Guess what? Open Doors turns 70 this year!
70 years on, Open Doors is still equipping and empowering believers through the gospel in more than 70 countries across the world, thanks to the generosity of dedicated supporters like you. What began with one man’s obedience has evolved into an unstoppable mission to strengthen the persecuted Church. Seven decades of serving the global body of Christ and still going strong. Just goes to show, you’re never too old to make a difference.
SERVING THE PERSECUTED: PAST AND PRESENT
Before Andrew van der Bijl entered Communist Poland with a suitcase full of gospel tracts, he prayed and opened his Bible. God said, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die.” (Revelation 3:2). That was 1955, and this verse became his mission.
Brother Andrew, as he later became known, founded Open Doors and smuggled countless Bibles into Europe in his blue VW Beetle. The ministry grew and new needs emerged for persecuted believers in addition to their hunger for the Word. Strategically addressing these needs—leadership, education, practical support—has positioned Open Doors to have greater reach and deeper impact.
This year, we celebrate a milestone: 70 years of faithfully serving the persecuted Church in more than 70 countries.
God-led growth made possible by God-loving supporters like you. You’re incredible! Thank you for helping make all this possible.
A Look Back Over the Years
1955
Brother Andrew travels with a Dutch delegation to the World Youth Congress in Warsaw, Poland. Brother Andrew starts a new organisation. He calls it Open Doors. This year, he also smuggles Bibles into the Eastern Bloc for the first time.
1965
Brother Andrew makes his first trip to China.
1970
Open Doors begins monitoring persecution around the world, which later develops to become the World Watch List.
1978
Contact with churches in the Middle East begins. Open Doors also sponsors the Love Africa conference in 1978—another important moment in Open Doors’ history that helped launch the ministry to the persecuted Church on that continent.
Dean and Becky Keaney move from America to Australia to begin the Open Doors Australia ministry with the purpose of taking Bibles to China.
1981
Project Pearl sees 1 million Bibles delivered to a beach in China in just one night. Thousands of waiting believers gather to receive them.
1982
Open Doors launches a seven-year campaign of prayer for the Communist Bloc. Seven years later, in 1989, the Berlin Wall falls. The Soviet Union is opened to the gospel, and Christian prisoners are released.
1993
Brother Andrew presents the first copy of the full Bible in Albanian to the President of Albania—a country that had once declared itself the world’s first atheist state.
1997
Open Doors launches Standing Strong Through the Storm—a training programme for Christians facing persecution. In its updated version, it is still in use today.
1999
Open Doors begins working with North Koreans, delivering 10,000 Korean Bibles
2014
Open Doors supports thousands of displaced families in Iraq who have been forced to flee by Islamic militants, including the so-called Islamic State.
2022
Brother Andrew meets Jesus face-to-face.
Present Day
The urgency to spread God’s Word to persecuted believers still exists.
BIBLE SMUGGLING: A LEGACY
Daniel* is a modern-day Bible smuggler—a man who has lived out the DNA of Open Doors for over 25 years. Taking the Word into strict Muslim countries has required thoughtful planning. He carefully and creatively conceals the Bibles, but it’s still perilous work—for him and those involved.
“Many brothers and sisters are all one link in a chain that is sometimes very long,” he explains. “If I have a creative idea for bringing the Bible, I can only execute it when others agree with the plan. We all take risks, but we all have the freedom to choose how far we will go.”
A series of miracles have kept Daniel from being caught—extraordinary oversights and accidents that have drawn away the attention of officials moments before discovering the Bibles in his possession. He sweats when approaching customs and borders. He catches a glimpse of uniforms and doesn’t feel so brave anymore.
“But God came through every time. Yes, every single time,” he shares. “My life is really complicated. Sometimes, I want to quit my ministry, sit under a fig tree somewhere, and grow old in peace. I would stop if I hadn’t known for sure this was God’s will for my life. He confirms it so often. My creative ideas to bring the Bible, people coming to faith, Him making up for my mistakes. God is intimately involved.”
*Name changed for security purposes
Thank You
Perhaps you can find yourself in the timeline of events above that bring us to the present day. Or maybe you have only recently come to know Open Doors. In any case, we’re so glad you’re here and want to acknowledge the life-giving support you provide persecuted believers across the world.
Thank you for steadfastly caring for our persecuted brothers and sisters.
