IRAN —Islam and the regime in Iran have destroyed the identity of women,” says Simin*, a Christian in the Middle East who participated in a training by Open Doors on discipleship. Today, in addition to helping other women overcome the pain of persecution, she also prepares them to serve God When Simin decided to follow…
NAMPA, IDAHO — Global Catalytic Ministries (GCM). As tensions escalate between Israel and Iran and protests intensify globally condemning Israel and supporting Hamas, GCM’s CEO Mike Patino called for a closed meeting with its underground coaches worldwide. The purpose was to understand their unique perspectives on the unfolding situation and determine a collective response by…
IRAN —When persecuted Iranian plumber *Hamid was forced to flee his home country of Iran he struggled to find work in the new country he moved to with his family. However Christian ministry Help The Persecuted helped him start his own plumbing business through their Enduring Livelihoods initiative. Not only is this enabling him to…
ISRAEL —After an Iranian missile barrage earlier this month against Israel, many people who endured the explosions and sirens during the night were both relieved and stunned to learn that 99 percent of the more than 300 drones and missiles fired at them were shot down, and most did not even make it to Israeli…
IRAN —When persecuted Iranian Christians are forced to flee the country they face many challenges as they seek to start a new life as refugees, including being treated as second class citizens and feelings of isolation. In response Christian ministry Help The Persecuted hosted a spiritual retreat for Iranian refugees in a country that can’t…
JERUSALEM — Following the Iranian attacks on April 13 in which hundreds of drones and missiles were launched at Israel from Iran and its proxies, The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) announced today it has taken immediate action to approve $600,000 for emergency food and shelter boxes. Additionally, the organization is expediting…
IRAN — Simin* from Iran has experienced hostility from the authorities, her work and even her own family. But her faith in Jesus is undiminished. Today, helped by Open Doors, she’s found a way to channel her experiences into helping other women back in her homeland, Iran. Simin*: With nothing but a little cash in…
IRAN — Those Christians who are Iranian who want to live their faith in Jesus freely are often sent to prison, where they are frequently tortured and interrogated. They flee the persecution that plagues the country, becoming refugees in other nations. Kouroush is one of them. Kouroush: I had to leave everything behind. My country,…
IRAN — The upsurge in violence in the Middle East has led to claims that Iran has been active behind the scenes in supporting the Hamas group that attacked Israel. A new report also accuses Iran of putting pressure on Christians to keep away from the country’s hijab protests. It warns that Christians who are…
LOS ANGELES — Continuing the work of the Abraham Accords, the Marrakesh Forum (June 6-7, 2023) will gather leaders to build public awareness about the benefits of multi-faith collaboration, highlighting religious liberty and women’s rights. Seeking to promote peaceful pluralism, the women influencers will share the benefits of religious tolerance and equal citizenship. Government, academic,…
TURKEY — Kouroush* is an Iranian Christian now living in Turkey, after he fled to escape persecution, leaving everything behind. We hear how, with Open Doors’ support, he is now opening a Center of Hope to help care for fellow refugees. Kouroush*, name changed for security purposes: “I didn’t murder anyone. I didn’t steal anything….
TURKEY — When Sahar became a Christian in Iran, she lost everything – her husband, her children and her freedom. But she never let go of God, and now she lives in Turkey, ministering to women who are going through similar situations for their faith. *Name changed for security purposes. Sahar* – Iranian Christian: I…
LOS ANGELES, CA — Iran Alive Ministries (IAM) has officially partnered with Channel One (Kanal Yek TV), a Persian TV channel broadcasting from Los Angeles, CA to viewers in Iran, to obtain a primetime slot for IAM’s Gospel-centric programming. “With this partnership, we will gain many new secular-minded audiences who have already rejected Islam, so…
IRAN — A Middle East media ministry is giving embattled Iranian women a voice after government officials shut down the nation’s internet amid mass protests that have turned deadly. SAT-7 — a multimedia Christian broadcaster — has seen its WhatsApp and Instagram services disrupted by the digital media blackout, but live satellite television broadcasts are…
EASTON, MD — A Christian media network in the Middle East is highlighting the value of women’s lives after a 17-year-old Iranian girl was beheaded by her husband in a so-called “honor killing,” one of hundreds every year. According to SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org), Mona Heydari, a child bride at age 13, was beheaded by her husband,…
EASTON, MD — Children as young as 4 are risking their lives in Afghanistan because they want to “meet Jesus” and talk to other Christians, even as they hide from the Taliban. Desperate for hope, thousands of young children and teens – often the only Christians in their families – are turning to a Middle…
CYPRUS – When Jubal Band Ministries began in 2007, the concept was of a musical group producing online Christian worship videos. The group consisted of persecuted Iranian Christians living in Turkey. History By 2010, Jubal Band had added radio and television broadcasts in cooperation with existing Christian-owned networks and channels. 2013 was highlighted by the…
TURKEY — Kouroush* is an Iranian Christian now living in Turkey, after he fled to escape persecution, leaving everything behind. We hear how, with Open Doors’ support, he is now opening a Center of Hope to help care for fellow refugees. Kouroush*, name changed for security purposes: “I didn’t murder anyone. I didn’t steal anything….
Record numbers of Iranian citizens have been coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Wherever and whenever people become discontent, they search for something better. Ultimately, the issue is whether they can actually find that something that is better. The Iranian people are looking for some good news. The Iranian Christians News Agency is offering them…
ALPHARETTA, GA – It takes only one visit to Elam Ministries’ website to see the evidence that God is writing a beautiful story for Iran. What is that story, and how can it be possible? Isn’t Iran ruled by the Muslin ayatollahs? Haven’t Iranian officials called the U.S. and Israel “Big Satan” and “Little Satan?”…
EASTON, MD — Iran’s “underground” house church movement — the fastest growing evangelical church in the world — is being fueled by explosive social media use and satellite television viewership, according to new findings. Middle East satellite broadcaster SAT-7 (www.sat7usa.org) reveals thousands of Iranians regularly tune into Christian programs on its SAT-7 PARS channel that…
CANADA — In spite of persecution Iran has the fastest growing church in the world. It’s often the Muslim converts who face the worst persecution. Greg Musselman interviews Dr. Hormoz Shariat, founder of Iran Alive Ministries, which has seen an amazing response to the Gospel during COVID-19. Hundreds are calling in each week to accept…
IRAN – Iran is one of the world’s most dangerous places for Christians. Yet this Muslim nation is seeing an unprecedented explosion of Christianity. Muslims fed up with Islam are becoming followers of Jesus Christ in record numbers. George Thomas of CBN News follows a group of converts that secretly left Iran to be baptized….
WASHINGTON – An international organization representing Baha’is says it is extremely concerned about Iran’s ongoing detention of up to 100 Baha’is at risk of contracting the coronavirus in Iranian prisons. In a VOA Persian interview on Monday, the Baha’i International Community’s chief representative to the U.N. in New York, Bani Dugal, said an estimated 50…
IRAN — In the eye of the coronavirus storm, anxious viewers in the Middle East and North Africa are looking to live Christian TV for reassurance — desperate to see “living hope” amid the escalating coronavirus crisis. As nations introduce strict measures to curb the coronavirus, SAT-7 Christian satellite TV becomes ‘channel of calm’ across…
Amid U.S.-Iran tensions, broadcaster SAT-7 gives Iranian Christians first opportunity to share with millions of viewers, many from extremist backgrounds EASTON — Pioneering broadcaster SAT-7 today announced a virtual, “real-time” television news-talk show — Signal — that is the first program of its kind encouraging Iran’s “secret Christians” — at a time when U.S.-Iran tensions…
TEHRAN – Concerns are being raised internationally about the well-being of an Iranian Christian convert who was arrested during an anti-government protest in Tehran last week. The Human Rights Activists News Agency first reported on the arrest of 21-year-old Christian convert Fatemeh Mohammadi, who prefers to go by the name “Mary” since her spiritual conversion….
WASHINGTON — This week a group of Christian leaders working in the Middle East have gathered together to express their thanks and offered their prayers following the announcement by President Trump last week which has led to the de-escalation of the conflict with Iran for one simple reason: No war means more Churches can continue…
TEHRAN – By nearly all accounts, more people in Iran are forsaking Islam and becoming followers of Jesus Christ than in any other country in the world. FAI Studios, producers of the movie “Sheep Among Wolves,” commented that “Muslim-background Iranians are leading a quiet but mass exodus out of Islam and bowing their knees to…
NEW DELHI – On Monday, November 5th, the United States imposed economic sanctions on 50 Iranian banks, 65 Iranian aircraft, 200 individuals, and all shipping vessels used for the transportation of Iranian oil. The U.S. granted India and seven other nations waivers allowing them to continue importing Iranian oil on a declining basis for the…
WASHINGTON DC – The subject of immigration has become a tinderbox of contention among many Americans as well as Europeans and Australians. The substance of immigration issues is often obscured by a fog of conflicting opinions between personal compassion and the government’s responsibility to ensure the general welfare and domestic tranquility of its current residents….
On Nov. 12, the deadliest earthquake of 2017, reaching a magnitude of 7.3, hit the border of Iran and Iraq. The death toll has topped 530, while 8,000 more people have been injured. “On Tuesday, Iranian officials called off rescue operations on the grounds there was little chance of finding more survivors from the quake,”…
LOVES PARK, IL —It’s a surprise twist few would have imagined — Ukrainian and Russian Jewish Christians are playing a vital role delivering aid to suffering families on the frontline in Israel, 2,000 miles from the war in Europe. Recent immigrants to Israel include Ukrainian refugees who’ve added to the ranks of Israel’s small-but-growing evangelical…
MIDDLE EAST — As the war in the Middle East continues to escalate, Christian ministry Help The Persecuted is launching an urgent appeal to enable their team on the ground in Lebanon to provide safe shelter, urgent food supplies and pastoral support to some of the one million displaced people who have fled the fighting…
LEBANON — As a major escalation between Iranian backed Hezbollah and Israel has been taking place in the Middle East, Christian ministry Help The Persecuted is continuing to step up their efforts to meet both the increasing practical and spiritual needs of the persecuted Christians and other vulnerable people in Lebanon. The country is a…
BOONE, IOWA — A one-of-a-kind talk show aims to bring hope to desperate Afghan women as the third anniversary of the Taliban regime’s return to power looms on August 15. “Many women and girls in Afghanistan ask, ‘Is life worth living?’” said Rex Rogers, president of SAT-7 USA (www.sat7usa.org), a Christian media group that broadcasts…
SPRINGFIELD, PA — A full-blown war is looming between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group based in Lebanon — and Israel fears a potentially devastating “electromagnetic pulse” (EMP) attack on its crucial electric power grid. An all-out attack on Israel’s power grid will cause rolling blackouts and could even cripple entire towns and cities…
WILLS POINT, TX — The final services for K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), GFA World founder and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, were a bittersweet time for friends, family, fellow servants of Christ, and what seemed like much of the world. After his tragic death in the United States, K.P. Yohannan’s mortal remains were transported to…
MOORESVILLE, NC — KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) — founder of missions agency GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia) who died May 8 — once said to me: “I’m just a skinny kid from India who grew up to be a follower of Jesus.” Genuine humility was the mark of the man — a man whom…
IRAN — A new technology, cutting-edge virtual camera system, installed at SAT-7 PARS’ Limassol studio in Cyprus is taking multiple Persian programs to new heights. It enables presenters and actors to move about in, and even interact with, a digitally-designed virtual environment that is bringing stories to life. And it will enable the broadcast ministry…
NORTH KOREA — Longstanding Christian communities could disappear in parts of sub-Saharan Africa through a double blow of violent instability and authoritarian control. Christian minorities across east and west Africa face twin existential threats: violent disorder exploited by radical jihadists and autocratic governments backed by larger powers outside the region.This is one of the disturbing…
EASTON, MD — Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, has canceled its traditional Christmas celebrations, a move that spotlights the challenges Christians in the Middle East face this festive season. Amid the suffering caused by the Israel-Hamas war, Bethlehem’s leaders reportedly feel it’s inappropriate to hold festivities, and the town’s Christian elders agree. It’s a difficult…
ALBANIA — Christian leaders from 30 countries across Europe gathered in Albania recently for a conference to be equipped, inspired and pray for a move of God across the continent. GNA reporter Peter Wooding was there to find out more about the impact of this event. More than 120 believers who head up various ministries…
WILLS POINT, TX – KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia), whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide — shares on the impact of George Verwer, his life and ministry, radically changing lives….
NORTHERN IRAQ — In 2014 when ISIS entered Mosul persecuted Iraqi Christian Namir was forced to flee the city with his family and seek safety in Northern Iraq in Erbil. But he struggled to earn a living to feed his family until he received help from Christian charity Help The Persecuted to start up his…
NORTH KOREA — More than 360 million Christians worldwide suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith – that’s a staggering 1 in 7 believers. Open Doors has launched this year’s World Watch list highlighting the 50 countries where faith costs the most, with North Korea returning to number one as the world’s…
EASTON, MD — A U.S. organization focused on the Middle East and North Africa is casting the spotlight on what it calls the region’s top 5 “evolving crises” at the start of 2023. With the world’s gaze fixed on Ukraine-Russia and muscle-flexing in China, “seismic events unfolding in the Middle East are simply off the…
WASHINGTON — The International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit, the world’s premier annual gathering of religious freedom advocates and activists, will be held January 31–February 1. The Summit, usually held in the summer, has been moved several months earlier in 2023 and coincides with the start of the National Prayer Breakfast. IRF Summit 2023 will be…
EASTON, MD — Femicides are on the rise in Türkiye (formerly Turkey) as domestic violence against women soars to epidemic levels. A report in the Daily Sabah last month said Türkiye has seen 158 femicides — gender-related murders — in the first seven months of 2022. Last year, 166 Turkish women were murdered in acts…
EASTON, MD — A U.S. media ministry warns religious freedom is under increasing pressure — fast reaching a tipping point it describes as “situation critical.” Globally, an estimated 80% of people of all faiths face restrictions on freely expressing their religious beliefs, says SAT-7 USA (www.sat7usa.org), a Christian media broadcaster in the Middle East and…
