GLOBAL ACTION: Raising up Pastors to Shepherd their Flocks
VOMRadio
Rich Griffith, Chief Development Officer for , served as a pastor and played seven seasons in the NFL before the Lord led him to serve pastors and Christian leaders around the world, including many in restricted nations and hostile areas. Rich has had many exciting career highlights, but his favorite is watching these Christian leaders complete their training. “To me, the most incredible thing I’ve experienced is a graduation.” Rich says, “The tears in their eyes… because they felt a calling of God.” Rich shares his joy at being able to provide tools and knowledge to new pastors in...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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_outlineMore than 50 people were killed during an attack on a Christian area in the city of Jos on Palm Sunday in Nigeria. More attacks occurred during Easter weekend. But not every attack on Nigerian Christians makes international news. Listen this week as Matthew Hanson, who leads The Voice of the Martyrs’ work in West and Central Africa, explains how VOM responds to Christian persecution. He’ll explain how VOM helps persecuted Christians meet immediate needs like food, clothing, and shelter; then also serves to assist with longer-term needs for emotional and spiritual healing.
“We want to see both [physical and spiritual needs being met], because we want to see the church strengthened,” Matthew says.
Through gatherings where persecuted Christians share their stories and encourage one another, believers are equipped and inspired to continue boldly witnessing for Christ. Matthew shares how he and his team assess persecution in Nigeria and how VOM equips pastors to have a biblical understanding of suffering and persecution.
Matthew also tells stories from the field, including that of a woman kidnapped and enslaved by Boko Haram, one of six jihadist groups currently attacking Christians in northern Nigeria. She told Matthew, “Each day, Jesus spoke to me and strengthened my faith, and I did not give up.”
He’ll also tell about a young man who was passionate to study the Quran. As he studied, questions arose in his mind; he began to ask his teachers. But for a Muslim, asking too many questions can make one seem like an unbeliever, an infidel. The young man was threatened by his father but still committed his life to the Lord. He was forced to flee his village. He has sacrificed his home, his family and his safety. Yet he told Matthew, “Jesus is my Savior. I have no regrets.”
Listen to the story of Malik, a Fulani man who left Islam to follow Christ, and pray this week for persecuted brothers and sisters in Nigeria and throughout West and Central Africa. Pray they will be bold witnesses for Jesus—even to their persecutors.
The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, China, Iran, and India, 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.