Spotlight

Iran: Kids Worship in a Secret Church

In Iran, it is against the law to share the Good News of Jesus with Muslims. But Iranians are secretly becoming Christians anyway! Many of the new Christians meet together secretly in house churches.

At one secret house church, the members learned how to talk about Jesus with Muslims and how to start new churches. They sang, prayed, and studied the Bible and other Christian books. The books were smuggled into Iran from other countries.

But there was something unusual about this church. Most of the members were between the ages of 10 and 13. Some were as young as 5. The leader of the church was 16.

Firouz

Firouz, 15, used to be a Muslim. A friend invited him to a Bible study where he learned the truth about Jesus. He grew to love Jesus, then began “counting the cost” of following Him. The cost can be very high in Iran. (See Luke 14:28-33.)

Firouz decided to trust and follow Jesus. His father was upset about his decision. Relatives quit speaking to him. Muslims made threatening phone calls to his house.

Other Christian teens helped Firouz understand the Bible, learn how to share his faith, and teach younger believers. His faith grew, and he began helping lead the activities at the secret house church.

Pray for Iranian Kids

Firouz knew other youth who were persecuted by their families. One Iranian father broke his son’s hand because the boy was a Christian.

A group of Iranian kids decided to take their problems with parents to God. They began to pray for their Muslim parents. Thirty parents become Christians and began attending two new house churches!

Persecution also comes from the government. Spies for the government visit house churches to gather information about Christians. Police have threatened house church leaders saying, “If you don’t stop your Christian activities, we will hurt your family.”

Secret youth churches like the one Firouz attended often have to quit meeting to avoid problems with officials. Sometimes the members find other youth to meet with in different houses. Ask God to protect Iranian kids of courage and help them to continue to spread the truth about Jesus.

To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this site and some identifying details have been changed. Some of the quotes and stories have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.

The Voice of the Martyrs

Statement of Faith

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God who is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His personal return in power and glory.

We believe that for salvation of lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers of Christ.

We believe in the message of the persecuted churches, a message which has been brought to the West by the founders of the mission, Pastor Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand.

We have witnessed that the blood of the martyrs is the seed which makes the churches grow; and therefore, the mention of martyrs must be brought into the teachings and practices of the church. We believe that Christians who serve and love Christ, and are persecuted for this, should be helped. We believe the Bible teaches that we should love even our enemies. How much more so should we love our brethren who are persecuted for their faith in all parts of the world? Hebrews 13:3 states, "Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body."

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