You may remember that on 7th June, as part of our Open Doors slot in the service, Hugh explained that 13 countries from the World Watch List would be competing in this year’s World Cup. This is the list of countries where freedom of religion is most severely restricted and where Christians experience the highest levels of persecution.
This was an opportunity to pray for these countries and we asked you to take one and to pray for it until they were knocked out of the competition. The winner would be the country out of the 13 that went furthest in the competition.
It was good that so many of you took up this challenge – many who have no interest in football but just wanted to show your support for the persecuted church.
Round of 32
For those who are interested, out of the 13 countries who made it to the USA, six progressed through the group stage to the knockout phase, which is more than I expected! These were:
Morocco
Mexico
Democratic Republic of Congo
Algeria
Columbia
Egypt
Last 16
Of these, four got through to the last 16:
Morocco
Mexico
Columbia
Egypt
Quarter Finals
However, only one of these made it through to the Quarter Finals which means we have a clear winner…
Morocco!
If you had Morocco as your team, I have a special prize for you (as long as you prayed for them for the duration of their time in the competition!). You can contact me to collect your prize or get one from Sophie at the church office.
Please continue to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to experience persecution at various levels in these, and other, countries. God’s Kingdom continues to advance, but at great cost in many places and it is important that we continue to support them in whatever way we can.
– Hugh Shepheard-Walwyn