This week’s news from the global Christian community presents a stark and challenging contrast. In some parts of the world, the cost of following Jesus is measured in violence and loss, while in others, a surprising spiritual curiosity is rising from the soil of a secular age. Holding these realities together requires us to lean into the mystery of God’s work in the world, which unfolds in both suffering and seeking.
A Heavy Price: The Church Under Fire
The news from the persecuted church this week is particularly grievous. A new report reveals that at least 1,402 Christians were killed in Nigeria in just the first four months of 2026, with coordinated attacks over the Easter weekend marking a horrific new low. These figures underscore a devastating trend, as Nigeria now accounts for over 70 percent of Christian killings worldwide, making 2026 a potentially record-breaking year for persecution.
Meanwhile, the North Korean regime has claimed it has nearly eliminated the country’s underground church networks. While an estimated 400,000 believers continue to practice their faith in secret, organised gatherings have been dismantled, leaving a generation of Christians to worship in solitude. With new laws preventing parents from sharing their faith with their children, the future of the church in North Korea is in a precarious position.
The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Heb. 13:3). How can our small groups move beyond general prayers for the persecuted church to specifically remember and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in places like Nigeria and North Korea this week?
A Surprising Hunger: Spiritual Openness in a Secular Age
Juxtaposed with this somber news is a wave of reports about growing spiritual openness in the West. While many have written off younger generations as post-Christian, new Barna data shows that over half of Gen Z teens are motivated to learn more about Jesus, and 71 percent of young adults believe in a spiritual reality. This underlying curiosity is bearing fruit, with church attendance among Millennials and Gen Z now outpacing older generations in frequency.
This trend is not without its challenges. The Evangelical Alliance’s Phil Knox notes that this rising spiritual tide is drawing people toward many different streams, including the occult and other religions, not just Christianity. The challenge for the Church is to be ready for the curious, leading not with pronouncements but with a welcoming posture that makes space for difficult questions.
Is our church a safe place for the spiritually curious to ask their biggest questions? As leaders, how can we cultivate an atmosphere of intellectual humility and relational warmth that invites genuine seeking?
New Questions: Rethinking How We Share Our Faith
This new spiritual landscape requires new approaches to sharing our faith. Theologian Christopher Yuan identifies “apatheism,” an indifference to the question of God’s existence, as the primary challenge we face today. Unlike atheism, apatheism does not seek an argument; it simply asks, “Why does this matter?” This shift means that apologetics focused on proving God’s existence may miss the mark entirely.
A recent article in Premier Christianity echoes this sentiment, arguing that many apologists are still answering the questions of a previous generation. Today’s seekers are less concerned with abstract debates about science and faith and more interested in whether Christianity can be trusted with the realities of their lives, their relationships, and their search for meaning. The call is for a more relational, experiential approach that demonstrates why Jesus is not just true, but good and beautiful.
In our own conversations about faith, do we focus more on being right or on demonstrating the goodness of life with God? Consider one way you could shift a conversation from proving a point to sharing a story of God’s faithfulness in your own life.
To Carry With You This Week
This week reminds us that the Body of Christ is vast and varied. Some are holding fast to Christ in places of suffering and persecution, remaining steadfast despite the pressure they face. Others are just beginning to ask whether there is a God who hears. May we take heart from the faithfulness of those who continue to trust Christ in hardship, and may we be people who carry both burdens and hope well, mourning with those who mourn, praying for those who suffer, and being ready to give a reason for the hope we have in Christ.