Decades Serving China's Church
“Uncle Monnie” has worked alongside Chinese Christians for decades. He says the pressure and persecution Christians face there today is even worse than during the Cultural Revolution. Listen as Monnie shares about the changes he’s seen in China and the response of believers he’s trained to face persecution and continue to advance the gospel. Some of those Monnie helped train now serve Jesus in restricted Muslim nations in the Middle East and around the world. Learn how you can pray for Chinese Christians, and how persecution is teaching Christians from different backgrounds to work and minister side-by-side. Finally, Monnie will provide an update on current events in Myanmar.
Iran: "God Always Advances His Kingdom Through Trouble"
Tune in this week for the second half of our conversation with Pastor Tat Stewart, who lived and ministered in Tehran as the Islamic Revolution swept through Iran. Listen to how he was encouraged by his final conversation on Iranian soil before he and his family were expelled from the country. You’ll also hear how God showed him he could have a more far-reaching ministry to Iranians outside the country than he could ever have living inside the Islamic Republic. “I could not stay away from what God was doing with Iranians,” he says. Tat also shares how hungry the Iranian people were for the gospel—even teenagers craved deep teaching and were willing to invest long stretches of time in Bible study and prayer. Tat continues to minister to Iranian Christians through Talim Ministries, including publishing and mentoring Iranian pastors.
IRAN-on the Ground in Tehran During the Islamic Revolution
“Let’s drive by the American Embassy and see what’s going on…” It was November 4, 1979 when Tat Stewart said those words to his wife as they drove home from church in Tehran, Iran. Iranian students had overrun the US Embassy that day. They would go on to hold 52 embassy staff members and others hostage for 444 days. Stewart, his wife and their children moved to Tehran earlier that year, just months after Ayatollah Khomeini arrived back in Iran and the Islamic Revolution took control of the country. Tat went to serve as the pastor of a church for expatriate Christians. But his experiences in Iran began many years earlier, when his parents moved there to serve as medical missionaries. Listen as Tat shares how he continued to minister as the Islamic revolution went on all around him, how he became a contact person for American citizens needing help amidst the chaos and how God protected and provided through that dangerous season—and ultimately led them to leave Iran. Tat Stewart continues to serve and train Iranian church leaders today through Talim Ministries.
India-When The Word of God Came, Things changed
“Brother Bennie” is back to talk about persecution of Christians in India, including the story of three close friends recently arrested for their evangelistic work. Hear how God worked during their time in prison—especially once they received a copy of the Bible. Bennie will talk about recent passage of anti-conversion laws in several Indian states, and how Christians and churches are affected by such laws. He says the India of today is dramatically different from the India he knew as a child, and even from how the nation was five or ten years ago. In addition to praying for India during the current coronavirus surge, Bennie will give listeners specific ways to pray for imprisoned Christians there, and for the nation as a whole.
Missions-My Calling Will Not Be Cancelled
When Susi Childers met a woman who’d had three children killed in an attack in Northern Nigeria, God used the pain of three miscarriages in Susi’s life to open the door for a powerful time of connection and ministry. Listen as Susi shares the story, and offers encouragement to Christians wrestling with suffering, loss or even persecution right now. Paul and Susi Childers have spent more than two decades working to spread the gospel through Youth With a Mission (YWAM). They will give advice about blending the responsibilities of marriage and family with the missionary calling God has placed on their lives to serve Him—including very practical things that they do in their home and with their children. Listen to the first half of our conversation with Paul and Susi from last week, and previous VOM Radio conversations with Paul Childers.
Missions-The next step is never too difficult
Listen as Susi shares how God called her from a career in photography to go as a missionary—and how He turned her camera into a bridge-building tool for sharing the gospel. “Don’t think because you don’t have a typical ‘Christian’ job that you can’t be used [in missions],” she says. Susi started out by committing to serve for one year, a commitment that has now been renewed for 24 years! She will offer advice if you sense God may be asking you to get involved in spreading the gospel to the world. Paul and Susi will also tell us how they think about risk—for themselves and for each other—and how they involve their children in sending and praying as they answer God’s call to go into all the world. Hear previous VOM Radio conversations with Paul Childers.
Missions-Hold on to God's call
“Brother Jeff” served as a long-time gospel worker in South Asia and Indonesia—places with intense Christian persecution. Today he helps lead Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM). Listen as he shares about the time he was arrested for his work, how God worked to set him free and how his arrest actually opened a doorway to more (and more secure) ministry opportunities. He’ll also talk about the challenges he and his wife experienced in their early years of missionary service, and how God’s clear call on their lives became an anchor they could hold on to in difficult seasons. His stories will help you know how to pray for missionaries currently in the field. Jeff will also offer advice to listeners sensing a call to serve God cross-culturally, including the need for a sense of adventure: “In 23 years [of overseas ministry],” he says, “the greatest things we did were not planned.”
A Choice in Ethiopia : Jesus Or My Gun
Brother Alayu was a very young man when he became a follower of Christ. Soon after, he was persecuted for that choice, even facing a communist official who told Alayu to “choose Jesus or my gun.” Alayu chose Jesus—and he continues to do so. Today, he is a leader with Global Call, a church-planting work in Ethiopia and surrounding nations, where he has seen great hunger for the gospel and a great move of God—in spite of the persecution Christians often face. Listen as he shares about ministry today in areas dominated by Ethiopian Orthodox teaching—a mixture of ancient Jewish teachings, some Christian ideas and even traditional African religious and witch doctor practices. Alayu and his workers have seen many people—even Orthodox priests—come to life-changing faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Alayu will also describe the importance of delivering Bibles and equip us to pray for Ethiopia and for the church there.
When Her Husband Was Detained in North Korea, She “Simply Trusted the Lord”
Karen Short’s husband, John, was detained inside North Korea, held incommunicado. Yet Karen never felt panicked about what would happen to him. “I simply trusted the Lord,” she says. John Short, an Australian Christian, was detained in North Korea in 2014 after leaving gospel tracts outside a Buddhist temple while part of a tour. Karen was home in Hong Kong, dealing with media attention, praying for her husband and receiving words of encouragement from all around the world. Listen in as Karen shares: How God ministered to her during John’s detention How she and John stayed connected through Scripture—even though they couldn’t communicate during his detention How journalists and others responded when they observed Karen’s calm assurance and faith in God How she learned that her husband would be released and allowed to return home The one thing she wishes she’d done differently—it will surprise you! The story of Karen’s faithfulness will inspire you to trust more deeply in God and dive deeper into His Word, even if you’re not planning a trip to North Korea.
Richard Wurmbrand's Editor: He Focused on Jesus
Through books and other writing, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand became a voice for persecuted Christians all over the world. This week we’ll meet the woman who shaped and polished so many of Richard’s printed words. Ellen Oblander served many years as the editor for Richard Wurmbrand, co-founder of The Voice of the Martyrs. She worked on many of his books, as well as on VOM’s free monthly magazine. Over the years Ellen became much more than an editor; she grew into being almost a member of the family. Listen as she shares the story of being given a copy of Tortured For Christ, then soon afterwards hearing Richard Wurmbrand speak for the first time and meeting his wife, Sabina. She saw, first-hand, Sabina’s incredible behind-the-scenes ministry supporting her husband and advancing the work of VOM. Ellen will also talk about Richard’s constant writing, his editing process and the times she’d pick up the phone to hear Richard unpack some Scripture passage he’d just read or a spiritual truth he was pondering. She’ll also tell about her time with Richard and Sabina in the latter years of their lives, and how Richard always looked to be a witness for Christ.