Imagine seeing three of your best friends murdered for their faith in Christ. Brother Gokhan experienced that loss, living in Malatya where three Christians—all part of his church—were murdered. Today Gokhan is a part of Sat-7 TURK, sharing the gospel across the nation via satellite television. He tells us that risk is a part of sharing the gospel in Turkey. “We need to be sacrifice people,” he says. But he reminds us that the power to endure persecution doesn’t come from us, it comes from God.

“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 (ESV)

J.G. Spires is a college student studying English and Broadcast Media on the East Coast. She served this summer as an intern at The Voice of the Martyrs. VOM Radio host Todd Nettleton recently traveled to the Middle East where he met bold Christians who are raising their children in a challenging environment. J. G. adapted part of Todd’s VOM Radio interview about his trip into a kidsofcourage.com blog post for children. The post (below) illustrates the realities of life for Christian children living in areas hostile to their faith.

There is no question that the New Testament writers believed Jesus to be the Lord. He alone is supreme and to Him alone we owe ultimate allegiance. What Jesus Christ teaches and commands has priority over all other teaching and authority, both in heaven and on earth. Contemporary followers of Jesus believe this as well.

“When you face persecution day in and day out, you get discouraged and you can withdraw. There is nowhere where it is easy to preach the gospel.”

Julia and Sam are two of the college students who served as interns this summer at VOM. Listen in as they share some of their experiences, and what they’ve learned—both professionally and spiritually—during their two months of service. How will they be different when they go back to their college campuses? What have their duties been at VOM, and what did they learn about VOM’s ministry that surprised them?

What does it mean to be an I Am N Christian in the Middle East right now? How should their stories inspire us as Western Christians? I have had the privilege of meeting and hearing the incredible stories of some of these sisters and brothers during recent visits to Iraq and neighboring countries where The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is serving them in their time of great need. There are six themes that emerge from the testimonies of these Christians that every Christian can benefit from. These are themes that we have witnessed repeatedly in hundreds of interviews with persecuted Christians.

The Voice of the Martyrs recently sponsored 12 conferences in eight regions in Niger, giving 120 churches training and resources to respond to persecution and spread the gospel.

“By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3b-4 (ESV)

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.