OVERCOMING TRAUMA: Starting to Heal Means Starting to Feel
VOMRadio
As a Fulani herdsman, the young man burned churches, threatened Christian farmers and even killed Christians in the middle of the night. But his life changed when he saw how a Christian woman responded to his threats of murder. Today he is a follower of Christ who has experienced Christian persecution as his own family tried to kill him. Listen as Brother Philip, a field minister for VOM in Africa, tells about meeting this young man and shares stories of other Fulani followers of Jesus. “They know the cost, and they’ve considered the cost and chosen to follow Jesus,” Philip says. Philip...
info_outline
IMPRISONED CHINESE PASTOR’S WIFE: God Gives Me Courage and Strength to Face the Suffering
VOMRadio
Last October, Pastor Wang Lin, one of the leaders in Zion Church in China, was arrested and imprisoned under false charges of “fraud” and “illegal business practices.” Sarah Su (Su Ziming in Chinese), wife of Pastor Wang, recounts the day her husband was arrested and the Christian persecution they faced even before he was imprisoned. Sarah will share about her husband’s role in Zion Church’s leadership and in training other leaders, how the church continues to reach many people despite persecution from the Chinese Communist Party, and recent updates about Pastor Wang’s condition...
info_outline
SERVING HAITI, FIGHTING CANCER: “Joy and Grief can Coexist”
VOMRadio
Becky Graves was living a comfortable American life when her husband suggested a family mission trip to Haiti. She told him—forcefully—NO! But then God changed Becky’s heart; that “short-term” trip became a defining moment in her life. Fourteen years later, Becky is still serving the people of Haiti. She’s also waging a battle with cancer. Becky has chosen to find joy—regardless of her circumstances—in the work of ministry in a difficult place and in the cancer fight. “Cancer and Haiti both taught me that I have to be comfortable with uncertainty and rely on the Lord,” she...
info_outline
MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA: “Pastor, We Have Your Back.”
VOMRadio
When the pastor began to weep, Cade Jefferson, the leader of VOM’s work in the Middle East and North Africa, wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He had just explained to the pastor how The Voice of the Martyrs comes alongside persecuted Christians and how the ministry was ready to help should a member of his congregation be persecuted or arrested for sharing the gospel with Muslims. “We’ve found the people that are going to help us,” the pastor exclaimed. Listen to VOM Radio this week to hear about the dream that pastor had the night before meeting with Cade, and how Christian...
info_outline
VIETNAM: “This Book Can Change Your Life”
VOMRadio
Growing up in a Buddhist family in , Brother Daniel went through a lot of pain. He felt hopeless and wanted to kill himself. But on his way to get a gun, he stopped by a church. Everything changed. “I don’t know why I went to the church.” Brother Daniel says, “I met the pastor and he gave me a small New Testament.” The pastor told Brother Daniel that the book could change his life. Daniel will share how reading God’s Word changed him and, eventually, also his family. Seeing such dramatic changes gave Daniel a desire to see more people have Bibles. Since then, he’s helped...
info_outline
TRAINING LEADERS: Building Resiliency To Face Christian Persecution
VOMRadio
It started as an English-teaching ministry in Japan in 1967. Today is raising up church leaders in 25 countries; leaders equipped and unified to accelerate gospel movements around the world, including numerous hostile areas and restricted nations where The Voice of the Martyrs works with persecuted Christians. Dr. Joe Handley, CEO of A3, and Janelle Stoops, U.S. President for the ministry, join VOM Radio to share how A3 was founded and how it serves the global church by meeting one of the biggest needs: trained leaders. Relatively new to A3, Janelle will share her background as a gospel...
info_outline
TURKMENISTAN: “You Didn’t Forget Us When We Had Trouble”
VOMRadio
Maya and her husband were constantly under pressure from police in Turkmenistan. Then her husband was thrown in jail. Maya says many times she questioned God. “So many times I prayed to God and asked, ‘Why is this happening in our lives? We’ve done so much to serve you!’” Amid her questions, Maya sensed a challenge: she needed to surrender her thoughts to God and go back to his Word. Listen as Maya shares how she and her husband met, how the Lord changed her husband’s heart after he began to follow Jesus, and how she came to know Christ after six years seeing her husband live...
info_outline
GLOBAL MISSIONS: Planning to Go, Willing to Stay
VOMRadio
How do you discern God’s call and determine where He’s leading you? How much of your prayer time is spent listening to Him? Ben Barrett, who’s led The Voice of the Martyrs’ work in South Asia, will help us answer those questions as he shares how God has led him and his wife into a new season of ministry. His new role—with one of VOM’s strategic partner ministries—includes raising up indigenous Christian leaders, supporting church planting efforts and encouraging pastors to continue making disciples to multiply the gospel work. “We want to come alongside them in the midst of...
info_outline
EAST AFRICA: Intimacy with Christ Prepares Christians for Persecution
VOMRadio
In a Muslim village in East Africa, 47 people confessed belief in Christ. But then Christian persecution came. Radical Muslims went house-to-house, threatening new believers and demanding they return to Islam. All but two of the new Christians renounced their faith. Brother Paulo, a leader in in East Africa, met the two young men who stood firm for Christ. He asked them how they’d stayed faithful under such intense pressure. “The experience I had with Jesus was so strong that I cannot deny Jesus,” the younger of the two men told him. In places like Northern Mozambique, South Sudan,...
info_outline
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: “I think God calls us to be faithful.”
VOMRadio
Over the past 18 months some of the most violent attacks against persecuted Christians anywhere in the world have taken place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country where more than 100 armed groups—many motivated by Islamist ideals—vie for territory and influence. Dr. David Kasali, founder and president of , is back on VOM Radio this week to tell how Christians are responding and enduring, how they are choosing to be victors instead of victims. Listen as he shares how he trains Christians to overcome their fears and how he prays for Christ’s Kingdom to be established in...
info_outline“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; listen for the story of a former spy who is now an ambassador for Jesus Christ.
As more of India’s states enact “anti-conversion” laws that outlaw gospel preaching, Vijay says in some states it has become virtually impossible for church congregations to gather for Sunday worship. Dozens of pastors are currently in prison in India. Yet, God is still at work, building His Kingdom.
“The most interesting thing is I see the kingdom of God prospering in a situation like this.” Vijay says, “The more pressure, the more victories.”
You’ll also hear how Vijay and other gospel workers train up pastors (and “Timothys”) to lead the church, how he prepares for persecution, and more stories of persecuted Christians in India.
Brother Vijay knows he could face persecution at any time; he willingly risks his safety to serve the Lord. “I want to continue to be faithful. I know that I, too, have been called to pay the price. And I’m willing to pay the price anytime.”
Revisit Brother Vijay’s first conversation on VOM Radio, and listen to a Christian human rights lawyer in India who is also prepared to face any trial, knowing it is from the Lord.
Pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in India as they follow Christ, no matter the cost.
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.