{"id":5407,"date":"2025-12-17T16:47:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T16:47:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:47:07","slug":"arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/","title":{"rendered":"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brother Nathan had a ministry sharing the gospel and praying with Muslims in the Middle East. He and other believers had been evangelizing for more than eight years. The responses were almost always positive. Then, out ministering with two others last year, they ran into a very different response. Nathan and his two friends found themselves in a police office, their hands behind their backs, facing a serious charge of “heralding Christianity.”<\/p>\n

Nathan’s missionary journey started long before his arrest. At 19, Nathan joined YWAM to experience short-term mission work after deciding to give his entire life to be used by the Lord\u2014wherever He asked Nathan to go. Nathan will share how Peter’s choice to step out of the boat onto the water with Jesus inspired him to be all in<\/em> with Christ. As a young man and zealous missionary, Nathan didn’t think much about the risk of Christian persecution\u2014until it happened.<\/p>\n

Listen as he tells the story of his arrest and what he felt when as he realized he could be facing years<\/em> in prison. Nathan will also share how the Lord relieved fear and anxiety when he and the other believers took their prison bread and the water and turned it into a sacred remembrance of Christ’s suffering: “It was almost as if Jesus just walked into the cell and took anxiety off our left shoulder, fear off our right shoulder. He gave us peace instead and then walked out\u2026it was very supernatural.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Nathan will share advice and encouragement to future missionaries and describe his missionary work in the Middle East. “Muslims are hungry for prayer,” Nathan shares. “They are real people with real issues who long for prayer.” Nathan had many opportunities to pray healing over Muslims and see the Lord at work.<\/p>\n

Join us next week to hear more of Nathan’s experience in prison and how a prison cell became their mission field for Christ!<\/p>\n

The VOM App<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in Syria, North Korea, Iran, China and other nations throughout the year, as well as giving\u00a0free<\/u>\u00a0access to e-books, audio books, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0<\/span>iOS<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span>Android<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0device today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to this episode on VOMRadio.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brother Nathan had a ministry sharing the gospel and praying with Muslims in the Middle East. He and other believers had been evangelizing for more than eight years. The responses were almost always positive. Then, out ministering with two others last year, they ran into a very different response. Nathan and his two friends found themselves in a police office, their hands behind their backs, facing a serious charge of “heralding Christianity.” Nathan’s missionary journey started long before his arrest. At 19, Nathan joined YWAM to experience short-term mission work after deciding to give his entire life to be used by the Lord\u2014wherever He asked Nathan to go. Nathan will share how Peter’s choice to step out of the boat onto the water with Jesus inspired him to be all in with Christ. As a young man and zealous missionary, Nathan didn’t think much about the risk of Christian persecution\u2014until it happened. Listen as he tells the story of his arrest and what he felt when as he realized he could be facing years in prison. Nathan will also share how the Lord relieved fear and anxiety when he and the other believers took their prison bread and the water and turned it into a sacred remembrance of Christ’s suffering: “It was almost as if Jesus just walked into the cell and took anxiety off our left shoulder, fear off our right shoulder. He gave us peace instead and then walked out\u2026it was very supernatural.” Nathan will share advice and encouragement to future missionaries and describe his missionary work in the Middle East. “Muslims are hungry for prayer,” Nathan shares. “They are real people with real issues who long for prayer.” Nathan had many opportunities to pray healing over Muslims and see the Lord at work. Join us next week to hear more of Nathan’s experience in prison and how a prison cell became their mission field for Christ! The VOM App\u00a0for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in Syria, North Korea, Iran, China and other nations throughout the year, as well as giving\u00a0free\u00a0access to e-books, audio books, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0iOS\u00a0or\u00a0Android\u00a0device today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vom-radio","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field - Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field - Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brother Nathan had a ministry sharing the gospel and praying with Muslims in the Middle East. He and other believers had been evangelizing for more than eight years. The responses were almost always positive. Then, out ministering with two others last year, they ran into a very different response. Nathan and his two friends found themselves in a police office, their hands behind their backs, facing a serious charge of "heralding Christianity." Nathan's missionary journey started long before his arrest. At 19, Nathan joined YWAM to experience short-term mission work after deciding to give his entire life to be used by the Lord\u2014wherever He asked Nathan to go. Nathan will share how Peter's choice to step out of the boat onto the water with Jesus inspired him to be all in with Christ. As a young man and zealous missionary, Nathan didn't think much about the risk of Christian persecution\u2014until it happened. Listen as he tells the story of his arrest and what he felt when as he realized he could be facing years in prison. Nathan will also share how the Lord relieved fear and anxiety when he and the other believers took their prison bread and the water and turned it into a sacred remembrance of Christ's suffering: "It was almost as if Jesus just walked into the cell and took anxiety off our left shoulder, fear off our right shoulder. He gave us peace instead and then walked out\u2026it was very supernatural." Nathan will share advice and encouragement to future missionaries and describe his missionary work in the Middle East. "Muslims are hungry for prayer," Nathan shares. "They are real people with real issues who long for prayer." Nathan had many opportunities to pray healing over Muslims and see the Lord at work. Join us next week to hear more of Nathan's experience in prison and how a prison cell became their mission field for Christ! The VOM App\u00a0for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in Syria, North Korea, Iran, China and other nations throughout the year, as well as giving\u00a0free\u00a0access to e-books, audio books, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0iOS\u00a0or\u00a0Android\u00a0device today.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-17T16:47:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"vomtechsupport\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"vomtechsupport\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"vomtechsupport\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5ff286fd5505fccd2d5ebfd9d4203216\"},\"headline\":\"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-17T16:47:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":391,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"VOM Radio\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/\",\"name\":\"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field - Stories\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-17T16:47:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5ff286fd5505fccd2d5ebfd9d4203216\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg\",\"width\":978,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stories\",\"description\":\"VOM\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5ff286fd5505fccd2d5ebfd9d4203216\",\"name\":\"vomtechsupport\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/56abf41aaad92dceb4cfa25e0a29cb1f744b86aceb206be3435e6e45da62f65a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/56abf41aaad92dceb4cfa25e0a29cb1f744b86aceb206be3435e6e45da62f65a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/56abf41aaad92dceb4cfa25e0a29cb1f744b86aceb206be3435e6e45da62f65a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"vomtechsupport\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.persecution.com\\\/stories\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field - Stories","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field - Stories","og_description":"Brother Nathan had a ministry sharing the gospel and praying with Muslims in the Middle East. He and other believers had been evangelizing for more than eight years. The responses were almost always positive. Then, out ministering with two others last year, they ran into a very different response. Nathan and his two friends found themselves in a police office, their hands behind their backs, facing a serious charge of \"heralding Christianity.\" Nathan's missionary journey started long before his arrest. At 19, Nathan joined YWAM to experience short-term mission work after deciding to give his entire life to be used by the Lord\u2014wherever He asked Nathan to go. Nathan will share how Peter's choice to step out of the boat onto the water with Jesus inspired him to be all in with Christ. As a young man and zealous missionary, Nathan didn't think much about the risk of Christian persecution\u2014until it happened. Listen as he tells the story of his arrest and what he felt when as he realized he could be facing years in prison. Nathan will also share how the Lord relieved fear and anxiety when he and the other believers took their prison bread and the water and turned it into a sacred remembrance of Christ's suffering: \"It was almost as if Jesus just walked into the cell and took anxiety off our left shoulder, fear off our right shoulder. He gave us peace instead and then walked out\u2026it was very supernatural.\" Nathan will share advice and encouragement to future missionaries and describe his missionary work in the Middle East. \"Muslims are hungry for prayer,\" Nathan shares. \"They are real people with real issues who long for prayer.\" Nathan had many opportunities to pray healing over Muslims and see the Lord at work. Join us next week to hear more of Nathan's experience in prison and how a prison cell became their mission field for Christ! The VOM App\u00a0for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in Syria, North Korea, Iran, China and other nations throughout the year, as well as giving\u00a0free\u00a0access to e-books, audio books, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your\u00a0iOS\u00a0or\u00a0Android\u00a0device today.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/","og_site_name":"Stories","article_published_time":"2025-12-17T16:47:07+00:00","author":"vomtechsupport","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"vomtechsupport","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/"},"author":{"name":"vomtechsupport","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5ff286fd5505fccd2d5ebfd9d4203216"},"headline":"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field","datePublished":"2025-12-17T16:47:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/"},"wordCount":391,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg","articleSection":["VOM Radio"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/","url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/","name":"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field - Stories","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-17T16:47:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5ff286fd5505fccd2d5ebfd9d4203216"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/VOM-Stories-VOMRadio-Placeholder.jpg","width":978,"height":640},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/arrested-in-middle-east-prison-was-a-mission-field\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ARRESTED IN MIDDLE EAST: Prison Was a Mission Field"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/","name":"Stories","description":"VOM","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/5ff286fd5505fccd2d5ebfd9d4203216","name":"vomtechsupport","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56abf41aaad92dceb4cfa25e0a29cb1f744b86aceb206be3435e6e45da62f65a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56abf41aaad92dceb4cfa25e0a29cb1f744b86aceb206be3435e6e45da62f65a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/56abf41aaad92dceb4cfa25e0a29cb1f744b86aceb206be3435e6e45da62f65a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"vomtechsupport"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}