Priscilla Shirer Reminds Believers of Global Christian Persecution and the Privilege of Worship
Author, Bible teacher, and actress Priscilla Shirer recently encouraged American Christians to remember their brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted around the globe.
“Reading of what people are going through in a very raw way, their children being taken from them, their jobs being removed from them,” Shirer, who is the daughter of Dr. Tony Evans, told Church Leaders in a recent interview.
She added, “them not being able to flourish in their career industry because they’ve been blackballed because they’ve refused to deny Jesus, their limbs being cut off…I mean, horrible.”
“That reminder is very sobering,” Shirer stressed. Regarding the American church, she asked, “What do we have to complain about? What are you complaining about? What am I complaining about?”
“This privilege that we have to live in a part of the world where we can worship unapologetically and loudly and boldly,” she continued. “And at the most, what we might risk is a little bit of our pride. Maybe we’ll have some isolation as a result of that.”
“I’ve said to my own sons a million times,” she added, “if you stand up clearly for what the gospel teaches, what the Bible teaches in terms of morality—and you will more and more increasingly as you grow—you will find that you will be isolated in that perspective.”
She explained the reason why that is the case is because “our culture is less tolerant of people that are going to stand on the truth of God’s Word as the compass for living.”
Although Shirer admitted there is “some sense of persecution” in America, she noted that it does not compare to what Christians in other countries are facing.
“When you counter that with what other people in different parts of the world, what they are sacrificing, and their staunch refusal, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to back down on their boldness in the faith—it is a sobering reminder that we don’t have anything to complain about,” she said.
Christians in America also “have so much to be grateful for,” she added, noting that this “sense of gratitude sort of refocuses you, emboldens you, and allows you to live with a sense of freedom and complete thanksgiving that the Lord has allowed us the privilege to be unapologetic about our faith.”
Shirer was recently among a variety of speakers at Gather25, a live 25-hour global broadcast bringing together Christians from across the world “to pray, repent, worship, and discover how the love of Jesus is transforming the world through everyday people.”
These speakers included Gather25 founder Jennie Allen, Francis Chan, Christine Caine, Matt Redman, Louie Giglio, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, Rick Warren, Sadie Robertson Huff, Matt Maher, Taya, David Platt, Jenn Johnson, Trip Lee, Ann Voskamp, and more.
Photo Credit: ©Sony
Originally published March 26, 2025.
