A Brief History

In the mid 1960s, both the secular and Christian communities of the West were shocked to learn of the extent of brutality inflicted upon Christians and other dissidents under Soviet Communism.

It was an extraordinary Romanian Christian by the name of Richard Wurmbrand who so dramatically revealed the shocking reality of the cold war years. He had survived 14 years of cruel imprisonment, suffering torture and extreme privation, to be eventually ransomed by Western Christians.

Richard agreed to leave Romania after his compatriots convinced him of the need to inform the world of the plight of Christians under Communism. In 1967 Richard wrote:

"The message I bring from the Underground Church is:
"Don't abandon us!"
"Don't forget us!"
"Don't write us off!"
"Give us the tools we need! We will pay the price for using them!"
This is the message I have been charged to deliver to the free Church."

Soviet Communism has fallen, but in China, North Korea, Vietnam and Laos, more than 1.42 billion people still endure persecution under Communism. Added to this startling statistic is a new wave of persecution from nationalistic and militant religions and from religiously based terrorism and extremism.