Every year, Release International publishes its Persecution Trends Report — a sobering assessment of where Christians are most at risk, and what the coming year is likely to hold. The 2026 edition makes for difficult reading.

The headline finding is stark: Christians worldwide are bracing for increased persecution in 2026. The sources of that persecution are varied — oppressive governments in Central Asia and the Middle East, religious extremists in sub-Saharan Africa, and nationalist movements in South and South-East Asia.

Nigeria features prominently in the report. Release International's partners in the country report escalating challenges — the kind of violence that has been documented in Borno State this month is not an aberration but part of a sustained campaign. China also features: the crackdown on unregistered churches and the pressure on Christian communities to conform to state-approved religion shows no sign of easing.

What does the report recommend? Prayer, first and foremost — the kind of sustained, informed intercession that takes seriously the reality of what persecuted Christians are facing. But also advocacy: writing to MPs, supporting organisations like Release International that work directly with persecuted communities, and ensuring that the suffering of the global Church is not invisible to those with the power to act.

The report is a call to awareness. The Church in Britain is not separate from the Church in Nigeria or China. We are one body. And when one part of the body suffers, all of us are called to respond.