VOM Radio

“I could’ve lived and worked in that country my whole life and not seen the fruit that we are seeing now.” That fruit was planted in sacrifice. From the time she was a little girl, Jane wanted to live overseas to spread the gospel. When she met her husband, he had the same missions mindset and a heart for Muslims after he was impacted by 9/11. Jane says her husband enjoyed living in the Middle East, immersing himself in the culture and, most importantly, living his dream of witnessing to people who’d never heard about Jesus. Listen as Jane remembers the day her husband was killed, and how she prayed immediately afterwards. “God used His grace to sustain me through that time,” she says. “He really brought me through those initial days.” Jane will share how they worked to disciple Muslims even before they became believers in Jesus—demonstrating with their lives what it looks like to follow Him. Jane sees how God used their family’s sacrifice to advance His kingdom. “God used my husband’s death to catapult His plans and purposes for that nation and the people there.” As ordinary people who loved the Lord and lived out God’s calling for their life, Jane says being obedient and knowing you’re in God’s will is the greatest joy you can experience. She’s had times of wrestling with her loss and asking God why but says one way she works through those times is to focus, with her children, on things they can be thankful for. This weekend features a special opportunity to pray for our persecuted family as we commemorate the International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians. Churches around the world will mark a special emphasis on praying for persecuted Christians. Take time to pray with your church, family, or Christian friends. Pray our persecuted brothers and sisters remain firm during trials, have opportunities to own their own Bible, and continue to share the gospel no matter the cost. You can download free IDOP resources at www.VOMRadio.net/IDOP to be inspired and find specific ways you can pray. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Brother Bob has been connected to gospel work in North Africa for more than 20 years. He says government persecution of Christians in the region tends to come in cycles, but pressure and persecution of Christians by their own family members is common. But even in the midst of family persecution, Christians have a chance to demonstrate the reality of the gospel. “If believers persevere and continue to be a light,” Bob says, “most of the time their family eventually accepts them. And in many cases, others in the family come to know Christ.” Listen for the story of how a Muslim wife showed great displeasure after her husband accepted Christ—but was eventually won over by the consistent, Christ-like love he showed her. Local people in North Africa have many fears: bad omens, the fear of spirits, or fear of the future. The absence of fear is one of the marks of Christians in the region and often draws others to learn more about Christ. After working among Muslims for more than two decades, Bob says Christians who love and listen are more effective in sharing the gospel than those who criticize Islam or start a religious debate. He points to the model of Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well. Bob will share how he prepares new believers to spread the truth of Christ, to walk alongside others in their difficulties and to withstand persecution when it comes. Listen as Bob gives practical ways we can be like Christ and tells how our persecuted brothers and sisters are living that out. Bob will also equip us to pray for Christians in North Africa. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

When a radical-Muslim mob of 6000 attacked the Christian colony of Jaranwala in August, Christians could only flee. Some hid in sugarcane fields; others fled the area. The attack lasted the whole day; churches were destroyed and persecuted Christians’ homes were looted and burned. Brother Johanna joins us this week on VOM Radio to share what led to the uproar in Jaranwala, and the response from other Christians in Pakistan to brothers and sisters affected by the violence. We will also look more broadly at the persecution of Pakistani Christians. Listen as Johanna explains what the blasphemy laws in Pakistan are and how they are used against Christians—and against Muslims and members of other faiths, too. He will also unpack how the challenges are different for Christians in Pakistan depending whether they were born into a Muslim family or born into a traditional Christian family. Brother Johanna will also give us an update on Asia Bibi, who still faces pressure and death threats even years after being found innocent of blasphemy by Pakistan’s Supreme Court and released from prison. Hear how you can pray today for her and for your Christian brothers and sisters in Pakistan. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Ben and Kimberly, gospel workers in South Asia, join VOM Radio again this week to share more about how the Lord is working in remote villages of South Asia. Struck by the boldness of local believers, Ben and Kimberly see the fearlessness persecuted Christians there have in preaching the gospel. The threat of jail doesn’t stop them from preaching; they will preach in jail if necessary. With the rise of anti-conversion laws in South Asia, in many places it is illegal for people to change their religion or to lead others to change their faith. Yet Christians there continue to evangelize and reach people for Christ. Ben and Kimberly will share how persecution is part of the DNA of believers there, and how they are equipping locals with training and discipleship tools. They will also share a story of how God opened one of the darkest villages in this region—a place that had been completely closed to the gospel. Listen to how God planted a church in that village—on the very spot where Christians had prayed God would build His church. Ben and Kimberly love sharing what the Lord did in that village. Kim says, “it’s incredibly exciting to see fruit like that.” But they also remind us that even though we may not see immediate fruit we must keep being faithful; God is working whether we see it or not. Pray for Christians in South Asian nations like India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and Bangladesh to stand firm and find their identity in Christ, Pray for Ben and Kimberly to receive wisdom from the Lord as they continue in ministry. Listen to part one of Ben and Kim’s story to learn more about how they started in overseas missions! Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

“I didn’t know anything about my faith, but I knew I couldn’t deny Christ.” A Christian for less than two months, a 15-year-old girl shared this with Ben and Kimberly when she came to their church for discipleship. Her father, one of the most powerful witch doctors in the village, kicked her out of the house and out of their village after she chose to follow Christ. Ben and Kimberly are gospel workers in South Asia, involved in outreach, pastor training and discipleship of new believers. Listen as they share their testimonies, including how Ben rebelled against the Lord, got involved in drugs, eventually facing 35 felony charges and landing in prison. Yet, in prison, he gave his life to the Lord and miraculously the Lord allowed him to be released. Ben and Kimberly will also share how the Lord called them out of a comfortable life in America to go to the mission field. Listen as they share the dedication they see in new Christians, sometimes even immediately after they hear the gospel. “One of the amazing things has been to see the wholeheartedness. The way Christians in our village are fully sold out to Christ from the very beginning. Most people we talk with can’t even consider walking away,” Kimberly says. Christian persecution in South Asian nations like India, Nepal, Bhutan or Bangladesh often involves being ostracized and kicked out of homes and communities. Kim says that’s why church is so important as the Body of Christ becomes a new family for the persecuted Christians. Ben’s story of coming to faith calls to mind a previous guest on VOM Radio, who also came to faith in an American prison and is now involved in Bible distribution in the Middle East. Listen to Joe share his testimony of coming to faith and experience God’s call to overseas ministry. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

Young, married, and with a baby on the way, Cynthia Anderson and her husband set out for Nepal to “take new ground for the gospel,” bringing Jesus to the unreached. But God was already working in Nepal. “We weren’t taking Him there,” Cynthia says, “He was [already] there!” Today, decades later, Cynthia is a longtime gospel worker in multiple nations and a trainer of pastors, mission agency and other Kingdom-minded leaders in how to multiply disciples and catalyze Jesus movements in their areas. She is a leader in YWAM Frontier Missions. Listen as Cynthia shares what it truly looks like to make disciples and train others to continue making disciples, launching Disciple Making Movements (DMM). Her new book, The Multiplier’s Mindset: Thinking Differently About Discipleship, examines the mindset shifts that need to take place in order for multiplication of the gospel to happen. As a young missionary, Cynthia was drawn to examples from the gospels and the book of Acts. “I was so convinced by scripture. Wow! God uses ordinary, broken people; people who don’t have their act together. Faith rose up in my heart to believe: ‘God can do it here; God can do it through us!’” The harvest fields are ripe, even in Western nations. Research shows that only 3 out of 10 unchurched people in America have had a Christian explain the gospel to them. Listen to Cynthia share stories of persecuted Christians who have become obedient disciples of Christ passionate to reach their people with the gospel. “Keep disciple making easy and actionable,” Cynthia advises. “When we have a simple repeatable pattern and people are like, ‘I can do that,’ it is reproducible, even by a brand-new believer.” As you listen, you’ll also learn how you can pray for our persecuted family who are making disciples among their own people. You can learn more about Cynthia’s work on her blog and by listening to her first interview on VOM Radio. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast. Or listen each week—and get daily prayer reminders—in the new VOM App for your smartphone or tablet.

There had been reports of a pending terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, when Hannelie Groenewald went in work as a medical doctor on November 29, 2014. Hannelie didn’t know that the Taliban attack would target her own home and family. When she arrived home that evening, a sea of police and military personnel were all around the smoking ruins of her house. Reporters were already there, asking her for comment. She still didn’t know what had happened; that her husband, Werner, and two teen aged children, Jean-Pierre and Rodé, had been killed in a Taliban attack on their home. She was taken to a neighbor’s house, where she read, over and over, Psalm 91, praying through its promises of help and divine covering. God’s overwhelming peace washed over her. As a mother, she wished to have been with her children, to comfort them during the attack. But Hannelie is reminded that God is sovereign. Listen as she shares how God carried her through the days following the attack, and how Afghan people were impacted by her peace and spirit of forgiveness. Hannelie also tells of God’s blessings to her even as flames engulfed her home. Pray for new believers in Afghanistan, that God would use the martyrs blood that has flowed there to bring forth a spiritual harvest, and that God’s church will be built up, even after the Taliban takeover of that nation in 2021. Listen and watch Hannelie’s story on the new VOM App, and find her new book, (affiliate link) to learn more about how God remained faithful and encouraged her as she continued to serve Him. Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast.

It’s been two years since the Taliban retook control in Afghanistan. Pressure and persecution against Christians in the country continues to rise. Hannelie Groenewald, a former gospel medical worker there, paid a high price for her faith when her husband and children were martyred in their home in Kabul in 2014. When the 9/11 attacks happened in New York, Hannelie Groenewald was living a comfortable life in South Africa with her family. Werner, her husband, took a short-term mission trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan and came home with a burden for Afghans to have a relationship with Christ. Werner shared his heart with Hannelie. After agreeing to go on a short-term outreach herself, she experienced the Holy Spirit in a new way and felt a shared desire to serve the Afghan people. There was still a wrestling within her as she thought about her children and their safety in a war-torn land. Listen as Hannelie shares the small ways she knew the Lord was encouraging their family to go and serve in Afghanistan. Hannelie describes Werner as “fearless,” and tells of his continuous preaching on having faith rather than fear. One month before Werner was martyred, he said in a sermon, “We only die once. It might as well be for Jesus.” Watch as Hannelie shares her story and how God remained faithful and encouraged her. You can watch the short video of her story online or order the Heroic Faith DVD. The DVD also includes videos about other persecuted Christians on some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous places to follow Christ. The Hannelie video is also included in the VOM App Never miss an episode of VOM Radio! Subscribe to the podcast.