The face of radical Islamic terror is easy to find: simply turn on the news. But how should Christians respond? Should we pretend the challenge doesn’t exist? Should we quake in fear? This week Cole Richards, the leader of VOM’s international work, helps listeners examine these issues through the lens of scripture and in view of eternity. He also shares highlights of the great work accomplished by VOM’s international staff last year, including distributing more than one million Bibles and touching the lives of more than four million Christian brothers and sisters living in hostile and restricted nations around the world.
Read MoreNot many Americans have been attacked by Al Qaeda terrorists and lived to share the story. Brent Teague was shot twice and left for dead, but God wasn’t finished with Brent or with his ministry in West Africa. In fact, God had already performed a miracle to provide for Brent’s rescue…before he’d even been shot! This week on VOM Radio we’ll hear Brent’s incredible story, as well as an update on recent attacks and church burnings in Niger and how Christians there are responding with love and forgiveness, even to their persecutors.
Read MoreIn spite of Boko Haram attacks, Christian brothers and sisters in Northern Nigeria continue to serve Jesus. This week Ray and Denise Thorne share how God brought them together in ministry—through disappointment and heartbreak—to serve Him and to serve persecuted believers. We’ll hear how they met widows of martyred Christians in Nigeria, encouraged women who’d been kidnapped and abused by Boko Haram fighters and met a faithful Christian miraculously sustained by God even after being shot in the face with an AK-47, and how he encouraged his son to forgive the attackers. Ray and Denise’s stories from our persecuted family in Nigeria will lengthen your prayer list and encourage your faith.
Read MoreGilbert Hovsepian’s father, Pastor Haik Hovsepian, was a church leader in Iran with an outreach to Muslims and a voice that wouldn’t be silenced. He was threatened many times. Then he disappeared. For 12 days Gilbert and his family searched and worried. Gilbert says those 12 days were the hardest of his life. Then Haik’s body was found, stabbed repeatedly. Listen to VOM Radio this week as Gilbert shares how his family responded, and how the prayers and care of the Body of Christ around the world encouraged and carried them. He’ll also share how God has taken the misery of those days and used it to shape a ministry that still reaches into Iran today, strengthening the church and leading Muslims into fellowship with Jesus.
Read MoreOne of the great blessings of traveling for VOM is meeting bold and on-fire believers serving Jesus in hostile and restricted nations. That great blessing comes with a heavy burden, though. Especially when those believers—people we know and love, people with whom our staff have shared fellowship—come under severe persecution. This week on VOM Radio, Jeremy, part of VOM’s international team, will tell us about that burden. We’ll learn what it’s like to get that phone call that says one of our partners—and a close friend—has been gunned down in Afghanistan.
Read MoreLast week Brian and Louise shared about their efforts to plant a church in Mongolia. This week they unwrap some of the principles they learned in that process, lessons they are now teaching to pastors and church leaders around the world, including nations where VOM works. We’ll also hear a first-hand report from a former prisoner for Christ in Uzbekistan, who tells us that the letters we write to Christians in prison really do make a difference. You can write a letter to a Christian imprisoned for their faith at www.PrisonerAlert.com.
Read MoreBrian and Louise were part of a church planting team in an isolated city in Mongolia. They saw God do amazing things as the gospel took root and the church grew in strength. But they also saw Satan attack, trying to regain territory he’d lost to Christ’s Kingdom. The attacks even reached into Brian and Louise’s own home. Listen in to hear the story of God’s work in Mongolia, and Brian and Louise’s testimony that even in the darkest times, God was faithful. We’ll also answer a listener’s question about Action Packs and how packing an Action Pack is a blessing for a Christian family in a restricted nation, and for the American family that packs the bag.
Read MoreThis week on VOM Radio we talk with former Congressman Pete Hoekstra about how the United States government responds to Christian persecution around the world, and how we can influence our leaders in Washington DC to be more informed and involved in standing up for our persecuted family. Then Cole Richards, who leads VOM’s international work, gives us an inside look into how VOM works in hostile and restricted nations, how we find and help Christians facing persecution and ways you can pray for our international workers.
Read MoreBrother John first heard about VOM’s ministry when he was given a copy of Richard Wurmbrand’s book, Tortured for Christ. After reading the book, his heart was touched and he told the Lord that he would be honored to receive the gift of persecution. Today he helps to support and encourage the church in Myanmar in spite of the persecution and challenges there. We’ll learn about VOM support for the church in Burma through leadership training, Bibles, tools for front-line workers and other projects. Get your own copy of “Tortured for Christ” at https://secure.persecution.com/referafriend/default.aspx?source=VOMRADIONT
Read MoreTens of thousands of Christians have been displaced by the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq. Many families were forced out of their homes with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. This week Todd and Adam discuss traveling to Iraq to deliver aid from VOM to those displaced Christians, hearing their stories of suffering and seeing first-hand how God is working even during this time of upheaval and suffering in Iraq. We’ll also discuss how listeners can pray for and support these believers.
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