Posted on 03/25/2012 7:00:17 PM PDT by sreastman
Growth of Christianity in Iran Explosive
Faith issues/Open Doors
The number of Muslims coming to Christ from Islam – often called Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) or Secret Believers – is growing faster and faster in Iran. In fact, according to Open Doors’ Middle East workers, the growth is “explosive.” They even speak of a revival inside Iran, especially among young people.
Forty years ago an estimated 200 Muslim Background Believers were living in Iran. Today the estimation is 370,000 MBBs. According to Open Doors, the house church movement has triggered many secret meetings. The growth is happening in all regions, but mostly in the larger cities.
Besides these new believers, Iran also has a traditional Armenian and Assyrian church with about 80,000 members. These churches are free to have their meetings in their own language, but it is not allowed for them to reach out to the Farsi-speaking Muslims. Officially, the Iranian government says that there are about 200,000 Christians living in Iran.
Other religious groups are also growing in Iran. But the growth of the number of Christians is far higher than the growth of the other religions.
Open Doors workers think that the growth of Christianity has everything to do with Iranians getting to know the real face of Islam, the official religion of Iran, and the mistrust of the people toward the government and leaders following the fraudulent 2009 presidential election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“Iranians are very outgoing and want to speak about their faith,” another Open Doors worker states. “That is why discipleship training (with elements of outreach and communications) for Iranian believers is successful. If you tell them that a Christian should share, the Iranian Christian shares.”
Offering discipleship training is one of the ways Open Doors uses to strengthen the Iranian church. Many Iranians are also coming to Christ through Christian programming on satellite television.
The government of Iran sees this growth as a threat. In 2010, Iran's supreme religious leader Mahmoud Ali Khamenei blamed “the enemies of Islam for establishing and encouraging the expansion of Christianity in Iran.’’ The Minister of Intelligence, Heydar Moslehi, reportedly warned of the threat of house churches and other Christian interests during October and November 2011.
“For that reason the house churches have to be more careful,” says the Open Doors worker. “In the past every house church had around 15 members. Now this number of persons is five or six because of security reasons. Most of them are organized in networks and not connected to churches outside Iran.”
Over the last few months the Iranian government has prohibited several churches from holding services in Farsi on Fridays, the official Muslim holy day. “They thought this would lead to less people attending services, but that didn’t happen,” reports the worker. Another restriction is the Iranian government is forbidding the selling of Bibles and New Testaments.
Persecution in Iran not only comes from the government but also from society, including Muslim-Background Believer families.
Iran is ranked Numger Five on the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of the top 50 worst persecutors of Christians. Open Doors will be sponsoring a prayer campaign for the Persian Gulf countries, including Iran, starting this summer.
© 2012 Open Doors
The Spirit of God is cutting through the darkness and shining the light of hope. Praise God.
We know some Iranian believers, too! This is so awesome! I pray for spiritual renewal here. We are now in the category of one of the largest unchurched nations on earth. Sad, but true.
END TIMES PING LIST PING
MASSIVE GROWTH IN SECRET CHRISTIANS IN IRAN
Please See the OP
Open Doors appears to be a fine organization. My pastor was speaking of conversion to christianity in the middle east that the media just does not report.
“The Spirit of God is cutting through the darkness and shining the light of hope’’<<. May those who hunger for the Truth find it in the salvation of a Loving God and HIS son made flesh, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Praise God!!!!
This is awesome!
They’re going ABM (Anybody But Mo). I would if I were in their shoes.
Yes, praise God, the true God of Creation, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the Trinity, the God Who was made Flesh, and dwelt among us, Whom millions of those of the ancient people of the Bible, the Persians, are now coming to worship in ever growing numbers. Praise God, indeed, at this wonderful news!
Persecution comes from the false god, called Allah by the Mohammedans, whose real name is Satan. If that sounds harsh, then remember the words of our Savior:
“By their fruits, ye shall know them.”
We have an Iranian Christian who works in our office. She has family still in Iran that are also Chrisian. The younger generation is also far more pro-west than those in Iraq.
And Amen!!
remember Neda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXN_yCSbUYk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmgbLAJZPIY&feature=relmfu
A thread about such miracle visions and dreams with several links abuilding:
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread823377/pg1#pid13762993
I will never forget Jeremiah 31 playing on my tablet audio bible by itself with a Baptist friend at the coffee cafe. We are getting signs and wonders from all over. Time seems short at times for the end of the age.
All Glory To God!
He did it for all of us to accept! How much did he love us. He put his arms out and declared this much with his hands stretched.
I am nothing without Him!
Praise Jesus!!
INDEED.
AMEN! AMEN!
THX THX.
This is very interesting. Hubby and I are listening to “The Tehran Initiative” by Joel Rosenberg on audiobook (it is very good, the reader is EXCELLENT).
A big part of the plot involves secret Christian believers in Iran. Some of them at the highest levels of society. I said to hubby on Friday that as much as I like Rosenberg and as much as I’m enjoying the story I don’t think anything like that is going on in Iran.
But, now I see this thread here.
LOL, I will have to tell hubby right away. As you can imagine he likes it when I have to admit I’m wrong!
It is really weird, the events in the story are taking place in March and it is even said that it is unseasonably warm, as it has been. But of course the book was written a while ago. This is really sort of freaking me out now!
A couple of authors that I have personally heard talk about this: Tom Doyle and David LeCompte. They’re both involved in church planting in that area of the world. You can look them up on Amazon. I also recommend you do a internet lookup on Mother Maggie Gobran and keep her ministry in your prayers. She’s a living embodiment of Mother Teresa in the slums of Coptic Cairo.
Thanks
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