Iran

Padina was ready to kill herself on live TV to earn Allah’s favor and prove the God of the Christians was powerless. Instead, she met Jesus Christ and saw Him heal her mother from sickness. She became passionate to introduce her countrymen to the Savior. Today she leads a house church network inside Iran, including training church leaders to be ready to face arrest, harassment and persecution. She’ll tell us how they prepare to face persecution, and describe ways VOM is helping and strengthening the church in Iran today. Finally, we’ll talk about specific ways to pray for Christians inside Iran. You can also watch a video about how Padina came to Christ.

Gilbert 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.

How do you prepare to face persecution? Ali—who ministers inside Iran—tells us how he and his wife talk through what might happen, and how they will persevere through it by God’s grace. He also shares how God is moving inside Iran, including the surprising Bible story God used to reach the heart of a prostitute. Then we’ll learn more about volunteering to serve at VOM and hear how two people decided they’d come to Bartlesville and serve the Lord by serving our persecuted family.

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh knew they were putting their lives on the line. They knew it when they handed out New Testaments, and they knew it when they shared the message of Jesus with their countrymen. Their bold witness for Christ would cost them: they spent 259 days in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. But even in prison God had a plan as He opened the doors for incredible ministry among their fellow prisoners. Listen to their incredible story.

Neda was born in Iran to a Muslim family. She grew up as a Muslim and married a well-known Iranian athlete. But their marriage was on the rocks. At 22, feeling broken and empty, Neda called out to Allah for help. But she found no solace, and grew angry and disillusioned with a god that refused to answer her prayers. As Neda’s heart continued searching, God supernaturally told a family member living in the Netherlands to go back to Iran and share the gospel of Jesus. Neda came to faith in Christ through her relative’s witness and her life was radically transformed. Her husband, surprised and amazed by the change he saw in her, placed his trust in Jesus too. God faithfully restored their marriage and called them to ministry. Neda drew strength from the stories of other persecuted Christians. She read a story in a book from The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) about a girl who was assaulted and became pregnant. Yet she responded with remarkable faith by entrusting everything, even her body, to God. God used this story to teach Neda about the importance of obedience and sacrifice despite fear of persecution and threats of imprisonment and violence. Over the next thirteen years, Neda and her husband faced increasing persecution from the Islamic government. In one incident, officials raided their home and threatened her husband at gunpoint. She and her husband ultimately decided to leave Iran, yet they continue to serve from abroad through Iran Alive Ministries. Neda encourages every Christian to lay down their own desires and fully surrender to God’s will—even when it means taking up their cross and enduring suffering and persecution. She also shares specific ways to pray for Christians in Iran during the current turmoil there. The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians—in Iran and other nations—throughout the year, 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.