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Brother Matthew was a worldly teenager when his mother decided she and her son needed to go to church. By the end of that first service, both of them had committed their lives to following Christ. As Matthew grew in faith, he was convicted and inspired by the Acts accounts of Paul’s missionary travels. Studying Paul’s efforts to take the gospel to the gentiles, Matthew began to ponder who were the gentiles in his generation, living far from the truth of Christ? As he began to ask that question in prayer, God laid on his heart the nation of Afghanistan. Matthew began taking steps towards...
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“God, where are You working in aviation that I can participate?” Throughout his life, Steve Russell, CEO and President of Jungle Aviation and Relay Service (better known as ) has asked the Lord what He had in store next. That pattern continued when he earned his pilot’s license; he wondered how the Lord would use that new skill to open doors for Kingdom impact. Little did he know God would use it to move him toward leadership in a global missions effort! Long before Russell arrived at JAARS, God was giving him experiences to prepare him for this season of service. Steve will share how...
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“Pastors are only asking for prayer for the ministry to continue, and prayer for conversion of [their] persecutors,” Brother Vijay says, “No one is asking that the persecution would stop.” Brother Vijay, a gospel worker in India, is back to share what it means to follow Christ in India today, and how pastors and believers there take persecution in stride. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees any Christian gathering as a crusade—an attempt to convert people. Authorities even send spies to monitor Christian gatherings. But spies in church still hear the message;...
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Brother Wybo served persecuted Christians for decades as part of Open Doors with Brother Andrew. Andrew, the author of God’s Smuggler, had a passion for Bible distribution and didn’t shy from taking necessary risks to get God’s Word into hostile areas and restricted nations. While serving with Open Doors, Wybo created the World Watch List which tracks countries where Christians face the most restrictions and persecution. Now he’s led in the creation of a new list which tracks how difficult it is for Christians around the world to access Bibles. The tracks nations where governments...
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After months in prison for sharing the gospel with Hindus, Pastor Paul’s health was failing. He offered a desperate prayer: he asked God to allow another pastor to be arrested who could come to the prison and encourage Paul. “Lord, arrest one pastor and bring him to be in prison so we can have fellowship.” God answered Paul’s prayer, and four days later, he read in the newspaper that a pastor had been arrested. Two weeks later, that pastor was with Paul in the prison, and he brought him great encouragement: “My church has been praying for you!” After his fellow pastor arrived...
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Pastor Paul was doing gospel outreach in Northern India when he was arrested by police and accused of “forcing” Hindus to convert to Christianity. He wasn’t forcing anyone but only sharing with people who expressed a hunger to hear the truth. When police arrived, Paul and his coworkers weren’t having a service or studying the Bible; they were eating a meal. Still, it was considered a crime. “Which god are you praying to?” police asked. Little did Pastor Paul know that his faith would be tested as he heard that question repeatedly over the coming weeks. Pastor Paul and his three...
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Serving as the Regional Leader for VOM’s work in Latin America, Isaac Santiago tells what it’s like to be a Christian today in countries like Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Colombia. He has witnessed the shift since 2018 in Nicaragua—listed as a Restricted Nation in —through more laws that directly affect the church and severe restrictions and government pressure similar to what Christians face in Communist nations like Cuba and China. While some Christians in Nicaragua are weary and struggling to adjust to the new persecution reality, Christians in Cuba have dealt with such restrictions...
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Protests have been going on for weeks across the nation of Iran. The Islamic government has cut off communication networks and attacked protestors; thousands have been killed. Dr. Mike Ansari, a board member of the and the outgoing CEO of , joins VOM Radio this week with an update on the current situation in Iran and how persecuted Christians are still demonstrating Christ’s light and loving their neighbors even as the entire country is in turmoil. As happened during previous protests in Iran, Christians were among the first to be targeted by authorities. The Revolutionary Guard and Iranian...
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John Burrough, CEO of Partners International, is a former mission trip leader and played in the NFL—including playing in a Super Bowl. Listen as he shares how taking a mission trip completely changed his outlook and how that experience could impact and change your perspective in every area of life. began in the early 1940s with a missionary to China, Duncan Roberts, and from there continued to support and grow local leaders advancing the gospel in China. Later, the ministry’s work expanded into Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The focus today is on reaching the unreached parts...
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In Part 2 of our interview with Pastor Hassan Abduraheem Taour, he shares how his heart remained upbeat, even as the judge pronounced him guilty and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. He'll talk about how reading the Bible is different inside prison than when you're free. Hassan says he experienced persecution as a blessing from God—a blessing that brought him tears of joy. "It is really a privilege to be persecuted," he says. Pastor Hassan recounted how fellow members of the Body of Christ in Sudan encouraged him in prison with faith that the Lord would release him. His prayer life...
info_outlineThis week, we begin looking back on some of the most moving moments shared on The Voice of the Martyrs Radio in 2025:
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Hope & Nagy have been called by God to live in some very difficult places. They were serving Him in Libya when civil war broke out; they stayed and thrived under the Lord’s protection. Then they heard the Lord call them to a new and equally-challenging land.
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Jerry Mattix has been banned twice from entering Türkiye, once in 2013 and again earlier this year. Jerry knows God is able to do His work among Turkish people without him in the country.
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Nathan and Kari were raised differently, yet the Lord called them to Himself, and to missions, together. In South Asia, they are seeing the gospel on fire, not waiting for foreign missionaries but moving forward through the gospel fervor of national Christians.
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John Samara knows the high cost of serving Christ in a place like Syria. He grew up there and continues to serve persecuted Christians in the Middle East and North Africa through Ananias House.
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Eric Mock, from Slavic Gospel Association, shares how war between Russia and Ukraine has actually accelerated SGA’s ministry as they provide aid and share the gospel with hundreds of thousands of people.
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Teaching students in the UK and around the world, Dr. Michael Reeves has a passion for strengthening the faith of persecuted Christians in hostile and restricted nations. He served as a missionary on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Ty Scott, leader of VOM’s work in east and southern Africa, shares about Christians living in a country that has never been discussed on VOM Radio until this year — Comoros. He also shared how VOM handles Bible distribution in Africa.
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Author of the book, Inside Afghanistan, John Weaver, shares what it looks like to be a Christian in Afghanistan today. Believers must carefully plant gospel seeds and seek out people of peace.
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Abraham & Sara minister to Muslim refugees in the Middle East who are open to the gospel. They see the hunger to know Jesus, and the Lord is revealing Himself to these refugees through dreams, visions, and the love of Christ, as seen in the example of Abraham, Sara, and their team.
After hearing these brief excerpts, you'll want to listen to the entire conversations with these guests from 2025. Click on the links below to listen at VOMRADIO.net or listen in the VOM APP.
- Hope & Nagy, gospel workers to Libya and the Middle East
- Jerry Mattix, long-time aid ministry worker and pastor in Türkiye
- Nathan & Kari, gospel workers in South Asia with the International Mission Board (IMB)
- John Samara, Founder and Executive Director of Ananias House
- Eric Mock, the Senior Vice President of the Slavic Gospel Association
- Dr. Michael Reeves, President of Union School of Theology in the United Kingdom
- Ty Scott, VOM’s Regional Leader for East and Southern Africa
- John Weaver, long-time gospel worker in Afghanistan
- Abraham & Sara serve refugees at a church in a Middle Eastern country
We thank the Lord for allowing VOM Radio to encourage and challenge listeners all over the world this year. Thank you for faithfully listening and praying for our persecuted family in restricted nations and hostile areas around the world!
We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what conversation in 2025 most inspired your faith or equipped you to pray. You can also give online to support persecuted Christians through the work of The Voice of the Martyrs.
Next week, we’ll have Part II of our look back to the most moving moments of 2025 on VOM Radio.