Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution which forced out the Shah and installed an Islamic Republic, Iran has become a byword for Islamic fundamentalism. Nowhere has the so-called “clash of civilisations” been put into sharper relief than in the tortured relationship between Iran and the US, with President Bush labelling Iran as part of the so-called “Axis of Evil” in 2002 and President Ahmedinejad describing the September 11th attacks as “a suspect event”. Under these circumstances perhaps Iran, run by an oppressive régime incapable of tolerating dissent, is one of the least likely places in the world to witness a large-scale revival of the body of Christ. And yet, amazingly, that is the situation in modern-day Iran. The spirit of God is moving over the parched sands of Persia.
The history of the Iranian church is remarkably long. Acts 2: 9 records “Parthians, Medes and Elamites” hearing the gospel on the day of Pentecost and there are churches in Iran that date back to the days of the apostles. Ancient churches and historical artifacts testify that Christian missionaries from Persia travelled as far as India and China in the 8th and 9th centuries. Even though Christianity in Iran has been a minority religion throughout its entire existence, buffeted by the whims of Zoroastrian and Muslim authorities over the centuries, the Iranian church has survived.
This, in itself, is remarkable, but even more remarkable is the extent to which the church is thriving. Western missionaries worked in Iran for over 100 years, scarcely seeing any fruit at all, but the seeds they planted were crucial. Thanks to their work, and the work of people like Haik Hovsepian and Seth Yeghnazar, along with his sons Sam, Lazarus and Luke, by 1976 a few small churches had been established. Following the 1979 revolution the new régime allowed Christians and other minority groups to gather openly and then clamped down savagely, closing churches and imprisoning Christians across Iran. These attacks culminated in the 1990s with several killings of senior Iranian churchmen. In 1989 Hossein Soodmand, pastor of the Assemblies of God (Jama’at – e Rabbani) church, was executed for apostasy. Mehdi Dibaj, another member of the Jama’at – e Rabbani, was imprisoned for ten years, from 1983 to 1993, before being freed in January 1994 following a global outcry. At his trial he boldly declared ““I am not only satisfied to be in prison for the honour of His Holy Name, but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus my Lord”. Following his release he was abducted and murdered later in 1994. In 1993 Haik Hovsepian, an Iranian bishop in the Jama’at-e Rabbani, was asked by the government to sign a document stating that he would not allow Muslims or Muslim converts into his church. He refused, declaring “our churches are open to all who want to come in”. He was murdered in January 1994.
The brutality of this persecution forced many Iranian Christians to meet in underground churches, but, as is often the case with persecution, it strengthened and encouraged the Iranian church rather than destroying it. There is currently an extensive network of underground churches in more than 40 cities across Iran, largely consisting of recent believers from Muslim backgrounds, and recent developments such as Christian satellite broadcasting are reaching millions more. The website of 222 Ministries (www.222ministries. com) contains many testimonies from Iranian Christians and stories of how the church in Iran is growing – Muslim clerics, leaders of mosques, drug addicts and prostitutes all testify to the power of Christ. 222 Ministries even run an online theological college which currently has over 800 students, including Muslim clerics, and their staff members receive 1,000 phone calls a month from Iranians wanting to commit their lives to Christ. Lazarus Yeghnazar, the President of 222 Ministries International, calmly states that “conservative estimates put the size of the Iranian church at over one million people”. The scale of this revival is astonishing.
Naturally, spiritual warfare being what it is, the persecution of the church in Iran is intensifying, a testimony to the size and momentum of this revival. Since April 2008 there have been 53 arrests of Iranian Christians all over the country – in Tehran, Mashad, Esfahan, Shiraz and elsewhere. In July 2008 an elderly Christian couple were leading a gospel meeting at their house church in Esfahan and baptising new believers in a tub of water in their lounge when their house was raided. The police were particularly incensed when they discovered that the husband, Abbas Amiri, was a respected haji who had visited Mecca on several occasions and who had also fought for Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. He was beaten and died on his way to hospital. His wife Sakineh Rahnama later died of shock. Recently the Iranian government provisionally passed legislation demanding the death penalty for Muslims who leave Islam – previously courts could hand down hard labour sentences or jail terms instead, but the death penalty could soon be the only option. The flourishing church is not the only evidence that many Iranians are unhappy with their government – for example, a United Nations report in 2005 revealed that Iran has the highest drug addiction rate in the world, and the Iran Press Service reported in 2006 that government agencies are considering creating legalised brothels to combat a massive rise in prostitution. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that something is rotten in the state of Iran.
Although precise statistics regarding the church in Iran are hard to come by – it’s an underground church, after all – what is clear from many sources and from the increasingly desperate restrictions introduced by the Iranian government is that the message of Christ is spreading in Iran, and spreading fast. Lazarus Yeghnazar believes that the church around the world needs to be prepared for an avalanche of new believers both inside Iran and in the extensive Iranian diaspora around the world, and wants Christians to pray for this as a matter of urgency. The ancient bones of the church in Iran, dating back to the time of the apostles, are coming to life in thrilling fashion, providing a wonderful example of the power of Christ over the plans of men.
When people hear that I worked in South Asia for many years they often ask “Were you involved in Church Planting?” Oddly enough, the answer to that is “No, not really.” It was more like Church Finding. Church Finding is a lot easier and probably more fun, though just as stressful.
There are seasons of sowing and of reaping. My great uncle served in South Asia in the 1950s and 60s, and saw no church growth among the Muslim community whatsoever. In 1995, on our first Home Assignment, we went to visit him. He had been diagnosed with cancer and we spent a lovely day with him. At one point just he and I were sitting together. “Tell me” he said. “Are there any believers from the Muslim community at all?.” I was able to tell him of meeting forty men in the city in which he had worked. Then he started to cry. Quietly wiping a tear from his cheek, he said in a soft voice “I gave up hope you know. Oh, I worked with the church and we saw tribal people and others come to faith. But we didn’t see anyone from the Muslim community. I didn’t think it was possible” Six weeks later he went to meet Jesus face to face knowing that God was able to do more than he could have thought or imagined.
Since the mid 90s, numbers have grown. Conservative estimates of this new form of Muslimbackground church in our region are 50,000! Some estimates are a lot higher. Much of my role was finding new groups of believers, listening to their stories and documenting them, and helping link them to other groups around the region. It also involved walking beside a couple of key leaders as they looked at what it meant to follow Jesus coming from their heritage and in their setting.
Leaders are subject to huge pressures. I would like to report that the guys I walked beside did really well and had no problems. That would, however, be to embellish the truth. As it was, some of them grew in maturity and leadership, but others struggled with issues like finance, use and abuse of power, personal integrity, and didn’t really give clear guidance on some major theological issues.
Nor were the problems confined to leadership. The growing groups saw almost all the problems of the New Testament churches and even some problems that hadn’t been invented then. When the church grows so quickly there are bound to be problems, but there is also bound to be real growth, maturity and solid foundations. I saw an illiterate young man explain to the police the basis to his faith, that it wasn’t illogical or immoral, and that he refused to turn back. I saw families have their crops destroyed and their irrigation systems wrecked, and yet they acted with love and compassion towards the very families who were attacking them.
So the question arises: what real advice can a foreigner give to groups going through genuine, gut-wrenching, painful persecution? Can any advice be more than just fine sounding words from a rich person with a passport? Fortunately, I was able to draw on the experience of others who had been through such times themselves. They were able to give the call – “Be faithful.” In the midst of this there are three things that stand out as helpful for people and groups under attack for their faith.
1. Memorise scripture. The more the word dwells in our hearts, the more it guides our heart responses in times of trouble. And if it’s memorised it is with us in the times when our Bibles are taken from us.
2. Have a heart song. Have a song that embraces all that’s dear to you about Jesus. Sing it daily. Have it embedded in your heart. In those times of hardship, that song will help shine his light into your heart.
3. The believing community commits to look after your family. If someone is taken away from their family, maybe put in jail, what happens to their family is a major concern. One thing that helps hold people firm is to know that the rest of the community has committed beforehand to look after the family. No matter what the situation, no matter the amount of mud flung or violence used, others will work to look after the family. If I know that, then I can face what is thrown at me.
Being involved with the rapidly reproducing church is fantastic. To see lives transformed by Christ, and to see this happen time and again touches our hearts in deep ways. There are problems, of course. There are real hurts, mistakes and wounds. However, many testify that “it’s worth it.” The change in people’s lives, the joy that is radiated and the peace that fills them is thrillingly infectious. Having come back from South Asia where this change is now expected and planned for, it’s been an adjustment to come to churches in the UK who fear that they are dying or have little hope that a ‘mission’ will transform many people. The body of Christ is growing dramatically around the world. For those in areas where it doesn’t seem to be, take heart. He is able to do more than we could think or imagine.
When people hear that I worked in South Asia for many years they often ask “Were you involved in Church Planting?” Oddly enough, the answer to that is “No, not really.” It was more like Church Finding. Church Finding is a lot easier and probably more fun, though just as stressful.
There are seasons of sowing and of reaping. My great uncle served in South Asia in the 1950s and 60s, and saw no church growth among the Muslim community whatsoever. In 1995, on our first Home Assignment, we went to visit him. He had been diagnosed with cancer and we spent a lovely day with him. At one point just he and I were sitting together. “Tell me” he said. “Are there any believers from the Muslim community at all?.” I was able to tell him of meeting forty men in the city in which he had worked. Then he started to cry. Quietly wiping a tear from his cheek, he said in a soft voice “I gave up hope you know. Oh, I worked with the church and we saw tribal people and others come to faith. But we didn’t see anyone from the Muslim community. I didn’t think it was possible” Six weeks later he went to meet Jesus face to face knowing that God was able to do more than he could have thought or imagined.
Since the mid 90s, numbers have grown. Conservative estimates of this new form of Muslimbackground church in our region are 50,000! Some estimates are a lot higher. Much of my role was finding new groups of believers, listening to their stories and documenting them, and helping link them to other groups around the region. It also involved walking beside a couple of key leaders as they looked at what it meant to follow Jesus coming from their heritage and in their setting.
Leaders are subject to huge pressures. I would like to report that the guys I walked beside did really well and had no problems. That would, however, be to embellish the truth. As it was, some of them grew in maturity and leadership, but others struggled with issues like finance, use and abuse of power, personal integrity, and didn’t really give clear guidance on some major theological issues.
Nor were the problems confined to leadership. The growing groups saw almost all the problems of the New Testament churches and even some problems that hadn’t been invented then. When the church grows so quickly there are bound to be problems, but there is also bound to be real growth, maturity and solid foundations. I saw an illiterate young man explain to the police the basis to his faith, that it wasn’t illogical or immoral, and that he refused to turn back. I saw families have their crops destroyed and their irrigation systems wrecked, and yet they acted with love and compassion towards the very families who were attacking them.
So the question arises: what real advice can a foreigner give to groups going through genuine, gut-wrenching, painful persecution? Can any advice be more than just fine sounding words from a rich person with a passport? Fortunately, I was able to draw on the experience of others who had been through such times themselves. They were able to give the call – “Be faithful.” In the midst of this there are three things that stand out as helpful for people and groups under attack for their faith.
1. Memorise scripture. The more the word dwells in our hearts, the more it guides our heart responses in times of trouble. And if it’s memorised it is with us in the times when our Bibles are taken from us.
2. Have a heart song. Have a song that embraces all that’s dear to you about Jesus. Sing it daily. Have it embedded in your heart. In those times of hardship, that song will help shine his light into your heart.
3. The believing community commits to look after your family. If someone is taken away from their family, maybe put in jail, what happens to their family is a major concern. One thing that helps hold people firm is to know that the rest of the community has committed beforehand to look after the family. No matter what the situation, no matter the amount of mud flung or violence used, others will work to look after the family. If I know that, then I can face what is thrown at me.
Being involved with the rapidly reproducing church is fantastic. To see lives transformed by Christ, and to see this happen time and again touches our hearts in deep ways. There are problems, of course. There are real hurts, mistakes and wounds. However, many testify that “it’s worth it.” The change in people’s lives, the joy that is radiated and the peace that fills them is thrillingly infectious. Having come back from South Asia where this change is now expected and planned for, it’s been an adjustment to come to churches in the UK who fear that they are dying or have little hope that a ‘mission’ will transform many people. The body of Christ is growing dramatically around the world. For those in areas where it doesn’t seem to be, take heart. He is able to do more than we could think or imagine.
One of the most poignant stories I have ever heard comes from the life of the famous missionary to China, J. Hudson Taylor. The first man to come to faith through Taylor’s preaching was a leader of a Buddhist sect, and it was a sweet moment when he testified that after years of searching for truth and rest, he had found them at last in Jesus. But the experience turned bittersweet when he inquired just how long this life-giving news had been known in England. “‘What!’ said he, amazed. ‘Is it possible that for hundreds of years you have had the knowledge of these glad tidings in your possession, and yet have only now come to preach it to us? My father sought truth for more than twenty years, and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner?’”
How easy it is for us, even those of us living among ‘unreached’ people, to lose track of how quickly the time is passing, and how many people all around us are literally dying to hear the ‘glad tidings’ which brought us life. Demanding jobs wear us down, the daily pressures of life consume our energy, ‘political correctness’ or even fear of reprisal may sap our boldness… all conspire to numb us to the awful reality that people we know, and millions we don’t, are racing towards an everlasting separation from God.
Paul implored the saints in Ephesus to walk wisely, ‘redeeming the time (literally, ‘buying the opportunity’) because the days are evil.’ Sometimes ‘the opportunity’ is obvious. Several months ago we first met ‘Sarah,’ who was staying in the slum with her brother’s family, and had come to the city in search of medical treatment. A quick examination revealed that she had come much too late. The cancer which had begun in her mouth had completely eaten away her tongue, and had spread into her neck and jaw. She was in terrific pain, and pleaded with us to help her. With heavy hearts we explained to her and her family that there was no medical solution, but that our God is able to heal, and so we prayed for her in Jesus’ name. And so began the journey.
Sarah often cried and kissed our hands when we brought her pain medicine or ‘milkshakes,’ or gave a little massage that helped to relax her frail and withered body a little. We also found that Sarah listened eagerly to our stories about the man named Jesus, who touched and healed people, and who willingly sacrificed himself for sinners. She dreamed one night that Jesus came to her and said, ‘God heals you.’ Sometimes she called out his name when the pain was too much. I saw her a couple of days before she died, very agitated and in a lot of pain. I prayed with her for God’s mercy, and she said ‘amen’ with me, and then calmed down and went to sleep. I know that she was touched by God’s love through our care for her. God knows if she is with Him now in glory, yet we are grateful for the precious opportunity we had to tell her of the Redeemer.
But often the opportunity is gone before we know it. I knew that ‘Matthew’ was special from the first day I met him. Unlike many of the other men from this poor community, Matthew went out of his way to help me, often escorting me around the slum until I got into my car to leave. His very humble shack was nevertheless neatly organized and clean… the tiny ‘kitchen’ he had set up for his wife even had shelves! He worked hard, seven days a week, as a garbage collector, in order to provide for his family, and would never have allowed his wife to beg on the street, as so many women do. We were encouraging him to organize other like-minded men to work together on improving their community. We had occasion to share with him that we were followers of Jesus, and that we ourselves had new life because of him. And we looked forward to telling him more. That is, until the day he was killed. One day a charitable organization showed up to distribute food and blankets in the community, and things got out of control. Everyone was grabbing, and tempers flared when Matthew and another woman reached for the same blanket. In the blink of an eye, the woman’s husband exploded in anger and stabbed Matthew in the chest. Witnesses later told us that he threw his arms around a young girl who was standing there and cried out for forgiveness before he collapsed and died. And the opportunity was gone. We learned last week that the man who killed him has been executed. Another opportunity.
I recently visited the family of an eight-year-old girl who was raped by a neighbour with a wife and children of his own. As I write this, I am convicted that I keep meaning to seek out his family, and maybe even the man himself, before it is too late. But life is so busy…
Hudson Taylor’s reflections on that first convert, written more than a century ago, still speak to us: “A whole generation has passed away since that mournful inquiry was made; but how many, alas, might repeat the same question today? More than two hundred millions in the meanwhile have been swept into eternity, without an offer of salvation. How long shall this continue, and the Master’s words, ‘to every creature,’ remain unheeded?” Can we not find the time to share that offer? Can we not pray?
One of the most poignant stories I have ever heard comes from the life of the famous missionary to China, J. Hudson Taylor. The first man to come to faith through Taylor’s preaching was a leader of a Buddhist sect, and it was a sweet moment when he testified that after years of searching for truth and rest, he had found them at last in Jesus. But the experience turned bittersweet when he inquired just how long this life-giving news had been known in England. “‘What!’ said he, amazed. ‘Is it possible that for hundreds of years you have had the knowledge of these glad tidings in your possession, and yet have only now come to preach it to us? My father sought truth for more than twenty years, and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner?’”
How easy it is for us, even those of us living among ‘unreached’ people, to lose track of how quickly the time is passing, and how many people all around us are literally dying to hear the ‘glad tidings’ which brought us life. Demanding jobs wear us down, the daily pressures of life consume our energy, ‘political correctness’ or even fear of reprisal may sap our boldness… all conspire to numb us to the awful reality that people we know, and millions we don’t, are racing towards an everlasting separation from God.
Paul implored the saints in Ephesus to walk wisely, ‘redeeming the time (literally, ‘buying the opportunity’) because the days are evil.’ Sometimes ‘the opportunity’ is obvious. Several months ago we first met ‘Sarah,’ who was staying in the slum with her brother’s family, and had come to the city in search of medical treatment. A quick examination revealed that she had come much too late. The cancer which had begun in her mouth had completely eaten away her tongue, and had spread into her neck and jaw. She was in terrific pain, and pleaded with us to help her. With heavy hearts we explained to her and her family that there was no medical solution, but that our God is able to heal, and so we prayed for her in Jesus’ name. And so began the journey.
Sarah often cried and kissed our hands when we brought her pain medicine or ‘milkshakes,’ or gave a little massage that helped to relax her frail and withered body a little. We also found that Sarah listened eagerly to our stories about the man named Jesus, who touched and healed people, and who willingly sacrificed himself for sinners. She dreamed one night that Jesus came to her and said, ‘God heals you.’ Sometimes she called out his name when the pain was too much. I saw her a couple of days before she died, very agitated and in a lot of pain. I prayed with her for God’s mercy, and she said ‘amen’ with me, and then calmed down and went to sleep. I know that she was touched by God’s love through our care for her. God knows if she is with Him now in glory, yet we are grateful for the precious opportunity we had to tell her of the Redeemer.
But often the opportunity is gone before we know it. I knew that ‘Matthew’ was special from the first day I met him. Unlike many of the other men from this poor community, Matthew went out of his way to help me, often escorting me around the slum until I got into my car to leave. His very humble shack was nevertheless neatly organized and clean… the tiny ‘kitchen’ he had set up for his wife even had shelves! He worked hard, seven days a week, as a garbage collector, in order to provide for his family, and would never have allowed his wife to beg on the street, as so many women do. We were encouraging him to organize other like-minded men to work together on improving their community. We had occasion to share with him that we were followers of Jesus, and that we ourselves had new life because of him. And we looked forward to telling him more. That is, until the day he was killed. One day a charitable organization showed up to distribute food and blankets in the community, and things got out of control. Everyone was grabbing, and tempers flared when Matthew and another woman reached for the same blanket. In the blink of an eye, the woman’s husband exploded in anger and stabbed Matthew in the chest. Witnesses later told us that he threw his arms around a young girl who was standing there and cried out for forgiveness before he collapsed and died. And the opportunity was gone. We learned last week that the man who killed him has been executed. Another opportunity.
I recently visited the family of an eight-year-old girl who was raped by a neighbour with a wife and children of his own. As I write this, I am convicted that I keep meaning to seek out his family, and maybe even the man himself, before it is too late. But life is so busy…
Hudson Taylor’s reflections on that first convert, written more than a century ago, still speak to us: “A whole generation has passed away since that mournful inquiry was made; but how many, alas, might repeat the same question today? More than two hundred millions in the meanwhile have been swept into eternity, without an offer of salvation. How long shall this continue, and the Master’s words, ‘to every creature,’ remain unheeded?” Can we not find the time to share that offer? Can we not pray?
One of the most poignant stories I have ever heard comes from the life of the famous missionary to China, J. Hudson Taylor. The first man to come to faith through Taylor’s preaching was a leader of a Buddhist sect, and it was a sweet moment when he testified that after years of searching for truth and rest, he had found them at last in Jesus. But the experience turned bittersweet when he inquired just how long this life-giving news had been known in England. “‘What!’ said he, amazed. ‘Is it possible that for hundreds of years you have had the knowledge of these glad tidings in your possession, and yet have only now come to preach it to us? My father sought truth for more than twenty years, and died without finding it. Oh, why did you not come sooner?’”
How easy it is for us, even those of us living among ‘unreached’ people, to lose track of how quickly the time is passing, and how many people all around us are literally dying to hear the ‘glad tidings’ which brought us life. Demanding jobs wear us down, the daily pressures of life consume our energy, ‘political correctness’ or even fear of reprisal may sap our boldness… all conspire to numb us to the awful reality that people we know, and millions we don’t, are racing towards an everlasting separation from God.
Paul implored the saints in Ephesus to walk wisely, ‘redeeming the time (literally, ‘buying the opportunity’) because the days are evil.’ Sometimes ‘the opportunity’ is obvious. Several months ago we first met ‘Sarah,’ who was staying in the slum with her brother’s family, and had come to the city in search of medical treatment. A quick examination revealed that she had come much too late. The cancer which had begun in her mouth had completely eaten away her tongue, and had spread into her neck and jaw. She was in terrific pain, and pleaded with us to help her. With heavy hearts we explained to her and her family that there was no medical solution, but that our God is able to heal, and so we prayed for her in Jesus’ name. And so began the journey.
Sarah often cried and kissed our hands when we brought her pain medicine or ‘milkshakes,’ or gave a little massage that helped to relax her frail and withered body a little. We also found that Sarah listened eagerly to our stories about the man named Jesus, who touched and healed people, and who willingly sacrificed himself for sinners. She dreamed one night that Jesus came to her and said, ‘God heals you.’ Sometimes she called out his name when the pain was too much. I saw her a couple of days before she died, very agitated and in a lot of pain. I prayed with her for God’s mercy, and she said ‘amen’ with me, and then calmed down and went to sleep. I know that she was touched by God’s love through our care for her. God knows if she is with Him now in glory, yet we are grateful for the precious opportunity we had to tell her of the Redeemer.
But often the opportunity is gone before we know it. I knew that ‘Matthew’ was special from the first day I met him. Unlike many of the other men from this poor community, Matthew went out of his way to help me, often escorting me around the slum until I got into my car to leave. His very humble shack was nevertheless neatly organized and clean… the tiny ‘kitchen’ he had set up for his wife even had shelves! He worked hard, seven days a week, as a garbage collector, in order to provide for his family, and would never have allowed his wife to beg on the street, as so many women do. We were encouraging him to organize other like-minded men to work together on improving their community. We had occasion to share with him that we were followers of Jesus, and that we ourselves had new life because of him. And we looked forward to telling him more. That is, until the day he was killed. One day a charitable organization showed up to distribute food and blankets in the community, and things got out of control. Everyone was grabbing, and tempers flared when Matthew and another woman reached for the same blanket. In the blink of an eye, the woman’s husband exploded in anger and stabbed Matthew in the chest. Witnesses later told us that he threw his arms around a young girl who was standing there and cried out for forgiveness before he collapsed and died. And the opportunity was gone. We learned last week that the man who killed him has been executed. Another opportunity.
I recently visited the family of an eight-year-old girl who was raped by a neighbour with a wife and children of his own. As I write this, I am convicted that I keep meaning to seek out his family, and maybe even the man himself, before it is too late. But life is so busy…
Hudson Taylor’s reflections on that first convert, written more than a century ago, still speak to us: “A whole generation has passed away since that mournful inquiry was made; but how many, alas, might repeat the same question today? More than two hundred millions in the meanwhile have been swept into eternity, without an offer of salvation. How long shall this continue, and the Master’s words, ‘to every creature,’ remain unheeded?” Can we not find the time to share that offer? Can we not pray?
Address
경기도 성남시 분당구 정자일로 1 A동 1206호
A-1206, 1, Jeongjail-ro, Bundang-gu,
Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Kore
Contact
interservekorea@gmail.com
Tel +82 031 778 7931
Fax 031-606-4773