Persecution Blog

Nepal: This is Who God Is

Listen this week for an update on the church in Nepal, especially how the church has been impacted by Nepal’s recent adoption of a new constitution which included anti-conversion provisions.

Michael Huff has been the leader of Operation Mobilization in Nepal and is now based in the US helping to mobilize Christians to take the gospel all over the world. Listen as Michael shares how OM is working to raise up Christian workers and evangelists in Nepal, and some of the lessons Nepali Christians have taught him during his years of ministry there.

He’ll share how two Christian workers there responded to persecution in the village they were working in; and an amazing story of how God supernaturally gave the Scriptures to a young boy—a boy who would grow up to be a church leader in Nepal.

Learn more about OM’s work in Nepal and around the world at www.OMUSA.org.

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Middle East Christians "Standing in the Fire"

For Christians in Syria and other Middle East nations, human logic is clear: get out! Go someplace safe!

In spite of such advice, Tom and JoAnn Doyle tell us many Christians are choosing to STAY and serve the Lord and witness for Christ. These bold brothers and sisters are standing in the fire of war and persecution, and they are finding—just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did—that God is standing with them.

Listen to the story of Jamila, a 12-year-old girl healed from cancer after a Christian man prayed for her in Jesus’ name, leading to hundreds of Druze people coming to faith in Christ. Jamila's is just one of the stories in Tom Doyle’s new book, Standing in the Fire.

You’ll be encouraged as you hear what God is doing in the Middle East, and challenged as Tom and JoAnn give insights into how we, Christians in free nations, can emulate the lessons offered by our brothers and sisters standing in the fire.

Order “Standing In The Fire” by Tom Doyle (affiliate link).

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"Holy, Holy, Holy" in a Sudanese Prison

What verse of Scripture would you grab onto if you were locked in prison for your faith? Perhaps you'd choose Isaiah 61:1: 

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound"

Petr Jasek, a Czech national and VOM’s Africa regional director, was released last month after 445 days in prison in Sudan. Listen below as he shares the verse that God brought to his mind which became a theme for him during those long months in prison, Revelation 4:8:

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

That verse became a theme for Petr; he would use it to guide his prayers and recite it over and over each day throughout his imprisonment.

Meditating on God’s holiness provided strength for Petr as his radical Muslim cellmates began to pressure, persecute and torture him. Listen also for the story of the opportunity God provided that encouraged Petr as he began to lose hope after four months in prison. Petr’s story challenges each of us to think about how we deal with hardship or opposition, and reminds us to seek God’s plan and His will, even when we’re uncomfortable or suffering.

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A Personal Taste of Persecution

What would you do if a group of angry young men came streaming into your Sunday School class this Sunday, faces masked and swinging clubs as they came?

Aaron Miller helps lead VOM’s work in South Asia, including the nation of India, where he previously served full-time as a gospel worker. Listen this week as Aaron shares what happened when he found himself at a Christian gathering in India that was attacked by radical Hindus. It was a small taste of persecution that was a part of God’s preparation for Aaron to serve persecuted Christians in India and other South Asian nations.

It was also a blessing. Even as he was being slapped and kicked, Aaron says God gave him a sense of His presence, His blessing. Listen below to have your faith inspired, and hear specific ways to pray for the nation of India and our spiritual family there.

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Reaching Out to Refugees

Selena grew up in the home of a pastor in the Middle East. Today she’s working among Muslim people in the US—including refugees from the Middle East.

Selena has seen firsthand that Muslims who choose to follow Christ face persecution, even in the United States. She will share how Christians in Lebanon have responded as their country has been flooded with refugees, and encourage American Christians with how we can respond to Muslims and refugees that we encounter here in the US.

Finally, she’ll equip us to pray for the church in Lebanon, and for outreach ministries to Muslims right here in the US.

 

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VOM Radio: Meet A House Church Pastor in China

“Enfu” is the Chinese word for “blessing.” When we went to China to secretly interview a Chinese house church pastor, he suggested Enfu as his pseudonym.

Every time Pastor Enfu and his congregation meet together, it is illegal. Listen this week as he shares the challenges of being a pastor in a nation cracking down on the church. Some of the challenges will seem obvious. Others will be ones that Christians in free nations may have never thought of, like handling church finances when the church doesn’t legally exist. How does his church train new leaders? How do they prepare Christians to stand strong in the face of persecution? We’ll hear answers to those questions, and Enfu will share with us specific ways to pray for Chinese Christians—and encourage us with the fact that they are praying for the church in America as well. You’ll be encouraged as you come with us to China this week to meet “Pastor Blessing.”

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VOM Radio: Loren Cunningham Part 2; Update from Iraq

Listen to VOM Radio this week as we converse with two ministry leaders. First, we’ll share the second half of our conversation with Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With a Mission (YWAM). Listen as he talks about getting the Scriptures into every remaining language on earth ( End Bible Poverty Now ) and about the legacy words that are driving him forward with the ministry of YWAM all over the world.

Then we’ll hear from Charles Morris, President of Haven Ministries ( Haven Ministries ). Charles has just returned from northern Iraq, including villages recently liberated from ISIS control. What’s left of those villages? What challenges await Christians hoping to return to the homes ISIS kicked them out of? Listen in as Charles answers those questions and advises us on specific ways to pray for Christians and non-Christians in Iraq right now.

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Openness in Pakistan?

It’s easy to think of Pakistan—a nation where 96.4% of the people are Muslims—as a nation completely closed to gospel witness. Brother Charles, an American teaching at a university in Pakistan, has found that there is much more openness than you might expect. Charles interacts every day with Muslims in that nation, helping create dialogue and initiate relationships that can lead to faith in Christ. One of the keys, he says, is presenting the core of the gospel, because so many Muslims have never heard a genuine, clear presentation of the true gospel. Charles will share how God led him and his family to Pakistan and why they stay in spite of political ups and downs and safety concerns. He’ll advise listeners on how we can dialogue with Muslims in ways that plant gospel seeds, and equip us to pray specifically for the nation of Pakistan.

ONLINE BONUS: Click now to hear more of our conversation with Charles, including specifics of how he interacts with his university students from across the religious spectrum, how he structures his course work, and other information about his ministry work.

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Best Moments of 2016 on VOM Radio: Part 2

Join us today as we continue looking back on some of the most-impactful testimonies shared with us in 2016 on VOM Radio.

We’ll hear how God reached into the home of the police chief in a Southeast Asian village—even as the police chief was fighting against the gospel! We’ll hear from former prisoner Bob Fu what it means to a prisoner when he or she knows that Christians are praying for them. Sean will tell us how God used VOM to help save the life of an evangelist in Bangladesh after he was brutally attacked. Samuel will tell us about the risks of following Christ in Pakistan.

We’ll hear from three different people impacted by a 2007 attack in Turkey that took the lives of three Christians. Brother Gokhan was a friend of those killed; Tim is now the pastor of the church the three men attended; and Semse Aydin is the widow of one of the martyred believers.

Finally we’ll hear from five guests who fave us a peek this year into what God is doing in the church in Iran—the fastest growing church in the world. Dr. Sasan will share how Iranian Christians find joy in persecution. Nazanin works in a call center for one of our media partners, witnessing to and discipling Iranian believers by phone. Dr. Mike Ansari will tell us about a special effort to get Bibles digitally into Iran. Finally, Maryam and Marziyeh will share about the miracle of finding God’s Word inside the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran.

You’ll be inspired and challenged as we continue looking back on some of the amazing stories God allowed us to share on VOM Radio in 2016.

 

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Best Moments of 2016 on VOM Radio: Part 1

Join us as we look back on some of the most-impactful testimonies shared with us this year on VOM Radio.

We’ll hear from Dale Rhoton of Operation Mobilization—one of the first Westerners to visit VOM’s founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, after Richard’s release from prison in Romania. We’ll hear how God used a nameless woman walking along a road in Kenya to grab the heart of an American woman, Jami Staples, to reach Muslims for Christ. We’ll hear from Bob and Kasey, who left behind an American-dream retirement to serve Muslims half-a-world away. We’ll hear from two gospel workers—Hannelie Groenewald and Nik Ripken—who experienced gut-wrenching loss while serving overseas, yet found God faithful even in that loss. And we’ll hear how a passion for God’s Word kept John and Karen Short connected to Him and to each other, even while John was detained in the world’s most-closed country.

Your faith will be inspired by the faithfulness and courage of these brothers and sisters—and by how God worked through each of them to further His Kingdom aims. (Note that you can hear our entire conversations with each of these guests by searching in the VOM Radio archives.)

 

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