“My family told me that I had dishonored and shamed the family so badly that they would rather I had become a prostitute. Shortly after this, my brother was murdered. My family and the Muslim leaders said it happened because I cursed the family by accepting Christ, so they beat me.” Miriam was the most devout Muslim in her family until she met Jesus. And as soon as she began following Him, her family began to harass and pressure her. Though no one in her family was very devout, they felt that Miriam had abandoned their Central Asian cultural identity and brought shame on the family. “Don’t follow that Russian god,” they scolded. “We are Muslims!” But God’s love and forgiveness had won her heart. Marry a Muslim to “Fix the Problem” Miriam’s family was eager for her to marry, hoping that a Muslim husband would “fix the problem.” They suggested various men, but Miriam turned them all down because they were Muslims. She knew it was biblically wrong for her to marry an unbeliever, and she also knew how Muslim men treated their wives in her country. In one incident, the Muslim husband of a recent Christian convert called
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Night after night for three years, Jamil endured the same abuse. Different groups of men — leaders of a local Islamist group — came to his home and took turns beating him. They punched him, slapped him and kicked him, their hatred inflamed by drunkenness. In their eyes, he was a kafir, or infidel, in his small Central Asian village, and he was leading others away from Islam. In Jamil’s country, you had to be Muslim in order to truly belong, and to these drunkards, Jamil no longer belonged. Jamil was raised in a moderate Muslim family, but his older brother adopted more radical beliefs while serving a prison sentence. Jamil’s curiosity was piqued by his brother’s views, so he began his own search for spiritual truth. During his studies, he met Christians who shared the gospel with him. Jamil knew he had found the one true God, and he turned his back on Islam for good. He immediately began sharing the gospel, leading his Islamist brother to Christ as well as three other siblings. He planted four house churches before his church sent him as a missionary to a village composed entirely of Muslims. Jamil shared the gospel as
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How long was it from the time you heard Jesus died, until you knew that He rose again? What did you feel in that interim? Grief? Loss? Defeat? And what did it mean when you knew that He did rise again? “Brother Stephen” has worked with Operation Mobilization for many years sharing the gospel among Muslims, including nomadic peoples in the Middle East. He has told the story of Jesus to people who had never heard it before! Listen for the story of how one woman responded to Jesus’ death. Brother Stephen will share how God called him to missions, and advise those feeling a call to missionary service today. He challenges us to see Muslims not as an enemy to be defeated, but as a prize to be won for Christ. He’ll also share about Muslims making the decision to follow Christ and the price they often pay for that decision. How can Christians living in free nations reach out to Muslims they know or work with? How can we pray for gospel work among Muslims? Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast.
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At 10 p.m., Ruth awoke with a start to the sound of nearby bombing. She and her family lived in a small village in central Mindanao, Philippines, an area where Muslim insurgents had been fighting Philippine government forces for decades. But in the 18 years they had lived there, Ruth had never heard fighting so close to their home. She and her husband, Armando, had moved to the village in 1990 to start a church, which over the years had grown to 20 families. Their village of about 800 households was evenly split between Muslims and Christians, but the Muslim rebels hoped to establish Muslim domination in Mindanao and drive out all Christians. That night in 2008, Ruth was terrified by the sound of the nearby fighting. She, Armando and their three children ran behind their house, searching their property for a place to hide. Seeing nothing better than the small footbridge that crossed a murky canal behind their house, they quickly crawled under it. They knew there were snakes in the water, but they chose the danger of the snakes over that of the Muslim rebels they could hear advancing on the village. The couple tried to keep the
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At age 17, Soni was sold into slavery by her own aunt. She spent three decades as a prostitute in India before a Nepali Christian helped her escape. This woman shared the gospel with Soni, and Soni joyfully accepted the invitation of salvation through Christ who loves her.
Read MoreGovernment persecution against the Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) in Chengdu continues. On Sunday, Aug. 22, officials arrested 28 people gathered in a home for a worship service. The leaders of the service spent two weeks in jail and were fined. A week later, ERCC church member Zhang Fan, whose wedding was scheduled for Aug. 28, was forced to find a new wedding venue – twice – after officials threatened the venue’s owners.
Read MoreOn Saturday, Sep. 11, Islamists ambushed and killed a pastor on the road in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The pastor had visited his son at the local university and was traveling home when the attackers confronted him and killed him. “They butchered my husband and took his motorbike,” his wife said.
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Feliciano had been ordered to appear at a community assembly so the other leaders could interrogate him about the new ideas he had been teaching in Avellanal, Chiapas. “You have changed your thinking!” they told him accusingly. “You are talking like an evangelical.” At 52, Feliciano Ruiz Cruz was content with his life. He had a good wife and eight children. He and his three oldest sons, all married, farmed their land and provided for the entire family. Feliciano was one of four lay leaders in his local traditionalist Catholic church. He was also a member of the leftist Zapatista rebel group and a respected member of his community. All that changed one day in April 2013. While reading the Bible, he was convicted by the Holy Spirit that his worship of idols was sinful. He realized that the idolatrous worship of saints and gods in his traditionalist church was wrong, and he soon began teaching others what he had learned. Others in the community began to take note, and his three co-leaders at the church asked him to appear at the Avellanal community assembly to answer their questions. The region around Avellanal was so opposed to evangelicals that 10
Read MoreRashin Soodmand was 13 years old when Iran’s government executed her father, Pastor Hossein Soodmand, and buried him in an unmarked grave in a part of the cemetery reserved for “the cursed.” But killing this faithful pastor didn’t erase his legacy or stop the growth of the church in Iran. Her father wasn’t the only martyr of the persecuted Iranian church that Rashin knew well. In this second part of our conversation, Rashin shares things she remembers about other martyrs she knew personally: Haik Hovsepian, who preached at her father’s funeral; Mehdi Dibaj, who encouraged her to attend Bible school; and Pastor Mohammad “Ravanbakhsh” Yusefi. To learn more about the current ministry activities of Rashin and her husband, Amir, visit the Torch Ministries web site. If you missed the first part of this conversation, listen here. Next month Christians around the world will join in prayer for persecuted Christians on the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians. Download your free IDOP resources now. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast.
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At 9 a.m. the beatings started again. Police officers dragged the two bruised evangelists out of the police station and into the village square, where a large crowd had gathered for the privilege of beating these “propagators of lies and rebellion.” As more than 100 people stepped forward to strike the evangelists, the two men remained silent. “Dog men!” jeered the watching crowd. The beating lasted for three hours. Boldly Sharing the Faith Hy and Tan are from northern Vietnam. The two men became believers in 1996 after hearing VOM-sponsored Christian radio programing by the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC). The new Christians dedicated themselves to sharing the gospel with the tribal people in their area, most of whom have animist beliefs. This area is difficult for new believers and evangelists. Believers face imprisonment at the hands of communist government officials and harassment from village leaders. Despite the obstacles, Hy and Tan regularly shared their faith. Within just two years, everyone in their village had become Christians. The two evangelists led a regular church service and continued to minister in new areas. Beaten for Evangelism One day, while leaving a village where they had been working, Hy and Tan were
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