From Asia editor Isabel Ong: CT does not publish stories of persecuted Christians for their shock value. We do so to hear and learn from our sisters and brothers in Christ whose lives are at stake because they follow Jesus.

In our story on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List, which ranks the 50 most dangerous places to be a Christian, Middle East correspondent Jayson Casper interviewed a pastor in Syria who was leading his service when a suicide bombing at a nearby church occurred. "It was a privilege for me to hear him recall his confusion as church members got distracted by a flood of phone notifications in the middle of a worship service," Jayson said. "It is the personal details that help us make sense of the horror that too many Christians experience globally."

Our World Watch List reports are also some of our most-read translations every year in languages like Spanish, Portuguese, and simplified and traditional Chinese. I’m inclined to think that the high readership for this piece shows that the global church cares and intercedes for one another. As an Open Doors research analyst told CT in 2024, "All these numbers are people who are Christians—mothers, brothers, fathers, and children facing everyday life with uncertainty."