“If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:26–27
American evangelicalism has a strange blind spot–and its one not really shared with Christendom outside of America. With one eye fixed firmly on Israel and the other seemingly closed to the persecuted church around the world, we’ve developed what can only be called tunnel vision. We raise our voices in prayer for the geopolitical survival of a secular nation—while our brothers and sisters in Christ are being beheaded by radical Islamists in Africa.
Where is the urgency for the actual body of Christ?
Praying for a Pagan Nation While Ignoring the Persecuted Church
Let’s be clear: modern Israel is a secular nation. While it retains immense biblical significance as the historical homeland of God’s covenant people, the current state of Israel is not a theocracy under Yahweh. In fact, Israel ranks as one of the most unreached nations in the world as well as one of the most theologically liberal nations, with fewer than 0.3% of the population identifying as evangelical Christian (Joshua Project, 2025). Missionary efforts are often actively opposed by Israeli authorities.
By contrast, over 360 million Christians today live under high levels of persecution, many of them in Muslim-majority regions (Open Doors USA, World Watch List 2024). In Nigeria alone, more than 4,100 Christians were killed for their faith in 2023—most at the hands of Islamist groups like Boko Haram or Fulani militants .
These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Yet American churches are largely silent.
A Misplaced Missional Focus
There is also an enormous gap between where God is working and where the American church is looking.
While missions to the Jewish people are important, statistical data suggests that Muslims are converting to Christianity at vastly higher rates than ethnic Jews. According to one peer-reviewed study by Duane Alexander Miller and Patrick Johnstone:
“The number of Muslim-background believers (MBBs) worldwide has grown from around 200,000 in 1960 to over 10 million today.”
(The World’s Muslim Population and the Growth of the Church, IJFM Vol. 31:1, 2014)
That’s a 50-fold increase in just over 60 years. Compare that to estimates of Jewish believers in Jesus worldwide—around 300,000 globally, according to Jews for Jesus (2022) .
Statistically, this means Muslims are coming to Christ at over 30x the rate—and some estimates put it even higher, depending on region. God is moving powerfully in the Muslim world. So why aren’t we paying attention?
Christ in His Body, Not in a Flag
To care about Israel is not wrong. To prioritize a political state at the expense of the global church is. Paul says clearly that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom. 9:6), and again, that “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29).
In the New Covenant, the church is called “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). Christ died for His bride—the Church—not for a political entity or ethnic group. He now dwells not in temples or geographic borders, but in His people by the Spirit (Eph. 2:19–22).
To fixate on modern Israel while ignoring Christian martyrdom is to betray the very body of Christ.
What Should We Do?
- Pray for the persecuted church: Resources like Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors provide regular updates and prayer guides.
- Recalibrate your eschatology: If your eschatology blinds you to the Body of Christ, its time to re-evaluate it. Covenant theology rightly emphasizes the unity of God’s people throughout redemptive history.
- Support missions among Muslims: Ministries like Frontiers, Global Gates, and Elam Ministries are seeing unprecedented gospel fruit in the Muslim world.
- Repent of nationalism masquerading as Christianity: The kingdom of God knows no earthly borders and flies no earthly flag.
Final Word
Jesus is not coming back for a nation-state. He is coming for His bride, the Church. And that bride is bleeding in the shadows of Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. When American Christians cry out for Israel but fall silent at the sound of the martyr’s blade, something is deeply wrong.
Let us fix our eyes on Christ—and on His body. The gospel is not a foreign policy tool. It is the power of God unto salvation. And it is spreading—not in headlines, but in hidden places. Let us see rightly.
A Pastoral Note to My Brothers and Sisters
I know these words may feel weighty—perhaps even uncomfortable. But they are written with love, not condemnation. I write not as someone who has it all figured out, but as one who has been convicted by the very blindness I describe. This is not a call to abandon concern for Israel or to neglect prayer for any people group. Rather, it’s a plea to remember the Church. To lift our eyes and see the whole Body of Christ—suffering, growing, advancing—in places we’ve often overlooked.
Let us be people of truth and compassion. People shaped more by the Word than by the news. People whose hearts beat in rhythm with our Savior, who laid down His life for the church.
And let us pray—deeply, earnestly—for our brothers and sisters who bear that cross every day.
Sources
- Joshua Project. “Country: Israel.” https://joshuaproject.net/countries/IS
- Open Doors USA. World Watch List 2024 Report. https://www.opendoorsusa.org
- Duane Alexander Miller and Patrick Johnstone, “Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census,” International Journal of Research and Ministry Vol. 31:1, 2014.
- Jews for Jesus. “How Many Jewish Believers Are There?” https://jewsforjesus.org
Weston Blaha 