After his mother passed away from cancer, Manouchehr battled grief by drinking heavily. Desperate for peace, he reached out to a Christian media ministry, requesting prayer and asking many questions about the Christian faith.
Read MoreAround 7:40 p.m. on March 17, as Pastor Yallam Shankar spent time with his family, five masked men came to his house, calling his name. As he exited his home, the men shot him in the chest and slit his throat.
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Christians in coastal Kenya were targeted in multiple Islamic attacks during June and July 2014. While Christians compose the majority of the population in Kenya, Muslim influence has grown, and Christians have faced increasing persecution from Islamic militants in recent years, notably from the Somali-based al-Shabab. Al-Shabab first targeted the village of Mpeketoni in June. Nearly fifty militants stormed the village, going door-to-door asking villagers if they were Muslim or Christian, and then killing the Christians. “My husband told them we were Christians, and they shot him in the head and chest,” said attack survivor Samantha. The attack lasted five hours, leaving sixty people dead. Days later, Poromoko, Kenya, was targeted in an attack in which fifteen were killed and twelve women abducted. As in the Mpeketoni attack, armed men went door-to-door in the middle of the night, dragging people outside and ordering them to recite the Islamic creed. Those who couldn’t or wouldn’t were killed. Almost two weeks later, fourteen were killed in an attack on the village of Hindi. Militants again went house-to-house and dragged Christians out of their homes. They tied up the Christian men before shooting them or slitting their throats. One man who refused to
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Soner Tufan says many Muslims in Turkey no longer believe Islam can answer the needs of their heart—or their country. Soner leads Radio Shema, broadcasting the gospel message, encouraging persecuted Christians and reaching curious Muslims all over Turkey. And God is multiplying the reach of His message. During Covid quarantine, Radio Shema used digital platforms like Instagram to reach millions of people, seeing ten times more feedback from listeners and twenty times more responses from people coming to faith! Soner also shares memories of his three friends, martyred 15 years ago this month in the offices of a Christian publishing house in the city of Malatya. Soon after the killings, four teenagers came to the radio station where one threatened Soner: “If you say anything, I will kill you.” Soner will also help us pray for Christians in Turkey, and for the ministry of Radio Shema. Pray for protection and courage for Christians in Turkey as they face strong opposition. Pray for effective discipleship to raise up more pastors and leaders for the persecuted church, and pray many more Muslims in Turkey will hear the gospel. Soner is also praying for more radio stations—he estimates that 95% of the people in Turkey have not yet heard the gospel message. Last week, Soner shared how he came to faith in Christ after growing up Muslim, the opposition from his family and friends, and how the ministry of Radio Shema came to be. Listen to last week’s episode here. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the Podcast.
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Tani, a Tunisian, and Boutros, a Syrian, had “seen” one another engaging with Muslim seekers in Christian chat rooms and respected one another as fellow Christian converts from Islam. Then, when they finally met face to face at an organizational meeting in Egypt, they fell in love. When it became clear that God was bringing them together, they began to pray about a legal issue that threatened to keep them apart. Tani’s Tunisian ID card identified her as a Muslim, while Boutros was registered as a Christian. After becoming a Christian as a young man in Syria, Boutros had fled to Egypt to escape family members who were trying to kill him. He was then adopted by a Coptic Christian family in Egypt. Neither Tunisia nor Egypt would allow a Muslim woman to marry a Christian man, but by God’s grace the Tunisian embassy in Egypt issued the paperwork, and the couple were able to marry in 2009. Tani and Boutros continued their work, reaching out to Muslims on the Internet, but now they were working together. Called to Tunisia In 2010, the couple felt called to Tani’s home country of Tunisia. “We were praying all the time,” Tani said,
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