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.

Hope is birthed out of some of the most surprising of places.

In this week's episode of VOMRadio, "John" tells us about his ministry in Syria and the good things that God is doing in that country in the midst of war and terror and chaos.

Liena and her family turned down offers of asylum in Western countries after civil war broke out in Syria. They knew the cost that they might be required to pay, but they chose to remain as witnesses to their Muslim neighbors and as an encouragement to other Christians in Syria. Liena was a dedicated Christian, faithful wife and mother of two. In her prayers, she asked God to use her to reach more people. And then God asked her to make one more commitment.

The eyes of the world turned this week to the White House, where President Obama gave a speech outlining his plans to battle against the Islamic State (IS). While VOM is not a political organization, VOM staff do monitor how the United States government responds to religious freedom issues overseas, and we work to educate and provide resources for government personnel tasked with understanding and speaking out against the persecution of Christians.

VOM staff members have been encouraged by the amazing response to the “I-am-N” t-shirt VOM offered last month. Thousands of American Christians have chosen to stand with our Christian brothers and sisters facing Islamic extremism in Iraq and Syria by publicly wearing the Arabic “N” shirts.

Last week in our VOM staff chapel service Cole Richards, the leader of our international work, talked about how we, as followers of Christ, should think about and respond to radical terrorist groups like the Islamic State (IS), which is dominating the news cycle yet again this week with the videotaped beheading of another American journalist, Steven Sotloff.

Recently one of my coworkers was in the Middle East to attend a conference for Syrian Christians. These conferences, which VOM sponsors, are designed to encourage and train Syrian Church leaders, who have been ministering in the midst of war for the past three years, in addition to the heavy persecution they face as gospel workers in a Muslim nation.