According to global watchdog Open Doors, more than 380 million Christians today experience persecution and discrimination for their faith. But persecution doesn’t mean paralysis. Take the Christian church in Iran, for example.
“The church in Iran today is truly thriving, but also under a lot of strain,” says Lana Silk with Transform Iran. “It reminds me of the Scripture where Paul talks about us being persecuted and beaten down but not crushed. “It’s a constant pressure on the church from the government. But that has not taken away the vibrancy of the church in Iran. It is a thriving, victorious church.” You may have heard that Iran has one of the fastest-growing churches in the world, full of Christians young in their faith. But Silk wants us to know there’s maturity there, too.
“There is definitely a different balance in the church in Iran to what we would have in the West, where we have such a rich resource of seasoned leadership for a church that is perhaps less young,” she says. “But I would also say there is a different dynamic in terms of growth. There is an accelerated growth rate in Iran, and that is a spiritual dynamic. The Lord has, through His grace, allowed Christians to grow up very quickly in Iran. Somebody who may not have even been a believer a year ago could be leading multiple churches today.” Transform Iran has a robust discipleship program that is one-on-one, personal, and strategic. Silk says they see new believers change quickly from receiving to giving. “Within months, people are witnessing to others, leading others to the Lord, inadvertently becoming pastors themselves, though not seasoned and experienced yet,” she says.
Find your place in the story. Wherever you call home, there’s something you can learn from fellow believers. If you live in a place where ministry and leadership are usually given to those with years of experience, Silk offers a challenge we can glean from Iran’s young but rising Church. “Shouldn’t we all be in ministry? Shouldn’t we all be fruitful and leading others to the Lord in every way in our lives? That’s where we can learn from Iranian Christians, who are immediately thrown into a life of ministry and of fruitfulness and growing, and then pastoring comes out of that,” Silk says. “By the grace of God, I would say that there are many hundreds, if not thousands of pastors in Iran today, serving in this way and showing through the fruit of their ministry that they are called and anointed by God.”
Praise God for the “impossible” things He is doing in Iran today! “Today, He is accelerating a growth in the church. He is investing in the people. He’s growing leaders. He’s leading the lost to Himself, and He’s inviting us, for the thrill of the ride, to do it with Him,” Silk says.“Let’s be praying that God would continue to strengthen them, encourage them, resource them, and surround them [with] other believers that will be community for them and strengthen them in their faith. Let’s also be advocating for them and investing in ministries that are supporting them.”
Visit Transform Iran’s website to learn more!
Mission Network News –
Picture: Tehran, Iran courtesy of Hamid Mohammad Hossein Zadeh Hashemi via Unsplash.
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