July 15, 2019 | ***NEWS RELEASE*** | For Immediate Release
STPC Leaders Will Attend and Lead Sessions at Historic Gathering July 16-18
WASHINGTON—Save the Persecuted Christians (STPC), which advocates on behalf of hundreds of millions of Christians facing heavy persecution worldwide, will again be a part of the second annual international “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom” in Washington, D.C., July 16-18.
Last year, the inaugural event, hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “put a spotlight on the Trump administration’s push to bolster religious freedom around the world,” according to the Washington Times when the first-ever event was announced. Pompeo had called religious freedom the “most fundamental of human rights” and declared that “the United States will not stand by as spectators” while people are persecuted over faith.
Again this year, the high-level meeting, which will include faith leaders and top diplomats from governments around the world, will address the global scourge of religious persecution. Save the Persecuted Christians’ leaders were part of the initial event and will seek to influence the conversations again.
“Save the Persecuted Christians leaders are honored to again be a part of the international ‘Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom,’” said Dede Laugesen, executive director of Save the Persecuted Christians. “This current administration has been committed to the protection of religious freedom, both here and abroad, and has fought for the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson and Asia Bibi, among others. It is refreshing to witness our nation’s leaders defending the tenet of religious liberty on which our nation was built. The Trump administration has elevated this critical issue of rising global religious persecution and is demanding world leaders make an account of their responsibility to protect religious minorities in their nations. Most recently, we were greatly encouraged when shortly after meeting our Nigeria Crisis Delegation, Vice President Pence summoned Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the White House to discuss the concerns our witnesses to violence brought to his office.”
As part of the ministerial, Save the Persecuted Christians will premiere a new traveling exhibit titled “Warfare on Women.” Through a series of large vertical banners, the moving and powerful exhibit exposes the specific terror tactic used to demean and degrade the dignity of Christian women in order to terrorize entire communities and advance their evil agendas. The exhibit will premiere at an event with coalition members Mission Africa International (MIA), the Jubilee Campaign and the Institute on Religion and Democracy. It will be combined with a screening of MIA’s documentary, “In the Cauldron of Conflict: Women and Children in the Pathway of the Islamist.”
The coalition team with STPC and Jubilee Campaign and the International Committee on Nigeria and others will also host a panel of experts to discuss the topic “Nigeria: This Genocide is Loading.” Save the Persecuted Christians is calling for the immediate appointment by President Trump of a Special Envoy to Nigeria and the Lake Chad region and is calling on Congress to hold hearings on the status of insecurity in Nigeria and the Nigerian federal and state governments inability—or unwillingness—to protect its citizens from Sharia-supremacists who are increasingly targeting Christians for annihilation and expulsion from their ancestral lands in northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt.
Additionally, Save the Persecuted Christians coalition partners, along with the Institute on Religion and Democracy, In Altum Productions and Joshuacord, will screen the film “Christians in the Mirror” at a third Ministerial pre-event. “Christians in the Mirror: Stories of Courage and Faith in the Face of Persecution” from Syria, Iraq, India, Sudan and Egypt reveals the intense suffering of persecuted Christians around the world. From the demolished streets of Aleppo, Syria, and northern Iraq to rural villages in India, South Sudan and Egypt, “Christians in the Mirror” tells stories of not only unbelievable persecution, but also the inspiring faith and fortitude Christian communities have displayed in the face of so much devastation. Learn more about the movie at www.ChristiansInTheMirror.com.
These events will be hosted on Monday, July 15, on a rotating basis from noon to 8 p.m. at the Watterston House located at 224 2nd St SE, Washington, D.C. Food and refreshments will be served throughout the day. A media advisory with specific times and panelists will follow. RSVPs may be made at JubileeCampaign.org/events.
The mission of Save the Persecuted Christians is to save lives and save souls by holding the persecutors accountable and creating costs for their crimes against humanity. To that end, it will disseminate actionable information about the magnitude of such crimes and bring to bear a movement of concerned Americans determined to hold persecutors accountable for such crimes and create real costs for perpetrating them against those who follow Jesus.
According to Aid to the Church in Need, which released its biannual report on Religious Freedom in the World in November, over 300 million Christians experience persecution. According to Open Doors USA World Watch List, 245 million Christians are victims of high to extreme levels of persecution (i.e., torture, rape, sex-slavery, expulsion, murder and genocide), an increase of 14 percent over 2018. Open Doors also estimates 1 in 9 of the world’s Christians experience persecution and that every month: 345 Christians are killed, often in public and without regard to gender or age; 219 Christians are abducted and imprisoned indefinitely without trial; and 106 churches are demolished.
Because most of these crimes are not covered in the media, Save the Persecuted Christians developed a dedicated news aggregator—www.ChristianPersecutionNews.com—to capture current instances of persecution and to provide readers an easy way to share these heartbreaking stories with others.
With so much of the world’s Christian population being attacked, imprisoned and/or exiled for their beliefs, the need has never been greater for the sort of grassroots campaign STPC’s SaveUs Movement is working to foster. Its efforts are modeled after a miraculously successful one that helped free another population suffering from heavy persecution—Soviet Jews—by penalizing those in the Kremlin responsible for such repression. Through this movement, Save the Persecuted Christians endeavors to provide American policymakers with the popular support they need to effect real change worldwide and alleviate systemically the suffering being experienced by so many of those following Christ.
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To interview a Save the Persecuted Christians representative, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com
