PAKISTAN: My Parents Showed How to Be a True Follower of Christ
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Dr. Yousaf Sadiq was born into a Christian family in Pakistan. He will share how his ancestors came to faith in Christ in India out of Hinduism. While his parents never had the opportunity to go to school and learn to read and write, Yousaf shares how they saw education as a privilege. His mother worked as a cleaner at a local school so that Yousaf and some of his ten siblings would have an opportunity to be educated. In the evenings, he would help his mother clean the school where he was a student during the day. Despite their deep poverty, Yousaf gratefully recounts how his family’s needs...
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CHINA: When We Fear, We Pray More
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“We are Christians. [Persecution] can happen any time.” As the pastor of an illegal house church in China, “Brother Enfu” knows the truth of that statement. Listen as he shares why and how he prepares his wife and children for the day he may eventually be arrested and sent to prison. He will give an update on Christian persecution in China and how believers there are responding faithfully despite increasing government pressure. Enfu will explain how a new law prohibits foreigners in China from talking about their faith—even in private settings. He’ll also share how the CCP’s...
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TÜRKIYE: When You Become a Christian, Attacks Come
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“Brother Bayram” is back to finish the conversation we began . He came to the United States from Türkiye (formerly Turkey) to further his education and start a business. One day, a Christian woman came to his business and gave Bayram a New Testament. He began to read, beginning a path that would lead him to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Son of God. Hear stories of people in Türkiye leaving Islam and embracing Jesus Christ—and the persecution they’ve endured for making that decision. What are the truths that draw them? What are the misunderstandings of the gospel that...
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TÜRKIYE: Given a New Testament and a Vision, He Became a Follower of Jesus
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Brother Bayram came to the United States from Türkiye (Turkey) to further his education. He started a business, where one day a Christian customer gave Bayram a New Testament. He began to read it, the beginning of a path that would lead him to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and the Son of God. It was a costly decision: his devout Muslim wife divorced him and wouldn’t allow him to see their daughter. His brother had Bayram committed to a mental hospital, thinking anyone who would leave Islam was mentally unstable. It has been a difficult road, but Bayram’s faith has only grown stronger as...
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PERSECUTED ERITREAN PASTOR’S DAUGHTER: None of Our Suffering is Ever Wasted
VOMRadio
Hana Menghisteab is back on VOM Radio this week in a follow-up conversation after sharing with us on the 20th anniversary of her father’s arrest in Eritrea. This week, Hana shares how that interview—really the first time she’d spoken publicly about her father and her family’s suffering—was painful, but also how God used it to open a door for healing in her life. Before his arrest in 2004, was a medical doctor and a leader in the Eritrean Orthodox Church. He is one of more than 300 Christians currently in prison in Eritrea. Hana was six years old when her father was arrested. Hana...
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CHINA: Counted Worthy to Suffer for Christ
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When Yang Rongli, a pastor of Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi Province, China, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, she responded with words of celebration. “I got the top reward!” she said, considering it an honor to suffer for Christ and referring to the fact that her prison sentence was longer than other church members. She and her husband, Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, remain in prison. Listen this week as Bob Fu, former prisoner for Christ in China and the founder and president of , shares updates from persecuted Christians in China, including Pastor John Cao, Pastor Wang Yi,...
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CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION: What’s Different About Christians Who Endure?
VOMRadio
Do we really believe that to live is Christ, and to die is gain? After serving for more than a decade as a gospel worker and church planter in Asia, Brother Kevin asks all believers to consider whether we actually live as if we believe these words from Philippians 1:21. He says that of ten people who come to faith in Christ in the area where he works, nine recant when the pressure of persecution rises. Yet seeing the joyful endurance of the one who remains faithful is a great source of encouragement to him. Kevin will share how the Lord called him to serve unreached people groups in Asia, and...
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Questions for Converts: Are you ready to be rejected? To die for Jesus?
VOMRadio
Some Christians in —ethnically Chinese or Indian believers—have freedom to practice their faith in Christ. But if an ethnic Malay person becomes a believer in Jesus, he or she will face intense Christian persecution. The Malaysian government sees ethnic Malay people as off limits for evangelism and holds them subject to Islamic Shariah law. “To be Malay is to be Muslim,” says Carter Gates, leader of VOM’s international ministry work in Asia/Pacific. “Ethnic Malay’s can’t even [openly] say they are interested in learning more about Jesus.” As Carter meets with VOM’s ministry...
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ASIA/PACIFIC: “Who’s Going to Buy Rice From You, Now That You’re a Christian?”
VOMRadio
This week, Carter Gates, leader of VOM’s work in the Asia/Pacific Region, shares about a recent gathering of VOM front-line workers, where they spent time in fellowship, sharing stories and encouraging one another to continue serving persecuted Christians. These men and women minister in some of the most dangerous places to follow Christ, and are often the first responders when Christian persecution happens. You will hear updates from Myanmar, Laos, and North Korea, places where following Jesus can mean losing everything. Between political unrest, spiritual oppression, pressure from local...
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God Enables Persecuted Christians to Hear Our Prayers
VOMRadio
Established 28 years ago by Congress, the (USCIRF) is charged with monitoring religious persecution around the world, reporting to Congress, the President, and the Secretary of State and making recommendations on advancing religious freedom through US foreign policy. is the current chair of USCIRF. Prior to that appointment, she served in Congress from the state of Missouri. Even before her service in Congress, Hartzler came with a group from her church to volunteer at The Voice of the Martyrs. Listen as she shares more about her role in reporting on and seeking religious freedom for our...
info_outlineDr. Yousaf Sadiq was born into a Christian family in Pakistan. He will share how his ancestors came to faith in Christ in India out of Hinduism. While his parents never had the opportunity to go to school and learn to read and write, Yousaf shares how they saw education as a privilege.
His mother worked as a cleaner at a local school so that Yousaf and some of his ten siblings would have an opportunity to be educated. In the evenings, he would help his mother clean the school where he was a student during the day. Despite their deep poverty, Yousaf gratefully recounts how his family’s needs were always met.
Today Yousaf is a professor at Wheaton College and co-leader of the Lausanne Persecuted Church Initiative. He remembers how his parents invested time and energy in training their children to walk with the Lord, and how they led by example.
“There was a strong training and guidance by our parents,” Yousaf said, “They would wake up early in the morning to pray, showing us that prayer was vital.”
Yousaf also shares what it looks like to live in Pakistan as a Christian. There are many pressures within the society, but Yousaf understood at a young age that Christian persecution is part of following Christ.
“I felt not only strengthened but also privileged that this was happening,” he says.
Pray for persecuted Christians in Pakistan and be encouraged by the faith our brothers and sisters display. You can learn more about Christian persecution in Pakistan through VOM Radio interviews with Dr. Michael Reeves, “Brother Johanna” and Kenneth Charles.
The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.