Highly restrictive religious laws. Surveillance cameras lurking around every corner. Police knocking on doors and raiding church gatherings. These are a few among the many challenges our persecuted family in China face each week. Yet despite the communist government’s many attempts to control Christians, the church in China is still growing! Brother Enfu, pastor of an unregistered church, shares on VOM Radio this week the excitement of a growing Body of Christ and the challenges of leading an illegal church congregation. As communist efforts to control and close down churches have escalated, large church gatherings have become almost impossible. This has led to many more meetings with smaller numbers of Christians, raising the need for trained leaders. Brother Enfu will share how Chinese Christians are meeting that need and help us pray specifically for God to raise up leaders within Chinese churches. Brother Enfu serves as a leader in an underground Chinese seminary, training and encouraging pastors and their spouses to take on the challenges of leading a congregation. Graduates need to be equipped to lead their flock well and prepared for persecution, ready to face police questioning and even arrest. You’ll be encouraged as Enfu shares the story of five imprisoned church elders and the surprising report he received back of their sweet fellowship together and the spread of the gospel in the jail. Listen as Brother Enfu shares how house church Christians work together in managing the risks of Christian ministry in a communist nation. Pray men would be raised up to be godly leaders in their home and the church. Pray pastors in China would glorify God through their marriage and families. Pray our persecuted brothers and sisters in China will continue to fix their eyes on Jesus Christ, even in times of tribulation and suffering. To hear more about persecuted Christians, register for the free and watch it on demand. Be inspired as you listen to four women who have been persecuted for their faith and how God has been faithful to them, as well as worship music led by Michael W. Smith. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.
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Pastor Amar Thapa reported that he received 25 Maithili language SD cards two months ago through one of VOM’s projects. Six Hindu monks in one of the villages in the district where he was working watched a video from the SD cards and learned about Jesus Christ.
Read MorePastor Tesfay Sium Yihdego died in early April at the age of 58 after serving ten years and two months in an Eritrean prison because he was a faithful Christian minister. He suffered from a brain tumor that developed while he was incarcerated. Prison officials decided to release him early after it became clear that he would not survive his condition.
Read MoreMorocco is ruled by a monarch who is purportedly a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad and intends to govern the nation with Islamic principles. No church buildings exist in Morocco, and Bible distribution and missionary activity are not allowed in the country.
Read MoreIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was recently welcomed to the White House by US President Joe Biden. In addition to a State Dinner held in his honor, Modi was given opportunity to address a joint session of Congress. Noticeably absent from American leaders’ public remarks surrounding Modi’s visit: the rapid rise of Christian persecution and other religious freedom violations in India since Modi and his Hindu nationalist party came to power in 2014. Christians in India face harassment, physical assault and arrest from radical Hindus who believe all Indians should be Hindu. Multiple Indian states have passed anti-conversion laws which make it a crime to tell a Hindu about Jesus’ love. This week on VOM Radio, Brother Raj, a ministry leader from India, shares his own experience with Christian persecution, including friends that turned their backs on him after he came to faith and repeated encounters with Indian police. He’ll also tell how he grew up in a Hindu family but became depressed and attempted suicide before a friend—a Hindu—encouraged him to seek baptism at a Christian church. A pastor at the church gave Raj a Bible, and his journey to finding Jesus began. Listen as Raj shares how his life changed from that moment on and what his parents’ reaction was to his newfound Christian faith, how God called him to ministry and what his gospel work looks like today. As persecution has grown in India, Raj’s ministry work has changed, too. Listen to learn how he and other Christian leaders train and encourage new believers to be ready to face persecution by trusting in God’s promises in the Bible, understanding pressure tactics they may face and learning how to confront these tactics wisely. Raj will also tell how God used his own time of persecution to eliminate fear of sharing his faith with others. Now, he shares Christ with anyone – even the police. Pray fellow believers in India will share their faith with wisdom and courage. Pray they would even be able to see opportunities to share Christ’s love even during interrogation or imprisonment. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.
Read MoreDozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, since gun battles erupted in April between two heavily armed groups vying to control the country. From 1989 to 2018, Sudan was ruled by radical Islamic dictator Omar al-Bashir, who sought to exterminate Christians and some ethnic African groups.
Read MoreA new Nigerian president was inaugurated in May, despite rivals claiming that the presidential election was marred with irregularities. Amid the political instability, Christians continue to be attacked, kidnapped and killed in various parts of the country.
Read MoreFor many North Korean defectors who successfully reach South Korea, adjusting to life outside the strict control of the North Korean regime can be difficult and overwhelming. According to one North Korean Christian who is ministering to defectors, such difficulty leads many defectors to succumb to hopelessness and materialism.
Read MoreThe first time he went to a Christian church, during the time of the Islamic revolution in Iran, Mansour Khajehpour was a teenager. He went only to determine the best way to burn down the church building. But the woman who opened to door was caring and kind—and her Christlike kindness altered the direction of Mansour’s life. The woman pointed Mansour to a Farsi-speaking pastor. Over the months to come, that pastor answered Mansour’s many questions—but only one question per week—and gave him a Bible. At first, Mansour’s heart was hard, but over time God softened him until the day he found himself closing his eyes, praying in a loud voice and committing his life to Christ. Today, Mansour is the pastor of a church in Seattle and a leader in the Iranian Bible Society, working to get God’s Word into the Islamic Republic of Iran and to Farsi-speaking people in other nations as well. Listen as Mansour shares how three older missionaries made an impact on his life for the Lord and how he became involved—through his future wife, Nahid, who is now the Executive Director—in the Iranian Bible Society. Together they both experienced persecution for their Christian faith. Friends and pastors Mansour and Nahid knew well were martyred. Listen to Mansour tell how their examples were an inspiration, especially Pastor Hossein Soodmand’s deep love and respect for God’s Word. You can listen to past VOM Radio episodes with Rashin Soodmand and Gilbert Hovsepian, the children of Pastor Soodmand and Pastor Haik Hovsepian who were both martyred for their faith in Iran. Mansour will encourage listeners to memorize scripture and spiritual songs—which provided him great help and hope in prison for his faith. Pray for Mansour and Nahid’s continued work providing Bibles for our Iranian brothers and sisters, and for the persecuted church inside Iran. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or you can listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.
Read MoreAfter more than three years of seeking refugee status, the 63 members of Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, commonly referred to as the Mayflower Church, were granted asylum and arrived in the U.S. on April 7. Pastor Pan Yongguang led his congregation to South Korea in late 2019 to escape the harsh persecution they experienced at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
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