Show Notes
Our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in Iran are not shying away from being bold for Christ with their family and friends—even as a war is going on around them. This week, you'll meet Sister Benesh, a bold evangelist and house church planter in Iran. In her first five years following Christ, she planted more than 30 house churches. Inside the Islamic Republic of Iran! Benesh grew up in a Muslim home, but over time, she began to question many aspects of Islamic teaching. As a teenager, she remembers hearing some women talking about the fact that Christian women—without the oppressive restrictions of Islam—were more free than Muslim women. Benesh became curious to know more about Christianity and the peace and love Jesus offers. Benesh's father became very sick while she was in college. Her mother prayed repeatedly to Allah to heal him, but it didn't work. Benesh's father died. Shortly after, her mother died too. Her grief at the loss of her parents pushed Benesh even further to seek answers about Christ. First, she looked online. Then, after moving to a bigger city for employment, a coworker invited her to a church meeting. Experiencing Christian worship and fellowship for the first time, Benesh knew Jesus was calling her to put her faith and trust in Him. Despite her parents' death, Benesh had peace from God—a peace that shocked her sister and other family members. Many were curious why she was different, which gave her open doors to share Jesus. At first, Benesh feared what her family or others would say or do if she shared Christ with them, but she quickly overcame that fear when she realized how hungry Iranians are for the truth. Sharing your faith can be dangerous in Islamic countries, but Benesh was so focused on sharing the joy she'd found in Christ that she almost forgot about the threat of the Islamic regime and Revolutionary Guards! Listen as Benesh tells how we can pray for her ministry, for the Iranian regime, and for bold witnesses for Christ in the Middle East—and as she challenges every Christian to tell others about Jesus! The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China and India, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.
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Ali Sassi, from Tunisia, is a former Muslim now walking with Jesus. Ali had been taught, as a Muslim, that the Bible we have today has been changed and corrupted. When a Christian friend challenged him to demonstrate when and how the Bible had been changed, Ali accepted the challenge. He figured he'd read the Bible for an evening and easily identify how the book had been changed. Instead, he spent two years reading and studying. At the end of that time, he was convinced that the Bible had NOT been changed, and that Jesus IS the Son of God. "What touched my heart and won me back to Jesus was that my heart was to find the mistakes, but God was working in my heart," Ali says. When Ali became a Christian, his first reaction was to tell his family about his new faith. But his decision to follow Christ was costly as his own family turned against him. Today, Ali works with Crescent Project to help train Christians to reach out boldly to Muslims—the same way a Christian reached out to him. His story will inspire you to pray for and reach out to share Jesus's love with those around you. Learn more about the church in Tunisia and how you can pray for persecuted Christians there. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China, and Iran, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.
Persecuted Christians have physical needs, like food, shelter, and medicine. They also have mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Listen this week as Shawn Wright, President of International Christian Concern, and Nick Baker, ICC's Director of Impact, join VOM Radio to share about ICC's ministry and how they are recognizing and responding to the needs—visible and invisible—of persecuted Christians. You'll hear about helping persecuted Christians holistically, and a new effort by ICC to protect young Christian girls from forced marriage and forced conversion. Shawn and Nick share how the Lord called them to persecuted church ministry, what they did before serving in their current roles, and how they think about the risks of meeting with our brothers and sisters in restricted nations and hostile areas. They will both share a story that grabbed their hearts when they first started working with persecuted Christians, and how they see the Lord working even in the midst of persecution. They'll also give practical ways you can pray for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters, and for the ministry of ICC. One important time to pray for persecuted Christians is the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians, coming up on November 1. Download VOM's free IDOP Digital Resource Kit and make sure your church will join this global prayer movement on behalf of persecuted Christians.
Ken Katayama, Global President and CEO of Crossover Global, didn't come to faith in Christ until he was 15 years old. Two years later, he was invited to a missions conference and heard for the first time that there are people who have never heard the gospel. Ken felt very clearly God's call to missions—to go to those unreached peoples. He started as an intern at Crossover Global. Today, he leads the organization. Listen as Ken shares about Crossover's ministry and about his heart to see churches planted and provide access to the Bible in these unreached people groups—churches that uniquely fit the cultures and places where they are planted. Ken also explains the need for biblical sending churches. He'll talk about qualities he sees among missionaries who are successful over the long haul in planting gospel seeds among these unreached groups. Learn the names of unreached people groups and how you can pray specifically for them by visiting www.noaccess.info. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China, and Iran, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.
For our Turkish brothers and sisters, church is not just a weekly service. It's a family where they come together, united in Christ, deepening relationships and encouraging each other. The church is also the training ground where new believers are discipled and equipped to live faithfully for Christ — even under Christian persecution. Pastor Ramazan Arkan, leader of the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey and pastor of Antalya Evangelical Churches, is back with us this week to share how mentorships develop into family relationships in the church. He'll describe differences between following Christ in Türkiye rather than other Middle Eastern countries. Christian workers like Joy Subasiguller and Jerry Mattix have been forced to leave the country, and some of Pastor Ramazan's friends have been martyred for their bold faith in Christ. (The martyrs' widows, Semse Aydin and Susanne Geske, shared their stories on VOM Radio.) Ramazan will share his own story of an assassination attempt against him and how he continues to face fear amid pressure and persecution, yet he reminds listeners that overcoming fear is part of our journey walking by faith. "I get scared sometimes, but this is the faith," Pastor Ramazan says, "despite fear, doubt, and hesitation, you just walk by faith. But that doesn't mean you don't get scared or worried." Today, there are more than 200 churches in Türkiye. More than 50 have joined the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey to work and encourage together, including raising their voices to represent the Body of Christ in Türkiye. "Pray that God gives us more boldness, protection, and opportunity to share the gospel with people who've never heard it before," Arkan says. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China, and Iran, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.
Most Turks believe being Turkish and being Muslim are inseparably intertwined. Pastor Ramazan Arkan was an adult before he ever met a Turkish Christian. Then he became friends with a coworker who had left Islam to follow Jesus. That friendship started Ramazan on a journey that eventually led to the cross of Christ. Pastor Ramazan is now leading the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey, and he is the pastor of Antalya Evangelical Churches in Antalya, Türkiye. Listen as he shares how he came to Christ, first asking questions about Islam and the Quran and then irresistibly drawn by the loving relationships he saw when he was invited to a local church. "The most effective way to share the gospel message is through relationship," Pastor Ramazan says. You'll hear how his name, Ramazan (Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting) is both a blessing and a curse. He'll also describe the Christian persecution when he left Islam for Christianity, and more about what our persecuted brothers and sisters in Türkiye face for their faith in Jesus. Pastor Ramazan will tell the story of the night he became a Christian and felt God's presence and Word come alive to him. He'll also explain why it's important to reveal the cost of following Christ to new Muslim background believers early on, why his church doesn't baptize new believers immediately, and the sad story of one new Christian who went back to Islam after seeing the high cost of following Christ. To learn more ways you can pray for persecuted Christians in Türkiye, Central Asia and around the world, sign up to receive weekly prayer emails at iCommitToPray.com. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China, and Iran, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.