Kyrgyzstan  

Kyrgyzstan is the first country in Central Asia to have a democratically elected head of state. Unlike the rest of Central Asia, persecution of believers comes mainly from family, friends and community. In rural areas especially, Muslim-background believers face enormous pressure to recant their new faith. The Islamic clergy have a lot of influence and sometimes pressurize the Christian minority. Organized corruption is widespread and if the persecuted Christian minority is perceived as being in the way, they will run into trouble.

Pray:

• For God to inspire the church; religious materials are permitted but very difficult to obtain
• For churches: in order to register a religious group needs to present 200 members, which is nearly impossible, especially in villages
• The government has been considering introducing new rules on the censorship of religious materials. Pray for those involved in distributing Christian literature.