When a fully veiled woman came to his church and asked to be baptized, this pastor from Iraq wasn’t sure how to respond. But the woman had been reading and memorizing the New Testament, and her faith in Christ was genuine. After the pastor and another church leader met her and asked many questions, she was baptized in their church.

"Even if you take my life here in front of my wife...I will not deny Christ."

During a recent interview at Breakaway, an incredible student ministry at Texas A&M University, Jeff Johnson asked me to share the perspective of Christians who have been forced to flee from ISIS. You can watch the entire interview here.

Imagine discovering that your home has the Arabic “N” scrawled on it and that you have been targeted by ISIS?

While in Iraq recently, I was pleased to meet several Christians who are serving their neighbors, even in the midst of their own personal suffering. These “Jesus followers” have lost almost everything that this world values, and they continue to boldly proclaim their faith. They shine brightly in a place that has been darkened by loss, sorrow and hopelessness.

On the last Sunday in January, Christians in the ancient Syrian village of Tel Hormizd removed a cross from their church, but not by choice. They were forced to abandon their Christian identity by Islamic State (IS) militants, who had also kidnapped and killed hundreds of Christians.

There is an important article in this month’s issue of The Atlantic magazine, entitled What ISIS Really Wants. I found myself pausing often as I read to underline or highlight particular passages, as the author seems to have done a very good job of identifying the motivations of this radical Islamic group which has established a “Caliphate” that stretches across Syria and into Iraq.