Bartlesville, Oklahoma – In November 2008, two organizations that evaluate nonprofit organizations and Christian ministries — MinistryWatch.com and Charity Navigator — gave The Voice of the Martyrs high ratings for sound fiscal management.

VOM was one of 30 ministries out of 500 to make MinistryWatch.com's list after demonstrating outstanding effectiveness and efficiency in ministry and financial operations.

MinistryWatch.com's assessment looks at seven areas when considering the "best ministries" list, namely: transparency, truth claims, values, sectors/functions, resourcefulness, red flag issues and consultation.

"Ministries were chosen that were not just marketing to Christians as a market segment for "Christian donor money", but ministries that had theological underpinnings and Biblical values that determined their actions," MinistryWatch.com said. 2008 is the fourth year MinistryWatch.com has compiled the list, and The Voice of the Martyrs has appeared all four years.

In addition, Charity Navigator awarded VOM its coveted 4-star rating.

"We are proud to announce VOM has earned our second conservative 4 –star rating for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances. …VOM consistently executed its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and out performs most other charities in America. This ‘exceptional' designation differentiates VOM from its peers and demonstrates to the public it is worthy of their trust," Charity Navigator said.

"It is gratifying to have outside groups recognize the utmost integrity with which VOM manages the gifts our donors entrust to us," said Todd Nettleton, VOM spokesperson. "We are thankful for each gift as it enables us to continue to answer God's call on VOM to assist persecuted Christians and be a Voice for them here in the United States."

View how MinistryWatch.com and Charity Navigator rated VOM.

Not too long ago, you may have noticed that we did an overhaul of the old design of this blog, and we wanted to know what you think of our bright new red design.

Please take a minute to share with us your thoughts. We appreciate it!

VOM staff

September’s VOM newsletter features stories about Christians in Indonesia who suffer for practicing their faith in ways we often take for granted. Included are instructions for families, Sunday school classes, and individuals who want to write letters of encouragement to Indonesian Christians.  What a great project to introduce kids to the needs of their persecuted brothers and sisters around the world!

Additional information for kids about Indonesian Christians, including stories and activities, are at www.KidsofCourage.com. Each month, kid-level materials about the featured country in the VOM newsletter are added to the site. By using the newsletter and the Web site materials together, families and church groups that include kids can learn about the same country.

The Kids of Courage site also offers the opportunity to sign up for the free quarterly Kids of Courage newsletter for kids 5 to 12. This quarter’s issue features stories of Christians in Muslim areas of Gaza and the West Bank. The issue includes country information, ways kids can help the persecuted Christians, how to get additional resources for kids, and even a recipe. The first quarter 2009 issue, coming out in December, will tell about Pakistani kids who refuse to deny Jesus under stress.

Pass this information along to a kid you know, or to a Sunday school teacher or Christian school teacher!

This week it feels like the Lord has got me thinking about age and the blessings He gives us as His children. Two chance encounters this week piqued my interest on the importance of staying involved in ministry irrespective of our age. I have been meditating on the scripture in Psalms 91:16, that promises that the Lord will satisfy us with long life, and how vital it is to give our time and extend God’s kingdom. I was reminded of this scripture when a couple that volunteers here at The Voice of the Martyrs shared with me that the husband had celebrated his 80th birthday this past weekend. Wow! What a blessing. This precious couple has served persecuted believers for years, while they continue to live active, full lives. After speaking to them, I was struck by their commitment to VOM and serving persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. I personally know that, apart from coming into the office and volunteering in different capacities, they pray for persecuted believers and have a heart for suffering Christians around the world.

The day after reflecting on this couple, I met an amazing 85-year-old lady who has mailed 300 Bibles to China through VOM’s Bibles Unbound program, since March of 2006. When I asked her what led her to get involved with the program, she recalled, with tears in her eyes, attending a missions meeting and hearing someone share she could ship Bibles overseas for only $30. What touched her heart was that she would provide God’s Word to people who had no access to Bibles, because either their governments did not allow them to have Bibles or Bibles were not easily accessible. She said as soon as she heard the 10-minute talk she knew the Lord was leading her to commit herself to sending Bibles to China. As I spoke to this wonderful lady, I was touched by her genuineness and desire to serve the Lord, to be His hands and feet and play a part in serving persecuted believers who do not have access to Bibles in China. She also told me that as she watched the Olympics during the past two weeks and saw the 91,000 people in the “Birds Nest” stadium in Beijing, she wondered whether any of the people in the stadium were the individuals to whom she had sent Bibles. Another incredible thing about this lady is her commitment to pray every night for the people who received her Bibles. She acknowledges that her time on this earth is short, but she believes one day when she gets to heaven, she will meet the many believers she blessed with Bibles. To her it is all worthwhile. She is blessed to do it and to be involved with VOM.

These chance encounters this week have encouraged me and reiterated the statement that age is nothing but a number. I want to be as active as these precious believers, serving the Lord in my 80s. If you are not involved in serving our persecuted brothers around the world, I encourage you to be inspired by these believers, who in their senior years are still part of Christ’s Great Commission to preach the gospel into the ends of the earth. Visit www.persecution.com to learn how you can become involved in serving the persecuted church.

Hello Friends,

I wanted to come in here today and bring you a personal update regarding the VOM Persecution conference that is taking place this month in Oklahoma.  A few weeks ago I told you that I would not be attending because our flight was canceled and it was going to cost my husband and I another thousand dollars to reroute everything.

Well, today I am very very happy to tell you that we have figured out a way to get to Bartlesville without having to pay a thousand dollars more - we're driving! :)

So if you are going to be attending the conference, and you're a reader of this blog, please come up and introduce yourself to me because I would love to meet you.

See you in two weeks!

Stacy L. Harp
Editor

I once talked to Pastor Noble Alexander, who died in 2002, about his years in a Cuban prison. (His story is told in the book I Will Die Free.) Pastor Alexander was severely beaten for refusing to work at his prison job on the Sabbath. Finally the guards gave up, decided he had mental issues, and allowed him to rest on the Sabbath. Pastor Noble said other prisoners then claimed to be Christians to get out of work. To “prove” they were Christians, they attended Bible classes taught by the pastor. As a result, many were saved. “Faith comes by hearing,” Pastor Noble said.

We respect the pastor for his stand and rejoice in the results. But do I expect more of persecuted Christians than I do of myself? Isaiah 58 admonishes us to not even “find your own pleasure” or “speak your own words” on the Sabbath. Do I do that?

I thought of this again when I learned about Parveen in Pakistan. A brief story about her situation is on the Kids of Courage website at here.

Parveen could have avoided a lot of trouble by just agreeing to work for her Muslim employers on Sunday. After all, it was just one Sunday, and Jesus did say, “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27).

Are persecuted Christians foolish for inviting persecution in this way? I don’t think many of us would say that. Does that then require me to change some of my ideas about the way I spend time on Sundays? Or do I have a double standard? Are there other areas where I might have a double standard about my actions and the actions of Christians in restricted nations? I wonder.

Before I begin posting some prayer requests for all of us to pray for, I wanted to share something with you that happened to me today.  Well, it didn't really happen to me, I caused it, but regardless, it was something that happened.

Earlier today I was trying to make a video to send to a group of people, and it involved paint.  Real paint...and the video was supposed to be a joke and an encouragement to my friends.

Well, in the process of making the video I accidentally poured purple paint all over my Macbook laptop.  Yeah...

So I thought I'd share a tip with you.  Never even open a can of paint near your computer, because accidents happen.

I called Apple and also found out that this accident isn't covered under my 3 year warranty.  I know that's hard to believe!

All that to say, that now until this problem is fixed and/or I get a new computer, I will be sharing another computer with my husband.  So please be patient with me as we share.

And I have to tell you all, while this incident is rather embarrassing, it's really nothing  compared to our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.  So I am not really upset, because computers can be replaced, but precious human life can't.

Have you all ever done anything like this?  Please share.

Today I had one of the greatest opportunities I have had in a long time.  I was asked recently to speak to a few Jr. High classes at a local church that has a Christian school, and all I can tell you is that it was totally fun to see these young men and women begin to learn about the persecuted church.

The first class I spoke to had all girls in it, and it was fascinating to see them as they watched a small portion of The Voice of the Martyrs great DVD called Underground Vietnam.

One of the observations of the class with all girls was that they couldn't quite understand why the underground church was so joyful, and were crying when they received the bibles the teens in the film had delivered.  So I had the opportunity to share with them the joy of the persecuted church because those who are suffering for Christ have a greater joy because they get to see the Lord answer prayer in miraculous ways.

After we watched the DVD, we then had an opportunity to unpack my bibles I received from the Bibles Unbound program and share with the class the five bibles that we were going to ship to China.  And it was very cool because the teens were eager to look at the bible in a different language, and also eager to get the bibles in the mail so that those who have never received one, can get one.

In the second class I got to speak to, the class was half boys and  half girls, and none of them have ever heard of the ministry of The Voice of the Martyrs.  So it was especially exciting to be able to introduce them to the persecuted church for the first time, and also answer some of their questions.

One topic of discussion had to do with what the persecuted Christians ask for, and also what they are praying for Western Christians to have.  We shared about the number one request of the persecuted church, which is prayer.  And then the value of having a bible so that they could grow in their commitment to Jesus Christ.

We ended that class by packing bibles to Indonesian and praying for the recipients.

And the teacher was touched by what had happened in her classes, that she asked me back to share more about the ministry of VOM.

And she also cried when she saw the joy of the persecuted church in the Underground Vietnam DVD. (I did too.)

So I would like to encourage you to share about the suffering church with your Sunday school classes, or classes in your Christian schools.  You may be surprised at how interested you will find your students, and you may be leading them into a  ministry that is far greater than anything you could imagine.

To participate with the Bibles Unbound project, please visit www.biblesunbound.com to sign up today.  It's easy, fun and will change so many lives.