Elam has printed over a million Scriptures for Iranians who love to read about Jesus in their own language.
Despite persecusion the church in Iran is growing rapidly. There is a great demand for Scripture and over 500,000 New Testaments have been printed and are leading Iranians to Christ. Many church leaders are expressing the need for more New Testaments as they believe large scale Scripture distribution will be instrumental in seeing millions of Iranians come to know Jesus Christ.
How New Testaments are reaching Iranians...
Evangelists in Tehran
Elam graduates organized a team of evangelists to witness in Tehran. They prayed for a week and planned to distribute Persian New Testaments and Jesus films in a busy part of town. They were excited to witness for Christ, but, understandably, had some trepidation.
They headed for a very crowded park in order to reach as many people as possible. The team knew that large crowds usually means many secret police hanging around.
“What should we do if the secret police catch us?” asked one member, to which the Pastor replied,“We will trust the Lord.”They entered the park in pairs and the Pastor took one young man who was somewhat fearful. Seeing a Muslim family having a picnic, they introduced themselves and began sharing Christ.
With traditional Iranian hospitality, the family invited the men to join their meal. The daughter of the family explained, “Actually we came out today hoping God would speak to us somehow.” So the Christian men sat with them and told them the Good News as they ate together. The Pastor then gave them a New Testament and the girl was so happy. “I knew God would speak to us today. God has not forgotten us because He sent you to us,” she said. The family asked the two men to pray for them. After praying, the men took their details so that they could keep in contact
Saved from Suicide
Last week a church planter shared his great joy with us for the 1,000 New Testaments his church network received earlier this month. “These New Testaments are the best we have to share the love of Christ with Iranians. People in Iran really, really want them here. I have personally given thousands out over the last few years and I’ve only had one person tell me they don’t want it.”He went on to share a recent testimony and prayer request,“A few weeks ago we witnessed to a lady who was about to commit suicide and we gave her a New Testament. Praise God she did not go through with her plans. Please pray for her to find salvation and the many others in Iran on the brink of suicide. Pray the Word of God will reach them too.”
“For 20 years I’ve searched for the Gospel”
One of Elam’s goals is to have distributed 1 million Persian Scriptures to Iranians by 2013. This summer, tens of thousands of New Testaments have been distributed in the Iran region. One Iranian church alone, led by an Elam graduate, has reached thousands travelling for vacation. One middle-aged man was so thrilled when he was given a Persian New Testament, he said,“I have read many books about other religions just so I could find the truth. But I haven’t yet found the real truth. For twenty years I’ve searched for the Gospel, and now I want to read it to see if it is the truth.”
The young believer witnessing said to him,“I believe that this is the only truth”. The man said,“I will read it and I hope it is true”.
‘God Sent that Person to Us’
‘Reza’ and his wife ‘Mina’ left Iran for Turkey to pursue a better life – but their plans soon fell apart as they lost their money through failed business and other bad decisions. Says Reza,“Our lives and our marriage were gradually being destroyed. We were fighting all the time and the pressure was so great. We were religious so we tried to do the right things, but it didn’t work and I questioned why God wasn’t answering our prayers.”
Then one day Reza met an Iranian Christian in Istanbul who gave him a New Testament and invited him to church. He was scared to tell his wife about it – things were already tense enough at home. But somehow the joy of having a copy of the New Testament overtook him and he told her. He was surprised by her response.“God sent that person to us,”she said. They went to church and experienced“true worship”and by the end of the service confessed Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Reza and Mina now are determined to serve the Lord among Iranians. Reza says:“The salvation that I have gained is so precious… I must become a seeker of the lost.”
Would you pray for and consider giving to this strategic project?
Would you pray for and consider giving to this strategic project? It costs $5 (£3) to print and distribute 1 New Testament.
If you would like to donate, click here.