MINISTRY TO MUSLIMS: “Did You See a Man in a White Robe?”
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Ali Sassi, from Tunisia, is a former Muslim now walking with Jesus. Ali had been taught, as a Muslim, that the Bible we have today has been changed and corrupted. When a Christian friend challenged him to demonstrate when and how the Bible had been changed, Ali accepted the challenge. He figured he'd read the Bible for an evening and easily identify how the book had been changed. Instead, he spent two years reading and studying. At the end of that time, he was convinced that the Bible had NOT been changed, and that Jesus IS the Son of God. “What touched my heart and won me back to Jesus was...
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Bringing Hope and Relief to Persecuted Christians
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Persecuted Christians have physical needs, like food, shelter, and medicine. They also have mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Listen this week as Shawn Wright, President of , and Nick Baker, ICC’s Director of Impact, join VOM Radio to share about ICC’s ministry and how they are recognizing and responding to the needs—visible and invisible—of persecuted Christians. You’ll hear about helping persecuted Christians holistically, and a new effort by ICC to protect young Christian girls from forced marriage and forced conversion. Shawn and Nick share how the Lord called them to...
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Planting Churches and Making the Gospel Accessible Among Unreached People Groups
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Ken Katayama, Global President and CEO of , didn’t come to faith in Christ until he was 15 years old. Two years later, he was invited to a missions conference and heard for the first time that there are people who have never heard the gospel. Ken felt very clearly God’s call to missions—to go to those unreached peoples. He started as an intern at Crossover Global. Today, he leads the organization. Listen as Ken shares about Crossover’s ministry and about his heart to see churches planted and provide access to the Bible in these unreached people groups—churches that uniquely fit the...
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TURKIYE: Walking by Faith Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Get Scared
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For our Turkish brothers and sisters, church is not just a weekly service. It’s a family where they come together, united in Christ, deepening relationships and encouraging each other. The church is also the training ground where new believers are discipled and equipped to live faithfully for Christ — even under Christian persecution. Pastor Ramazan Arkan, leader of the and pastor of , is back with us this week to share how mentorships develop into family relationships in the church. He’ll describe differences between following Christ in Türkiye rather than other Middle Eastern...
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TURKIYE: Evangelism Happens Through Relationships
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Most Turks believe being Turkish and being Muslim are inseparably intertwined. Pastor Ramazan Arkan was an adult before he ever met a Turkish Christian. Then he became friends with a coworker who had left Islam to follow Jesus. That friendship started Ramazan on a journey that eventually led to the cross of Christ. Pastor Ramazan is now leading the , and he is the pastor of in Antalya, Türkiye. Listen as he shares how he came to Christ, first asking questions about Islam and the Quran and then irresistibly drawn by the loving relationships he saw when he was invited to a local church....
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From Parliament to Persecuted Christian: Standing Firm in Jesus, Encouraged By God’s Word
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Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Finland found Päivi Räsänen guilty under a legal statute concerning “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.” Räsänen has been a member of Finland’s parliament since 1995 and is a former Minister of the Interior for the nation. Her “crime” was writing lessons for her church clearly communicating what the Bible says about human sexuality. The criminal case against Räsänen—a medical doctor, wife and grandmother—began in 2019 when she posted a picture to social media showing her Bible open to Romans 1:24-27, with a caption asking why...
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IRAN: After 58 Days of Torture, “I Didn’t Deny Christ”
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War persists in Iran and Christian persecution is ramping up against believers who face interrogation, beatings and imprisonment. Joe and Dawn, front-line workers in the Middle East, are helping deliver God’s Word into the Islamic Republic of Iran. When one of their Iranian coworkers disappeared, they began to mobilize prayer from believers around the world. They were at a church when the brother called after 58 days with no contact. His first words were joyful: “I didn’t deny Christ!” Barely recognizable after so much mistreatment, he found joy standing firm for Christ. Joe and Dawn...
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The Living Word for Every Tribe, Tongue, and Nation
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The gospel worker from China was stunned by how many biblical resources were available to Christians in America. He created a plan to scan one Bible commentary onto CDs that could be carried back into China and copied for underground Christians there. But he needed help. He reached out to find a more technically-capable person to help with the process—and an international ministry was birthed! Ken Bitgood was the young man recruited to help with that scanning project. Today he and are distributing Scripture resources in more than 4,500 languages! When Ken first became a follower of Jesus,...
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LIBYA: Martyr’s Widow Says “We Wanted Our Lives to Glorify Jesus”
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On September 11, 2012, Islamist fighters attacked a United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans were killed in that attack. Just a few months later, Ronnie and Anita Smith, a young American couple, moved to Benghazi with their infant son. Their goal was to live out their faith in Christ and have opportunities to introduce Libyan people to Christ. "We wanted to live our lives out in a place that didn't know Jesus," Anita Smith says. Anita acknowledges that there was fear in moving to a dangerous place, especially soon after a deadly attack on Americans. But Anita says...
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GLOBAL ACTION: Raising up Pastors to Shepherd their Flocks
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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...
info_outlineMost Turks believe being Turkish and being Muslim are inseparably intertwined. Pastor Ramazan Arkan was an adult before he ever met a Turkish Christian. Then he became friends with a coworker who had left Islam to follow Jesus. That friendship started Ramazan on a journey that eventually led to the cross of Christ.
Pastor Ramazan is now leading the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey, and he is the pastor of Antalya Evangelical Churches in Antalya, Türkiye. Listen as he shares how he came to Christ, first asking questions about Islam and the Quran and then irresistibly drawn by the loving relationships he saw when he was invited to a local church.
“The most effective way to share the gospel message is through relationship,” Pastor Ramazan says.
You’ll hear how his name, Ramazan (Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting) is both a blessing and a curse. He’ll also describe the Christian persecution when he left Islam for Christianity, and more about what our persecuted brothers and sisters in Türkiye face for their faith in Jesus.
Pastor Ramazan will tell the story of the night he became a Christian and felt God’s presence and Word come alive to him. He’ll also explain why it’s important to reveal the cost of following Christ to new Muslim background believers early on, why his church doesn’t baptize new believers immediately, and the sad story of one new Christian who went back to Islam after seeing the high cost of following Christ.
To learn more ways you can pray for persecuted Christians in Türkiye, Central Asia and around the world, sign up to receive weekly prayer emails at iCommitToPray.com.
The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, China, and Iran, 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.