Many of the groups, like Christian Solidarity, began by helping Christians in communist countries. In recent years, some have either shifted or expanded their focus to Islamic countries. For example, the Rev. Keith Roderick, an Episcopal priest in Illinois, began working in 1982 with Aid to Soviet Christians but now heads an umbrella organization, the Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights Under Islamization. In the early days, some of the groups worked primarily to get Bibles into countries where distribution was restricted. Open Doors with Brother Andrew was founded by a Dutch minister who began smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950s.
Some groups focus solely on an individual country.
The Cardinal Kung Foundation monitors religious persecution in China. Others have an international focus. The largest is the World Evangelical Fellowship, in Singapore, which has spearheaded the campaign for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. These organizations have a conservative political orientation. Jacobson worked in the Reagan and Bush administrations and for a conservative Republican senator.