Brian and Louise were part of a church planting team in an isolated city in Mongolia. They saw God do amazing things as the gospel took root and the church grew in strength. But they also experienced Satan's attack, trying to regain territory he’d lost to Christ’s Kingdom. His attacks even reached into Brian and Louise’s own home.

December 3, 2014

It is hard for most of us to imagine how difficult life is for Christians in many parts of the world. Living as a minority in a hostile context is a daily struggle. Many times, our Christian family members are threatened or attacked because of their faith.

Sometimes when we read the Bible we assume a historical posture that says to us, “that happened a long time ago but doesn’t happen today.” For example, when we read Hebrews 11:38 about ancient saints wandering in deserts and mountains and living in caves and holes in the ground because they were homeless because of their faith, we usually don’t connect that with today’s world—especially in the Western world where homelessness is either a personal choice or one is forced into homelessness due to financial setbacks. The world is larger than our enclave and looking beyond our normal focus, we can see that homelessness due to faith is happening right now.

One of the most significant things I worked on in 2014 was the launch of VOMRadio, the half-hour weekly audio program that gives VOM a new way of sharing the voice of our persecuted brothers and sisters. So far the response has been very positive.

A few weeks ago, Merv Knight walked into my office door. Merv is a dear elder brother of mine, in his 80’s now, who lives in Australia. Merv Knight has served our persecuted brothers and sisters for more than 40 years. Perhaps his most important contribution to the work of serving the persecuted was summed up in the recent words of one of VOM’s executives: “Merv Knight has served as a spiritual advisor to us all.”

Volunteering at The Voice of the Martyrs is unlike any other volunteer opportunity. Not only have I experienced it, but I have heard countless people relay their amazement in seeing God’s hand so clearly displayed in one place.

Each month VOM produces "The Jesus Freaks Minute," a daily radio-PSA that shares the stories of the persecuted church with Christian radio listeners all over the United States and around the world. Here's the script for one of the spots that will air next month, a spot entitled New Year Resolve:

This week, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, we have been looking back on the most-read posts on the Persecution Blog this year. Today we look back on the most-read post of the year.