When a fully veiled woman came to his church and asked to be baptized, this pastor from Iraq wasn’t sure how to respond. But the woman had been reading and memorizing the New Testament, and her faith in Christ was genuine. In spite of terrorism and radical Islam, God is moving in Iraq. Listen this week to hear an Iraqi pastor’s first-hand account of how God is working, how the church is growing and how the Islamic State is pushing Muslims toward Christ.
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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An Iraqi Christian who often helps disciple Christian converts from Islam was arrested and detained alongside two other Christians. They were released after a few days but are being accused of evangelizing, which is a criminal act as the country’s official religion is Islam. A front-line worker has requested prayer for the Lord to intervene in their cases and that all three Christians will be able to return to their families.
Read MoreWhen Qasim and his wife, Zaynab, became followers of Christ in 2016, their Shiite Muslim family immediately rejected them and threatened their lives. Zaynab’s brother beat her and told her to leave her “infidel” husband. Eventually, the couple and their young children fled Iraq, but Zaynab’s brother continues to harass them over the phone, saying he will kill them if he finds them. Islamists seeking their location attacked Qasim’s father and one of his younger brothers, sending him to a hospital with broken legs and in a life-threatening coma.
Read MoreOne day in May 2023, an Iraqi pastor answered his phone, not knowing it would be the last call he would receive from a young Christian friend. On the line was a university student who had recently converted from Islam. Some of the student’s former friends had arrived at his home, saying, “We know about your new faith. We are going to give you a chance to come back.” The group told him he could claim not to believe in any god, but he could not remain a Christian. The assailants gave him 24 hours to recant, or they would kill him.
Read More“Jesus is here already; He’s just waiting for us.” In 2014, just as ISIS was declaring an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria, God called Jerry and Stacy to go to Iraq. “It was a clear word from the Lord,” Stacy says. Others—including their mission board—told them NOT to go, that it wasn’t safe or smart. But they obeyed God, landing in northern Iraq days later. Years before, they’d answered God’s call to Tanzania—leaving behind an “American Dream” life to serve in east Africa, where they saw the overwhelming need of the people and learned how to focus on serving the person in front of them. The hospitality of the African people, despite their overwhelming needs, and the sweet sound of Swahili hymns struck a chord in the hearts of Jerry and Stacy. Jerry and Stacy will challenge listeners to serve the Lord, not with busy work but with lives committed to prayer and fasting, seeking the Lord and His plan and will for each situation. Stacy, who had never read her Bible or finished a Bible study before moving to East Africa, reminds us that God qualifies those He calls. The couple saw God open doors for impactful ministry in Africa, and so they went to Iraq with complete trust in what He was going to do. Founders of Love for the Least, Jerry and Stacy help refugees in Iraq and serve them through providing education and job training. They provide trauma care for girls sold into ISIS slavery, young widows and children who have witnessed the dark side of Islam. To see a documentary about their work in Iraq, watch “Don’t Forget Them” on Amazon. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the Podcast.
Read MoreNader, 17, grew up in a Muslim home, but he rejected Islam and became an atheist. After some time, he began to have visions of Christ, and he sought someone to help him understand his dreams. He searched online for answers to his questions and discovered a website for those who have had visions of Jesus in dreams.
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In 2014, the world was reminded of the threat posed by Islamic extremists when the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group overtook Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul, in a matter of hours. Within a few weeks, ISIS had also claimed areas surrounding Mosul — areas that have been historically home to Christian populations. The ISIS terrorists gave Christians a choice: they could convert to Islam, pay a high tax, leave or be killed. Most Christians fled the area within days. When ISIS declared a caliphate over regions of Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram declared its own caliphate in Nigeria after seizing the mostly-Christian city of Gwoza on Aug. 24, 2014. Between 2010 and 2014, an estimated 11,500 Christians were killed, 3,500 injured and thousands more displaced as Boko Haram has advanced through Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in northern Nigeria. Throughout this time, VOM has worked to meet the needs of injured and displaced Nigerian Christians. After each attack, medical workers are dispatched to document the needs of the injured and help get them the best possible medical care. One Nigerian Christian we helped in 2014 is John Yakubu. After surviving multiple attacks by Boko Haram in the Gwoza area of
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Rebekah and her family climbed into the small vehicle that VOM had given her two years earlier after her husband was martyred for his Christian witness. Under cover of darkness, the family turned their backs on their home and began driving up the road to Kurdistan. Thousands of others had fled along that same road, many walking for 10 to 14 hours to escape the horrors of the Islamist militia known as the Islamic State (ISIS). After capturing the city of Mosul, Iraq, in June 2014, the militants gave all Christians until July 19 to convert to Islam, pay a high tax, leave the city or be killed. Thousands chose to flee, leaving everything they owned behind. Along the way, families encountered roadblock after roadblock of ISIS soldiers guarding their recently conquered territory. The soldiers robbed them of everything, taking wedding rings and ripping passports in half before the horrified owners’ eyes. In some cases, soldiers told people to strip, and then robbed them of even their clothing. Flight from Mosul By God’s grace, Rebekah’s family made the journey safely. They had fled to Erbil, in Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region of Iraq that ISIS had not yet penetrated. But Rebekah
Read MoreYouhanna’s wife and children left him when he placed his faith in Christ several years ago. His extended family beat him severely many times because of his faith, and he was imprisoned in an attempt to force him to return to Islam.
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