2010 Annual Review

Open Doors with Brother Andrew

"I'll tell you what it really means to worship the Lord. Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused! Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless." Isaiah 58:6-7

Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 December 2010

Despite the difficult economic climate, the income of Open Doors was £6,444,330 – nearly £400,000 more than in 2009 (£6,095,377). We are grateful to our supporters for their sacrificial support, through prayer, giving, volunteering and campaigning.

As a result of your support, Open Doors was able to train Christian leaders in India, build a network of safe houses for persecuted Christains in Asia, provide food and medicine to Christians in North Korea and assist thousands of believers in Pakistan through a flood relief programme run by Open Doors partners. Elsewhere we delivered Bibles, Christian literature, children's materials, multi-media resources and training seminairs, to help Christains stand strong against the storm of persecution.

Through God's grace, Open Doors UK and Ireland was able to spend 87.6 per cent of this income on supporting and helping the persecuted church around the world.*

In 2010 the income of Open Doors UK and Ireland was £6,444,330
87.6 per cent of this went on supporting the persecuted church

*In addition to the 5,654,035 spent on charitable activities, Open Doors spent £73,062 on governance and £730,668 on generating funds.

Review of the Year

Providing Bibles and Christian literature

Open Doors translates, prints and distributes a wide range of Bibles and Christian materials in various languages, including Children's Bibles, MP3 Bibles and discipleship literature. Over £550,000 of our donations were devoted to the provision of Bibles and other Christian literature in 2010. Significant support was given to Open Doors' work in China, the Middle East and South East Asia.

Training for leadership and discipleship

Open Doors offers training in effective church leadership and discipling others, to help believers grow in their faith and stand firm in the face of persecution. In 2010 the UK contributed just over £1.1 million towards leadership and discipleship training programmes in areas of the world such as the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Raising awareness and encouraging prayer

A range of publications and resources were produced for Christians in the UK and Ireland, alerting them to the needs of the persecuted church and encouraging prayerful involvement. Our audio, email and online prayer resources were broadened and developed to help churches and individuals to pray effectively for Christians facing persecution.

Sustaining lives, supporting livelihoods

Persecution means that families lose their breadwinner to imprisonment or death; violence forces them to flee or lose their livelihoods; discrimination makes employment difficult. Open Doors brings practical support to widows, to orphans, to those displaced by violence or natural disaster. UK support in this area totalled just over £1.4 million. In particular, we supported projects in Pakistan, Africa and Egypt.

Speaking out in advocacy

Open Doors provides various kinds of legal support to persecuted believers, and seeks positive policy change through quiet diplomacy and public campaigning. In the UK, our expenditure on advocacy totalled just over £150,000 while an additional £78,500 was allocated towards advocacy projects and research in the Middle East, Africa and other regions.

Engaging and mobilising the church

As well as raising awareness of persecution, Open Doors challenged Christians in the UK and Ireland to take action on behalf of the persecuted church. The Right to Believe campaign was a key way in which we enabled supporters to get involved, with 151,854 supporters in the UK and Ireland signing the Right to Believe petition.

Preparing the next generation of supporters

More attention was given to engaging children in prayerful involvement with the persecuted church through the development of the Kidzone brand. The youth team had more opportunities to speak at regional youth events and national festivals, raising the profile of Open Doors among key youth influencers and individual young people. A highlight was seeing 9,274 young people sign the Right to Believe petition at Soul Survivor.

Please keep supporting the persecuted church with your prayers, gifts and time. Because it's not 'us' who are doing this – it's you, working through Open Doors. Your money, your prayers, your letters, your concern. It really does make a difference.

The above figures are extracted from the full financial statements. Please contact us if you would like to receive a copy of the audited financial statements.  These are available on request from Open Doors, PO Box 6, Witney, Oxon OX29 6WG.