1955
Bold Beginnings
Bibles Smuggled into Eastern EuropeBrother Andrew smuggles Bibles into Eastern Europe for the first time.
1956
Beetle Drive
First of many trips to Soviet UnionHe makes the first of many trips in his legendary VW Beetle. Countless stories of God making seeing eyes ‘blind’.
1967
God's Smuggler
Brother Andrew's BiographyBrother Andrew’s biography, God’s Smuggler, is released and goes on to become one of the best selling Christian books of all time.
1970
Open Doors spreads...
Open Doors in the UK beginsHeight of the Cold War great opportunity to share the needs of the persecuted church.
1978
Middle East Ministry
The network, the needs spreadContact with churches in the Middle East begins.
1981
Project Pearl
Secret Bible delivery operation in ChinaProject Pearl- one million Bibles are delivered to a beach in China overnight! Years on amazing stories are told of how Project Pearl Bibles end up in far flung places, even as far as India!
1982
Seven Year Prayer
Campaign LaunchA seven-year prayer campaign for the Communist Bloc begins. It ends with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989! The church on its knees in prayer. And God on the move.
1989
Target One Million
New Testements for RussiaOpen Doors delivers one million New Testaments to Russia.
1992
Project Samuel
building up a generationOne million children in the former Soviet Union get their very first Bibles, many in remote areas.
1994
Bibles for kids
First ever!The first Chinese Children’s Bible in simplified Chinese is delivered.
1997
Award
to Brother AndrewThe World Evangelical Fellowship presents Brother Andrew with the International Religious Liberty Award.
1998
Daily Bread
Food for body and soulOpen Doors launch the first of many relief projects, in war-torn Southern Sudan ‘Operation Daily Bread’.
1999
Feeding the Revival
in ChinaOpen Doors delivers over two million Bibles and Christian study materials to Chinese believers.
2001
Open Doors Youth
is born!Wahey! Passionate about telling the story of the persecuted to a new generation.
2003
Heart for Iraq
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the hurtingHeart for Iraq is launched, bringing encouragement and aid to the church in Iraq.
2005
Happy 50th
So much more to do...Open Doors celebrates 50 years, and a prayer chain for North Korea begins.
2010
Right to Believe
428,000 sign up worldwideRight to Believe campaign sees around 150,000 UK Christians (over 428,000 worldwide) sign up and show their support for persecuted Christians.
Show More Dates
Our Story
We are a movement responding to the cry of the persecuted church. A voice that tells their story, a group of walking billboards that unashamedly stand up for those who suffer.
For too long the persecuted church have been ‘out of sight out of mind’… Their story is our story.And we refuse to live in a world that doesn’t care.
This is a lifestyle choice. It’s about loving God and loving his church. It’s about seeking justice. And it’s about being part of God’s story… Helping to change lives in the most dangerous places on earth, and showing that the church really is the hope of the world!
We love God and love his church, and we warmly invite you to join us.
History
est 1955
In 1955 a young Dutch missionary discovered a great need for the Bible for Christians living behind the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe. Brother Andrew (as he would later be known) responded by distributing a suitcase full of Christian literature, which was to be the start of the ministry of Open Doors.
In the late 60s Brother Andrew became known as ‘God’s Smuggler’ after the title of his best-selling biography. For many Christians in the West, their eyes were opened to the suffering of brothers and sisters living in restricted countries through this book.
“Our mission is called ‘Open Doors’ because we believe any door is open, anytime and anywhere I literally believe that.”
Brother Andrew’s one-man operation soon grew into a worldwide ministry. Open Doors have gone where most Western Christians dare not go. Through a network of indigenous Christians we are able to distribute millions of Bibles each year around the world. Open Doors train pastors and leaders and provide spiritual and legal support for Christian pioneers. We also provide socio-economic relief for those suffering.
Today, Open Doors is working on the ground in over 50 high-risk countries.
As persecution increases, Open Doors will continue to go where faith costs the most, to equip and encourage Christians who are suffering for their faith.
Today persecution is non stop!
Discover where faith costs the most and where we're helping to build the church in the most dangerous places on the planet. This map is based on our annual World Watch list. Find out where persecution hits the most around the world.
Where Faith Costs The Most
The top 50 countries are listed in order of severity. Today, over 100 million Christians are persecuted because they follow Jesus. Some Christians face torture and even death; others are locked up stripped of their liberty, denied basic rights, forbidden to worship publicly, and face discrimination at school/uni, the workplace or from their community.
2012 Open Doors World Watch List
- North Korea
- Afghanistan
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- Iran
- Maldives
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
- Iraq
- Pakistan
- Eritrea
- Laos
- Northern Nigeria
- Mauritania
- Egypt
- Sudan
- Bhutan
- Turkmenistan
- Vietnam
- Chechnya
- China
- Qatar
- Algeria
- Comoros
- Azerbaijan
- Libya
- Oman
- Brunei
- Morocco
- Kuwait
- Turkey
- India
- Burma/Myanmar
- Tajikistan
- Tunisia
- Syria
- United Arab Emirates
- Ethiopia
- Djibouti
- Jordan
- Cuba
- Belarus
- Indonesia
- Palestinian Territories
- Kyrgyzstan
- Bahrain
- Colombia
- Kyrgyzstan
- Bangladesh
- Malaysia