Until now, he's been held without charges, but last week, a Turkish court approved a 62-page indictment against him. The charges include membership in an armed terrorist organization and military espionage.

The American Center for Law and Justice, which is helping Brunson's Turkish attorney, says the charges effectively make sharing the Gospel an act of terrorism.

"Turkey has literally taken the position that Christianization is terrorism," ACLJ Senior Counsel Cece Heil told CBN News. "They have no specific evidence that Pastor Brunson has committed any crime. The fact that he is a Christian, and specifically a Christian pastor, is what they are equating as terrorism."

"They use terms that he 'acted as an agent of unconventional warfare while under the mask of being in an evangelical church pastor.' Some of those activities that they claim are terrorist acts are humanitarian aid, education, and training," Heil added.

The attorney prosecuting Brunson is asking for a total of 35 years, which would effectively give the 50-year-old pastor a life sentence.

Brunson was one of many other Christians who was arrested or deported from the country following the 2016 failed coup that left at least 161 people dead.

"President Erdogan basically had a purge getting rid of anyone he deemed was not on his side, which of course would include Christians when it's an entirely Muslim country," Heil explained. "Pastor Brunson was one of the Christians that was snatched up in this purge. Most of the Christian pastors had been deported and Pastor Brunson was not."

Heil also believes Brunson is being used as a political pawn.

"President Erdogan himself came out at the end of last year and demanded a swap between Pastor Brunson and the cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is living in Pennsylvania," she said.

Gulen is a Muslim Imam who President Erdogan believes was responsible for the latest coup. The Turkish president has repeatedly called on the United States to arrest and deport him back to Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has been working aggressively to free Brunson.

"The administration has taken a very engaged position with this case. President Trump has brought this situation up multiple times with President Erdogan directly and Foreign Minister Cavuslogu. This is something that is really unprecedented in these types of cases that the president of the United States is bringing this situation up every time he speaks to the president of Turkey."

Heil asks that Believers pray fervently for the pastor.

"Pray first just for peace and comfort ... He's missed out on major life events with his family. He missed the wedding of his daughter. He's missed graduations, birthdays, things he can never get back," she said.

She also encourages people to take action by signing an ACLJ petition, "Free Pastor Andrew," which has more than 400,000 signatures so far.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Ancient Artifact Uncovered Near Sea of Galilee May Reveal Early Baptismal Practices

Teaching Students the Way the Founders Learned: Classical Education Makes a Comeback

NJ Democrats Order USPS to IGNORE President Trump's Election Integrity Mandate

Freedom Caucus Members Say They Will Reject All Amnesty Proposals-Daily Signal Exclusive

Ex-Iranian Revolutionary Met Jesus, and It Changed Him Forever: 'I Heard the Voice of God'

Texas Record Oil Production Stabilizing US Supply amid War

Iran's Islamic Regime: a 'Kingdom Divided' as Infighting Grows, While Voices from Iranian People Urge More US Airstrikes

[WATCH] First Lady Melania Trump Delivers Stunning Surprise Statement on Jeffrey Epstein Smears

Dangerous Test Still Ahead for Artemis II Crew

Rescued Pilot Chooses to Praise God

175,000 Bottles of Blood Pressure Drugs Recalled Over Carcinogens, FDA Says

Disheartening: Iryna Zarutska's Killer Found Incompetent to Stand Trial

Vice President Vance's Team Investigating Fraud Probes $6.3 Billion in Federal Contracts

As Fragile Ceasefire Holds, JD Vance to Lead US-Iran Weekend Negotiations in Pakistan

FBI Arrests Former Army Special Operations Employee for Leaking Classified National Defense Information to Media

TobyMac and Mandisa's Music Wake Up Artemis Astronauts on Day 6 of Their Journey

Chick-Fil-A Employee Reluctantly Accepts Reward after Finding Nearly $10,000 in Cash And Turning It in: 'True Integrity Is Doing the Right Thing When No One Is Watching'

Pastor Combats 'Incredibly Dark' NYC Chaos With BOLD Plan; and Sees Miracles

Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Legislation to Combat Terrorist Groups and Ban Sharia Law in Florida

ICE Arrests 13 Illegals after Firefighter's Tip on 'Unusual Amount' of People—Including Truck Drivers—at Pennsylvania DMV; Some in Line from China, Pakistan