Eritrea is governed by a totalitarian regime that seeks to control every aspect of life. In 2002, the government outlawed every form of religion except Islam, Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism and the Lutheran Church. All other religious groups are illegal, and the government maintains control of approved churches.
Read MoreOn April 4, 2022, Lerm and his wife, Dow, accepted Christ and started to attend church. A few months later, Dow’s father, who was the head of a nearby village in their province in northern Laos, found out and demanded that they renounce Christ.
Read MoreIn Tamilnadu, the number of persecution events rose dramatically in 2022. Pastors and evangelists have been chased away from villages, beaten, and robbed. Many churches conducted in rented buildings are being forced to close by Hindu radicals pressuring property owners.
Read More
Captain John Paton, a legendary Scottish soldier and Covenanter, is best known for his stirring testimony delivered from the scaffold on May 9, 1684. He fought bravely for Gustavus Adolphus in Germany, and also for his Covenanter brethren against the English crown in pitched battles going back to 1644. His last testament to faith has become Captain Paton’s gift to the ages: Dear Friends and Spectators, You are come here to look upon me a dying man…I am a poor sinner, and could never merit but wrath, and have no righteousness of my own; all is Christ’s and His alone; and I have laid claim to His righteousness and His sufferings by faith in Jesus Christ; through imputation they are mine; for I have accepted of His offer on His own terms, and sworn away myself to Him, to be at His disposal, both privately and publicly. Now I have put it upon Him to ratify in heaven all that I have purposed to do on earth, and to do away with all my imperfections and failings, and to stay my heart on Him…I now leave my testimony, as a dying man, against the horrid usurpation of our Lord’s prerogative
Read More
Just before Covid shut down the Peoples Republic of China, Pastor Pan Yongguang and members of his congregation, known today as the Mayflower Church, made the difficult decision to leave their country. After 16 families from the congregation arrived in South Korea in 2019, relatives and other family members still in China faced increasing pressure from the communist government, especially when members of the church went public about the persecution they’d faced and their decision to leave China. Listen as Pastor Pan shares about his life before he became and believer, how he came to faith in Christ, and how the Lord raised him up to be the pastor of the church he was baptized in. Before Pastor Pan considered personally following Christ, he knew people in China must pay a price for being a Christian. He says, “That’s a special part of Chinese Christians. They know they have to pay a price.” The roots of the decision to leave China trace back to a day in 2018 when Pastor Pan had lunch with Pastor Wang Yi, who is now serving a nine-year sentence as a prisoner for Christ. Christian persecution was rising in China. Wang Yi knew he faced imprisonment for his faith; he challenged Pastor Pan to prepare himself to go to prison as well. Pan will share about the regular visits he received from police after Wang Yi’s arrest. Pastor Pan and his church members had a decision to make. Should they leave China, or should they stay? Many had good jobs in China, but they worried about raising their children in Godly truth amidst communist pressure and indoctrination. After a year of discussions, knowing each Sunday could be their last one together, they felt unified in the decision to leave China. Today, Pastor Pan and the Mayflower church are educating their children to follow Christ as they wait to receive refugee status from the United Nations and resettlement in a free nation. Pray for favor for them in the UN refugee application process. Pray also for family members still in China, who constantly face threats and intimidation. Never miss and episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.
Read More
How a former Muslim took the gospel to other Yemenis and nearly lost everything in the process As a devoted Muslim, Ibrahim was always ready to defend the Quran. So when a man walked into his small store in Yemen one day in 1997 and asked him a startling question — “Have you ever read the Bible?” — he proudly told the man that he believed the Bible was full of error and distortion. At the end of their conversation, the man gave Ibrahim a New Testament and urged him to read it for himself. Ibrahim agreed, intending to make note of every problematic verse he found. But the more he read the Bible, the more problems he saw with the Quran. “I was trying to help him become a Muslim, but it caused me a headache,” Ibrahim recalled. After reading Jesus’ teachings to “love your enemies” and “bless those who curse you,” Ibrahim considered leaving Islam. He knew, however, that following Jesus Christ would bring shame to his family and endanger his life. At the man’s urging, he continued to study the Scriptures more deeply and ask God to reveal the true way to him. Finally, about a year
Read MoreBenin is considered the birthplace of Voodoo. Occult practices, including idol worship, sacrificing animals, and wearing special talismans believed to ward off evil, are widespread. Voodoo is so commonly practiced in Benin that it has a National Voodoo Day on January 10.
Read MoreFone is a trader with two children in a northern province of Laos. After she accepted Christ in March 2014, her husband began to abuse her physically, verbally and emotionally. He forces her to visit Buddhist temples with him and has often threatened to kick her out of their home.
Read MorePastor Maan, who ministers to tribal people in Andhra Pradesh state, requests prayer for members of his church who are being forced to leave the Christian faith by Hindu radicals and local leaders.
Read More“As we commit daily to being Christ’s witnesses to a lost world, we must understand that we will be opposed. In fact, the more faithful we are, the more serious the opposition.” Cole Richards, President of The Voice of the Martyrs, joins VOM Radio this week to talk about helping Christians in free nations, like the United States, discover what it means to follow Christ when it’s unpopular or even costly—something Christians living in restricted nations and hostile areas deal with every day. We’ll also introduce a new resource from The Voice of the Martyrs to inspire believers to learn about and develop a faith worth suffering for. Cole recently wrote a series of editorials in The Voice of the Martyrs free monthly magazine on the topic, “Prepared for Persecution.” The Bible promises opposition (John 16:33) and persecution (II Tim. 3:12) when we live out our faith as biblical disciples of Christ. If Christians in free nations don’t learn these scriptural truths, we will be unprepared to face persecution when it comes. Cole and Todd will also discuss The Sabina Group Study, a new resource from The Voice of the Martyrs offering inspiring examples of Christians who have taken up their crosses and followed Christ in spite of opposition, persecution, suffering and pain. Examples in the study come from the lives of VOM’s founders, Pastor Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, and also from seven “modern-day Sabinas,” women who endured intense persecution as faithful witnesses for Christ in our day. A FREE copy of this brand-new video resource, including the full-length Sabina feature film and six video study sessions, is available right now to anyone who makes a donation to The Voice of the Martyrs. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.
Read More