The pastor, his wife, and their six small children had just read Psalm 23 while eating breakfast. Suddenly, the police burst into his home to search the house and arrest him.

Iranian officials recently closed one of only four remaining churches in Tehran that offered Farsi-language services. On June 5, the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence branch ordered an Assemblies of God (AOG) church to cease all activities and threatened to confiscate church facilities if the church did not comply.