This week on VOMAus Radio, Noah and Patrick discuss the persecution of Christians in the extensive and hugely populous nation of India. While India’s constitution guarantees religious freedom, in reality, anti-conversion laws are commonly used against pastors and evangelists, and attacks on pastors have become more common. In the north of the country, where it’s a Hindu stronghold, anti-Christian sentiment is strong. In the south, persecution is most likely to occur in rural areas. Hear about how VOM Australia is at work in supporting pastors, providing training, Bible distribution and a safehouse for new converts who have been abandoned by family. Through this work, Christians are reminded that they are not alone.

This week on VOMAus Radio, Dr Yousaf Sadiq returns to continue his conversation with Todd Nettleton. After dozens of churches and Christians’ homes in Jaranwala, Pakistan, were attacked, looted and burned by a mob, Christians gathered in and around the ruins of their former church buildings to sing and worship the Lord. The words they sang were directly from Scripture: Psalms of lament; reminders that even in times of suffering, we can come to the Lord and trust in His sovereignty. “I want the world to know this fascinating story and what it means for the church in Pakistan.” Yousaf says, “It’s such a precious heritage.” Dr Yousaf will also share about his work to support and include the ministry of persecuted Christians in the work of the Lausanne Movement.

This week on VOM Aus Radio, here from Dr Yousaf Sadiq. He was born into a Christian family in Pakistan. His mother worked as a cleaner at a local school so that Yousaf and some of his ten siblings would have an opportunity to be educated. In the evenings, he would help his mother clean the school where he was a student during the day. Despite their deep poverty, Yousaf gratefully recounts how his family’s needs were always met. Today Yousaf is a professor at Wheaton College and co-leader of the Lausanne Persecuted Church Initiative. He remembers how his parents invested time and energy in training their children to walk with the Lord, and how they led by example. Yousaf also shares what it looks like to live in Pakistan as a Christian. There are many pressures within the society, but Yousaf understood at a young age that Christian persecution is part of following Christ. “I felt not only strengthened but also privileged that this was happening,” he says.

This week on VOMAus Radio, we hear from Brother ‘Enfu’, the pastor of an illegal house church in China. Listen as he shares why and how he prepares his wife and children for the day he may eventually be arrested and sent to prison. He will give an update on Christian persecution in China and how believers there are responding faithfully despite increasing government pressure. Instead of large church events, the gospel is spreading through one-on-one conversations with co-workers or neighbours as Christians share what Jesus has done in their lives. Brother Enfu encourages pastors and church leaders he trains to stay in China and serve Christians there, rather than leaving China for a more comfortable position in the West. He says that when he hears of a brother or sister imprisoned for their faith, it’s an encouragement to him, even as he acknowledges the suffering they are enduring.

Bayram is back to finish the conversation from last week. Hear stories of people in Türkiye leaving Islam and embracing Jesus Christ – and the persecution they’ve endured for making that decision. Bayram will tell the story of a young atheist who, after talking with Bayram for an entire evening, saw Jesus in two dreams. This young man embraced the gospel and became a follower of Jesus. It was a costly decision: as soon as he became a Christian, everyone around him became an enemy. Bayram also equips us to pray for Türkiye and for our Christian brothers and sisters there.

This week on VOMAus Radio, hear from Brother Bayram, who came to the US from Türkiye to further his education. He started a business, where one day a Christian customer gave him a New Testament. He began to read it, the beginning of a path that would lead him to faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and the Son of God. It was a costly decision: his devout Muslim wife divorced him and wouldn’t allow him to see their daughter. His brother had Bayram committed to a mental hospital, thinking anyone who would leave Islam was mentally unstable. It has been a difficult road, but Bayram’s faith has only grown stronger as he has seen God work in his life and his country. Bayram will encourage and instruct listeners on how we can help lead Muslims toward Christ, wherever they are. You can connect online with Brother Bayram and his ministry at www.albtci.org.

This week on VOMAus Radio, Patrick and Noah continue the conversation on what it’s like to worship and gather as Christians in Vietnam – sometimes the consequences are severe. Yet the church is making a bold stand for Christ. In the coming weeks, we will hear more from Patrick as he explains further about the persecuted church in Southeast Asia and how VOM Australia is coming alongside our persecuted brothers and sisters to equip and aid them when opposition comes.

This week on VOMAus Radio, we hear once again from Patrick, who oversees VOM Australia’s field work in Southeast Asia, sharing about Vietnam. This country has a long and complex history, and it remains one of the few communist countries in the world. Life here can be difficult for Christians. Yet, praise God, the church continues to grow. Patrick outlines the various forms of persecution in Vietnam, including the consequences faced by a couple who gave their daughter a biblical name.

This week on VOMAus Radio, listen as Bob Fu, former prisoner for Christ in China and the founder and president of China Aid Association, shares updates from persecuted Christians in China, including Pastor John Cao, Pastor Wang Yi, and other Chinese Christians. The Chinese Communist Party continues to pursue absolute government control of churches and other religious institutions in China. Pastors and church leaders face lengthy prison sentences for 'fraud' when their church collects tithes and offerings, or 'illegal border crossing' if they travel to meet with fellow believers outside China. Bob Fu, author of God's Double Agent https://vom.com.au/product/gods-double-agent/ , reports on recent church raids in China, including arrests of children attending Vacation Bible School. The Communist Party forbids any religious outreach or training for children under age 18.

This week on VOMAus Radio, Hana Menghisteab returns to share how speaking publicly about her father and her family’s suffering was painful, but how God used it to open a door for healing in her life. Before his arrest in 2004, Dr Tecleab Menghisteab was a medical doctor and a leader in the Eritrean Orthodox Church. He is one of more than 300 Christians currently in prison in Eritrea. Hana was six years old when her father was arrested. Hana will tell how growing up without her father left her wounded in many areas of her life. However, Hana says, “God does not waste pain; He doesn’t waste the years of tears.” Instead, the Lord uses suffering to display His glory. Listen to Hana’s previous interviews with VOMAus Radio: https://soundcloud.com/vom-oz/sets/interviews-with-hana?si=67b6d15a70f44c14bdd08507fdba3bc6

This week on VOMAus Radio, hear part two from Patrick as he shares remarkable stories from the field, of persecution, forgiveness and overcoming, with God’s help and strength. You will be amazed and strengthened by the testimonies of Rachana, whose husband tried to kill her after she became a Christian, and Nanda, once a devout Buddhist priest who lost his prominence and reputation for Jesus. Be encouraged as you hear how God is at work in this ‘Hostile’ nation. We hope it spurs you on to pray for believers in this nation and pray for VOM Australia too, as we seek to minister for those who suffer for His name.

This week on VOMAus Radio, hear from VOM Australia staff member Patrick as he provides us with insights on his recent trip to Nepal. Though officially a secular republic, Nepal remains a predominantly Hindu nation, and the government is taking a strong stand against religious conversion. This nation is classified as ‘Hostile’ towards the gospel, but there is a small, vibrant and bold church in Nepal faithfully following Christ, sometimes at great cost. Listen to understand what persecution is like in the diverse and complex nation of Nepal. And hear how our Bibles Plus project is blessing believers.

This week on VOMAus Radio, we hear from Kevin, a gospel worker and church planter in Asia. Kevin shares how the Lord called him to serve unreached people groups in Asia, and explains what a new believer is likely to face when they come to Christ in a Buddhist and animistic culture, where persecution usually begins at the family or village level. Because of fear-based animistic practices and the communal culture, the entire community feels like they are at risk when a member of their community becomes a Christian. Kevin has walked with friends who’ve been put in prison or forced out of their villages. Some are living in tents because they refused to recant their commitment to Christ. Yet they meet these hardships with joy, responding in faith and perseverance to their persecution. Learn more about the church in Asia and how to pray for Christians there and around the world who face persecution for the name of Christ.

This week on VOMAus Radio, we hear part two of the interview with Carter Gates, leader of VOM USA’s work in the Asia/Pacific Region. Some Christians in Malaysia—ethnically Chinese or Indian believers—have freedom to practise their faith. But if an ethnic Malay person becomes a believer in Jesus, he or she will face intense Christian persecution. As Carter meets with VOM’s ministry partners, one shared key hindrances that keep Malays from following Christ and the questions he uses as he engages them in gospel conversation. One of those questions: are you ready to die for Jesus? We’ll also share an update on the court case over the forced disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh in 2017. A verdict is expected in the case in November.

This week, Carter Gates, leader of VOM USA’s work in the Asia/Pacific Region, shares about a recent gathering of VOM front-line workers, where they spent time in fellowship, sharing stories and encouraging one another to continue serving persecuted Christians. These men and women minister in some of the most dangerous places to follow Christ and are often the first responders when Christian persecution happens. You will hear updates from Myanmar, Laos, and North Korea, places where following Jesus can mean losing everything. Between political unrest, spiritual oppression, pressure from local leaders, economic retaliation and rejection from family, believers in this region are squeezed on every side. Yet, as Carter shares, Christians in these nations remain steadfast and faithful, unshaken despite immense pressure.

This week on VOMOz Radio. Vicky Hartzler, the current chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), shares about her role in reporting on and seeking religious freedom for our brothers and sisters in restricted areas and hostile nations. She also shares her own experiences of advocating on behalf of persecuted Christians directly to leaders of other nations. Listen for ways you can pray for USCIRF’s work and for followers of Christ working in government to advance religious freedom around the world.

This week on VOMOz Radio, hear from Neda, who was born in Iran to a Muslim family. As a young woman, she felt broken and empty. Neda’s heart searched for God, and she came to faith in Christ through her relative’s witness, and her life was radically transformed. Neda’s husband also found faith in Jesus. Over the next 13 years, Neda and her husband faced persecution from the Islamic government. In one incident, officials raided their home and threatened her husband at gunpoint. She and her husband ultimately decided to leave Iran, yet they continue to serve from abroad through Iran Alive Ministries. Neda encourages every Christian to lay down their own desires and fully surrender to God's will, even when it means enduring suffering. Iran Alive Ministries A post from Farzin Tarat on Iran Alive Ministries provided by: https://iranalive.org

Last week on VOMOz radio (https://soundcloud.com/vom-oz/mongolia-was-i-called-was-i-chosen-and-did-i-obey), Brian and Louise Hogan, trainers to church planters and former missionaries to Mongolia, shared about their efforts to plant a church in Mongolia – and the high cost they paid for serving there when their infant son died. This week, listen as they unwrap some of the principles they learned in that process, lessons they are now teaching to pastors and church leaders around the world, including hostile areas and restricted nations where VOM works. Listen also for a special testimony from a former prisoner for Christ in Uzbekistan, Dmitry ‘David’ Shestakov. Hear the difference it made when Christians around the world wrote letters to him in prison. To write to Christians in prison, please visit https://vom.com.au/write-to-a-christian-prisoner/

Brian and Louise Hogan, missionaries and church planters in Mongolia, responded to God’s call with obedience. They arrived in the city of Erdenet in the early 1990s; there were no churches in the city. After the conversion of 14 teenage girls, they witnessed the birth and growth of a church community. However, as Scripture reminds us, forward motion in God’s kingdom often awakens spiritual resistance. As Brian noted, "Throughout history, whenever the Kingdom has advanced, someone has had to pay a terrible price." For the Hogans, that terrible price was the sudden death of their newborn son, who passed away on Christmas Eve due to sudden infant death syndrome. In the depths of grief and isolation, Brian and Louise felt God's closeness. They were aware that Christians around the world were praying for them. Louise found strength through a question inspired by Elisabeth Elliot: “Was I called? Was I chosen? And did I obey?” She says it should not matter what God does with our obedience; we are simply called to obey. Despite their loss, the Hogans chose to remain in Mongolia, grieving alongside their Mongolian Christian family. Their suffering became a powerful testimony of hope and resurrection in a culture unfamiliar with such concepts. In their loss, they were able to share unshakable Christian hope: “We are going to see our son again.” Brian is the author of There’s a Sheep in My Bathtub and An A to Z of Near-Death Adventures.

Mona and Michael are zealous disciples dedicated to sharing their faith and helping those in need, particularly within their community in Egypt. Mona grew up in a Christian family and found comfort in her faith after a difficult childhood marked by her mother's death. Michael, on the other hand, discovered his faith in Jesus later in life. Together, they felt called to ministry and have committed their lives to sharing the hope and love that can only be found in Jesus. Listen as they talk about Christian persecution faced by believers in Egypt, including discrimination in employment and education. These hardships have led church members to rely on one another. As Mona says, "The church becomes our family. We need each other." Muslims who choose to follow Jesus often face severe persecution from family and community, and at times from the government. They may also face severe pressure from a Muslim spouse. Mona reminds us, though, that Muslims around them are not their enemies. They know that the real enemy is the devil and emphasize that we are called to love others in the same way Christ loved us. Michael and Mona actively support refugees from war-torn countries, including Sudan, providing food and resources regardless of religious background. These acts of care and service often open doors for conversations about faith. Please pray for followers of Jesus in Egypt to remain strong and to be equipped to help those in need.