Persecution Blog

VOM Radio: YWAM Founder Loren Cunningham

Loren Cunningham is the founder of Youth With a Mission (YWAM), an organization that has equipped and sent more than five million people on short-term mission trips. God called him to ministry at age 13, and later gave him a vision to call and equip waves of young people to wash up on every continent on earth to share the gospel message.

Listen as Loren shares about how God called him, and some of the amazing things he’s seen (and eaten!) over his years of ministry. He’ll also offer advice for those listening for God’s call now, and share how YWAM prepares workers to go to the world’s hardest places with the gospel.

Finally he’ll share how the Bible lays the foundation for great spiritual awakenings, which is the reason VOM and YWAM are distributing Bibles all over the world. Listen and learn from one of the great missions leaders of our time, this week on VOM Radio.

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Openness in Pakistan?

It’s easy to think of Pakistan—a nation where 96.4% of the people are Muslims—as a nation completely closed to gospel witness. Brother Charles, an American teaching at a university in Pakistan, has found that there is much more openness than you might expect. Charles interacts every day with Muslims in that nation, helping create dialogue and initiate relationships that can lead to faith in Christ. One of the keys, he says, is presenting the core of the gospel, because so many Muslims have never heard a genuine, clear presentation of the true gospel. Charles will share how God led him and his family to Pakistan and why they stay in spite of political ups and downs and safety concerns. He’ll advise listeners on how we can dialogue with Muslims in ways that plant gospel seeds, and equip us to pray specifically for the nation of Pakistan.

ONLINE BONUS: Click now to hear more of our conversation with Charles, including specifics of how he interacts with his university students from across the religious spectrum, how he structures his course work, and other information about his ministry work.

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"What is the worth of a selfish faith...?"

"I Stand Amazed Every Day"

As he leads VOM’s international work, Brother Jonathan has a front-row seat to see what God is doing around the world: thousands of Muslims and Hindus coming to faith in Christ!

That spread of the gospel comes with a price, though, and Jonathan oversees VOM’s efforts to provide spiritual and physical aid to Christians affected by persecution and equip front-line workers to continue spreading the gospel.

Listen as Jonathan shares some of the exciting plans for VOM’s work in 2017, as well as how his encounters with persecuted Christians have impacted the way he lives out his faith each day. Jonathan will also share some of the challenges of our international work, and equip you to pray specifically for VOM workers going out to serve in dangerous places around the world.

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China Prisoner's Wife Speaks Out

Her husband is currently in prison in China. His legal work representing Christians and other oppressed people was considered a “threat” by China’s government, and today he’s serving a five-year prison sentence.

But “Sister Wong” refuses to be silenced. This week on VOM Radio she shares her story, including how her husband advised her to pray when she was finally able to visit him in prison. His prayer request wasn’t for himself, but for the church in China.

She also shares some of the passages of Scripture that are carrying her through this challenging season in her life. Your faith will be challenged and you’ll be better equipped to pray for China this week on VOM Radio.

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Today, You Know Their Names

Sixty-one years ago yesterday, five men lost their lives on a stretch of sand on the Curaray River in Ecuador. Had they not lost their lives, it’s unlikely you’d know the names of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming and Roger Youderian. Instead, their act of sacrifice to reach the Waodani Indians with the gospel resonated around the world and inspired future generations of missionaries.

Growing up, this story was an intimate part of my life, yet I had no idea how far-reaching it was. You see, my father was among those inspired by the five martyrs, particularly Nate Saint. This led to life-long mission work.

My parents joined Mission Aviation Fellowship (Nate Saint’s sending mission) and were assigned to work in Shell, Ecuador in 1978. They lived in Nate Saint’s jungle house, the place where the men and women prayed and pondered their mission to the Waodani for weeks before setting out, and where the wives anxiously gathered around the radio at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 8, 1956, hoping for word from their loved ones.

In 1979, my parents brought me home from the hospital to that same Saint house. For the next 12 years, as I played on the hill outside the hangar, I saw Waodani women brought by airplane for treatment at the mission hospital, I watched as Waodani teenagers arrived by air to be discipled by church planters and I saw Bible translators, working on a Waodani translation of the New Testament, travel by plane to their communities.

Two weeks ago, my family and I traveled back to Shell and stayed in that same Saint house, which is now a mini-museum, event space and guest house. It was encouraging to witness that the work that began after the five men lost their lives continues today. Two generations later, there is an established, Waodani-led church. They now have the New Testament in their language. The group has sent missionaries to reach other Waodani as well as neighboring indigenous groups. Several have attended Bible schools. Some family friends continue to aid the Waodani to develop job skills and provide discipleship.

But today there are some concerning developments: a group of Waodani who rejected the gospel and live in isolation are threatening violence against the others again. This could trigger a return to the repeated revenge killings that nearly decimated the tribe 60 years ago. Will you pray for the young, Waodani church leaders who are opposed to this violence and who are encouraging their people to continue to follow “God’s carvings?” And pray that the Good News will reach the hearts of those threatening violence.

The story of the five men’s life and death is told in The Torchlighters: The Story of Jim Elliot. This children’s DVD also includes an adult-oriented documentary.

Dory P and her husband both work for VOM. Dory grew up calling Nate Saint’s sister “Aunt Rachel” and Jim Elliot’s widow “Aunt Betty.” She didn’t know they were celebrities in Christian circles until she attended Wheaton College, alma mater of three of the men killed.

Best Moments of 2016 on VOM Radio: Part 2

Join us today as we continue looking back on some of the most-impactful testimonies shared with us in 2016 on VOM Radio.

We’ll hear how God reached into the home of the police chief in a Southeast Asian village—even as the police chief was fighting against the gospel! We’ll hear from former prisoner Bob Fu what it means to a prisoner when he or she knows that Christians are praying for them. Sean will tell us how God used VOM to help save the life of an evangelist in Bangladesh after he was brutally attacked. Samuel will tell us about the risks of following Christ in Pakistan.

We’ll hear from three different people impacted by a 2007 attack in Turkey that took the lives of three Christians. Brother Gokhan was a friend of those killed; Tim is now the pastor of the church the three men attended; and Semse Aydin is the widow of one of the martyred believers.

Finally we’ll hear from five guests who fave us a peek this year into what God is doing in the church in Iran—the fastest growing church in the world. Dr. Sasan will share how Iranian Christians find joy in persecution. Nazanin works in a call center for one of our media partners, witnessing to and discipling Iranian believers by phone. Dr. Mike Ansari will tell us about a special effort to get Bibles digitally into Iran. Finally, Maryam and Marziyeh will share about the miracle of finding God’s Word inside the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran.

You’ll be inspired and challenged as we continue looking back on some of the amazing stories God allowed us to share on VOM Radio in 2016.

 

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Best Moments of 2016 on VOM Radio: Part 1

Join us as we look back on some of the most-impactful testimonies shared with us this year on VOM Radio.

We’ll hear from Dale Rhoton of Operation Mobilization—one of the first Westerners to visit VOM’s founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, after Richard’s release from prison in Romania. We’ll hear how God used a nameless woman walking along a road in Kenya to grab the heart of an American woman, Jami Staples, to reach Muslims for Christ. We’ll hear from Bob and Kasey, who left behind an American-dream retirement to serve Muslims half-a-world away. We’ll hear from two gospel workers—Hannelie Groenewald and Nik Ripken—who experienced gut-wrenching loss while serving overseas, yet found God faithful even in that loss. And we’ll hear how a passion for God’s Word kept John and Karen Short connected to Him and to each other, even while John was detained in the world’s most-closed country.

Your faith will be inspired by the faithfulness and courage of these brothers and sisters—and by how God worked through each of them to further His Kingdom aims. (Note that you can hear our entire conversations with each of these guests by searching in the VOM Radio archives.)

 

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