This Easter, Celebrate Life and Pray for Christian Lives in Jeopardy Around the World

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’”

~ Matthew 28:5–7

Like many of you, I will gather with my family on Easter Sunday to celebrate our risen Savior, Jesus Christ – who died on the cross on Good Friday and was resurrected three days later, conquering sin and death for each of us.

Easter is the ultimate celebration of life.

As Christians, we rejoice knowing Easter marks the day the world received the greatest gift of all: eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And we give thanks to Him for that precious gift.

In that same spirit of life, your ACLJ continues its unwavering commitment to defend every innocent unborn child whose opportunity to be born may be in jeopardy. We’re actively engaged in critical legal battles to protect the rights of pro-life workers and volunteers from the relentless attacks of the abortion industry.

This year, we successfully defended the rights of pro-life medical professionals whose jobs were threatened simply because they refused to participate in abortion procedures that violated their deeply held beliefs. We’ve also launched a major pro-life advertising campaign in Massachusetts to push back against a state-sponsored smear effort – funded with millions in taxpayer dollars – targeting Pregnancy Resource Centers and pressuring women into choosing abortion.

And because it is only through the blood of our risen Savior Jesus Christ that we are truly free, we believe we have a moral obligation to defend our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who are suffering unimaginable persecution and violence for their faith.

Right now, the ACLJ is fighting to overturn the death sentences of three young Christian men in Pakistan – Amoon Ayub, Shahzad Masih, and Ahsan Masih – each convicted under Pakistan’s archaic blasphemy laws and sentenced to hang simply because of their faith in Jesus.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), over 70 Christians – mostly women, children, and the elderly – were recently abducted from their homes, taken to a church, and brutally slaughtered by radical Islamic militants. We wentdirectly to the United Nations through our European affiliate, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), and demanded justice for the victims, accountability for the terrorists, and protection for all people in the DRC.

These are just two of the countless stories of Christians around the world being targeted, oppressed, and even killed for their faith. The ACLJ remains committed to fighting until every Christian is free to live and worship without fear.

This Easter, we encourage you, first and foremost, to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior and give thanks. But we also ask for your prayers – that our legal efforts to defend and protect Christians will bear fruit and that those facing death for their faith will be freed and safely reunited with their families.

We will not stop praying – and fighting – for them.

Jesus is their only true hope, just as He is ours.

From my family and all of us at the ACLJ, we wish you a joyful and blessed Easter.

He is risen indeed!