Iran has fastest growing evangelical population in the world
By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
IRAN (ANS - March 24, 2016) -- Iran is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for followers of Jesus Christ. Almost all of the above-ground, Farsi-speaking churches have been closed and house churches are raided routinely, with their leaders and members arrested, according to a report by SAT-7 (http://sat7.org/).
Evangelism by Christians is against the law and may even be punished by death. But despite Iran’s leaders strenuous efforts to bring the furies of hell against believers, God is at work and the church in Iran is growing rapidly!
Iran has the fastest-growing evangelical population in the world, according to statistics compiled by Operation World. Iran’s hardline approach and violence perpetrated in the name of Islam throughout the Middle East has caused disillusionment and a search for truth elsewhere.
But with such an ironclad crackdown by the government against Christian worship and witness, how is the Iranian Church growing so quickly?
Despite the dangers they face, Iranian Christians are sharing their faith – and SAT-7’s broadcasts of Christian programming into Iranian homes have been one tool God is using to penetrate the darkness.
One Muslim woman found healing and transformation from one of SAT-7’s programs. “My husband and I are both from very religious families,” she wrote. “I was doing all the required activities until I was diagnosed with leukemia. A Christian friend told me to repeat, ‘If God is for me, who can be against me?’ I didn’t really understand it but I kept repeating it because I was afraid – my health was deteriorating and I thought I was going to die…”
“One evening, I watched a film on SAT-7 called ‘God is Love,’ and there was a prayer at the end, which spoke to
my heart. I knelt down and repeated the prayer… The leukemia has gone and I feel very good now. I trust that all things have a purpose and I live by faith.”
Photo captions: 1) Satellite dishes proliferate in the Middle East. 2) Watching children’s programming. 3) Mark Ellis.
About the writer: Mark Ellis is senior correspondent for the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net), and also founder ofwww.GodReports.com, a website that shares stories, testimonies and videos from the church around the world. He is also co-host for "Windows on the World" with ANS founder, Dan Wooding, on the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network (http://hsbn.tv).
** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assisnews.net).
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar