In Algeria, about 95 percent of the population follows Islam and less than two percent are Christians. The government bans conversion from Islam to Christianity, regulates non-Muslim worship, and enforces blasphemy laws, which can be used as a cudgel against followers of Jesus.
“Church growth has been strong in my country, but recently churches have been subject to a government crackdown, with several being closed,” one Christian leader told SAT-7. “Every three months our church holds a baptism, sometimes for more than 100 people.”
When government officials got wind of the baptisms, they reacted swiftly. “Then the government closed our own church, along with four others. But the more problems the church faces, the stronger it grows,” he told SAT-7.
House churches have been growing so fast, government officials recently released this incongruous warning:
“If you see your child suddenly forgiving, jolly, happy, listening to you, not arguing, talking about not hating, these are signs that they might be going to an underground church. This is a threat to your family.”
