Celebrating 50 Years of Serving the Persecuted Church

Contact: Jerry Dykstra, Media Relations Director, Open Doors USA, 616-915-4117, jerryd@odusa.org

SANTA ANA, Calif., July 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- The eyes of the world will be on China in the year leading up to the Olympic Games which will be held Aug. 8-24, 2008, in Beijing.
 
It's not too early for Christians in the West to blanket China in prayer while counting down to this historic event.
 
To help believers unite in prayer for their Chinese brothers and sisters in the faith, Open Doors USA is sponsoring a special prayer campaign called "One Minute/One Year/One Country."  Christians are asked to pray for at least one minute each day; if possible at 8 p.m. Beijing time. The current time in Beijing as well as a countdown clock to the start of the Olympics are featured on the Open Doors USA Website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.
 
Believers who participate in the campaign will receive a monthly prayer email calendar and also a daily email brief. Both will include updated information on China and specific prayer requests.
 
"The Beijing Olympics presents an awesome opportunity for believers in the West to unite in pray... not only for our fellow Christians but for the communist government of China to grant religious freedom to all worshippers, especially house church members," says Open Doors USA President/CEO Dr. Carl Moeller. "And an opportunity to pray for those dedicated Christians who are being persecuted. For example, prominent house church pastor Zhang Rongliang is currently seriously ill while serving another unjust prison sentence.
 
"I encourage you to sign up now for the One Minute/One Year/One Country campaign on our Website. Tell others about the campaign. Together we can make a difference. And prayer is the No. 1 way."
 
To register for the campaign, go to www.OpenDoorsUSA.org and click on the rotating banner on the upper right of the front page.
 
An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our USA website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.