Dr. Berhane spent 11 months in prison for his Christian work; he watched friends and fellow prisoners led away to execution. But he also saw God’s hand at work as fellow prisoners accepted the gospel message and turned their hearts toward Christ.

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh were bold evangelists in Iran, sharing their faith and distributing Bibles in that Islamic nation.

Merv Knight is one of the longest-serving members of VOM’s worldwide family, having met VOM founder Richard Wurmbrand on the first day of August in 1969. Merv, the co-founder of VOM Australia, shares this week stories of the Wurmbrands, how they ministered both under persecution and after coming to the free world, and some of the challenges they faced launching a ministry to serve persecuted believers around the world.

VOM Radio host Todd Nettleton recently travelled to meet with persecuted Christians in the Middle East. This week he shares highlights from the trip and stories of some of the Christians that he had a chance to meet, including a former prisoner in Iran, a pastor working with refugees from Iraq and Syria and a Turkish believer who shared the challenges of raising children in an overwhelmingly-Islamic culture.

“Like that the Lord said to me, ‘They are persecuting Me. Will you lend Me your body? It is Me they are persecuting. Will you love them? Will you love these that persecute you?’ It was in that moment that He started giving me the strength of the Holy Spirit to withstand.”

The United States and Cuba have resumed diplomatic relations after more than 50 years of animosity. President Obama recently visited Cuba. But has anything changed for the church or for Cuban Christians?

"John" and "Mary" are working among Muslim immigrants and refugees in Europe, sharing the love of Jesus with people from a particular nation. Their work includes contacts with both long-term European residents and new refugees fleeing the crisis in the Middle East; each group requires different approaches when presenting the gospel.

“Mike” and “Rose” serve the Lord in Mexico, where they planted a secret church in a tribal village hostile to evangelical work. They’d been warned that gospel work in that village was dangerous, but God’s call was clear. Several villagers came to Christ, and they began a secret Bible study.

“Brother John” helps lead the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has served as a missionary in Muslim nations, and today is involved in recruiting and sending mission workers to the hardest and most unreached places in the world.

VOM’s Dr. Jason Peters recently shared stories of Christians facing Islamic extremists with Andrew Hess of ChurchLeader’s Podcast.