DAVID ADAMS reports on the upcoming Open Doors’ event, Blackout, aimed at raising support among Australia’s youth for the persecuted church…
If you happen to speak to Angelica Katsolos on the weekend of 19th to 21st June this year, don’t expect her to answer.
The 18-year-old from Sydney’s Sutherland Shire is among hundreds of young people taking part in Open Doors’ youth-oriented event, Blackout, which encourages participants to give up at least one form of communication for 48 hours over the weekend as a means of raising money for and showing support of the persecuted church around the world.
Angelica, who – as she has since 2013 – will be giving up her phone, social media and speaking, says she starting taking part after having heard about the work Open Doors does in supporting persecuted Christians around the world in 2012.
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Poster for Blackout. “I didn’t realise but I was checking my Facebook every 20 minutes. When I replaced that with prayer for the persecuted church, it just changed my prayer life, it changed how I reflected on the global mission of the church and…when I was quiet before God, it made God become very loud, I guess.”– James, Open Doors’ national youth coordinator |
“Blackout seemed like the obvious next step into taking action and speaking up for the people that had radicalised my faith…” says the student who is this year running the event in her church youth group.
“(T)his will be my third year in partnering with the persecuted church, to ensure that their silence will be heard in a society where persecution, suffering and hardships for the Gospel are not commonplace, but where Christians must learn to stand united as the Body of Christ and support one another in any way possible…”
This will be the fourth year that Open Doors has run the Blackout which is aimed broadly at youth aged from 13 to 18 but attracts some older participants, such as uni students, as well.
While the event is primarily aimed at raising financial support for the work of Open Doors in aiding the persecuted church with those taking part seeking people sponsors for their silence, it’s also about raising awareness of the issue and encouraging people, when they are fasting social media or speaking, to replace that with thinking about and praying for the persecuted church (Open Doors provide a prayer guide for that purpose).
Sydney-based Open Doors’ national youth coordinator James* says that, for him, taking part in the Black Out was a life-changing experience.
“It’s had an impact in my spiritual life…I didn’t realise but I was checking my Facebook every 20 minutes,” says the 25-year-old. “When I replaced that with prayer for the persecuted church, it just changed my prayer life, it changed how I reflected on the global mission of the church and…when I was quiet before God, it made God become very loud, I guess. So I think it starts off a fundraiser and primarily, that’s what it is, but I think it has a personal, spiritual impact on everybody who takes part.”
James only took up the position of fulltime youth coordinator a year ago after he started volunteering for Open Doors about six years ago. He says coming into contact with the persecuted church – which, despite being raised in a Christian home and attending Christian schools, he was only really made aware of when he was in his late teens – has “completely tipped my whole faith on its head (and) changed my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, what global mission for Christ really means and what the church really looks like around the world”.
James says that while the rise of terror groups like the so-called Islamic State in the Middle East and Boko Haram in Nigeria – both known for their brutal treatment of Christians – has raised greater awareness of the persecuted church.
“More people are learning about it but only because it is becoming more and more of an issue which only increases the need to become more aware of it and more prepared for it,” he says.
James says there is much the West can learn from those who are suffering for their faith. He recounts a story he came across in which Open Doors workers visited a camp in Nigeria and were handing out Bibles to children who had been separated from their parents – who were in some cases killed – when Boko Haram fighters attacked their villages.
“One of the kids said ‘I hope this Bible will help me forgive the killers of my parents. I find it very difficult to get out of my mind but I know that there is an answer in this book’,” he recalls. “To hear the value that he puts on the Word of God…and to hear his forgiveness in the midst of hate for the people that have persecuted and attacked him, how much he cherishes his relationship with God…I find that incredibly convicting and that’s just one small story – there are thousands like that…
About 30 groups had signed up to Blackout as of early this week. “Everything from individuals to churches to youth groups – we have one group in a school which is student run and they’re running their own Blackout, which is fantastic,” James says.
Angelica, meanwhile, says taking part in the event has significantly impacted her faith and notes that while when she first took part, her main aim was simply to “get through” the weekend, God reminded her that she was doing it for Him.
“I believe the purpose of Blackout is so much bigger than us and the action we are taking for the persecuted church, but it’s the message they teach us through their testament of faith in the face of suffering.”– Angelica
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“I remember instead of boasting to people about how I had gotten through a whole weekend of not talking, I began boasting of what God had taught me – (that) He is unfailing, His Word is true and He does not abandon us in the midst of suffering…” she says
Angelica adds that she believes she has much to learn from the faith of those in the persecuted church, noting that the hardships she faces – when her internet is down, when she doesn’t receive enough ‘likes’ on social media or when people don’t return her text messages – pale in comparison to those who are suffering for Christ.
“I believe the purpose of Blackout is so much bigger than us and the action we are taking for the persecuted church, but it’s the message they teach us through their testament of faith in the face of suffering,” she says.
Among the stories that have touched her is that of Fatima, a Saudi Arabian teenager who became a Christian in a devoutly Muslim home and who, when her family found out about her faith, declared that she was “unto death” a Christian.
“It is that testament that spurs me on to partake in events like this, because even though it is nothing in comparison to what Christians like Fatima are going through, it is a radical way for Christian teens to publicly declare their faith and support the Body of Christ all over the world.”
Blackout will be held on the weekend of 19th to 21st June.
* James’ surname has been withheld in line with Open Doors’ security policy.
