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.”

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 God's Handiwork:

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17

I’ll never forget the morning that Jim (VOM’s President) and I were driving a long-term associate of Richard Wurmbrand to the airport. “Brother T.” is a peppy, passionate 80-year-old Italian—the kind of person who deeply impacts everyone he meets! In a few hours, all three of us would be leaving on separate early-morning flights. As we drove together in the pre-dawn darkness, Brother T. energetically shared stories about Richard Wurmbrand.

My clothes were cold and clammy and my shoes squelched. I hugged myself and wondered about the pain in my side. It was growing worse. Once we were in the truck, every bump sent a red-hot stab of agony through me. The swaying truck made me feel very sick.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Matthew 5:11

It was the book that shocked the nation. After surviving 14 years in communist prisons, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand came to America to proclaim the trials and testimonies of our persecuted brothers and sisters.

VOM’s Kids of Courage resources help parents and educators teach children ages 5 to 13 about persecuted Christians around the world, and provide opportunities for children to serve and pray for them. The following post appeared earlier this month on www.kidsofcourage.com.

Last week at our VOM chapel, Brother Merv shared with us. Merv is one of the longest-tenured members of the worldwide VOM family. (You can watch a video interview with him here.) One of the stories he shared was from his time working side-by-side with Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand as Merv helped launch and lead our VOM sister office in Australia.