners to support Christians in the DRC through persecution survival training, economic empowerment projects, and trauma care.
