There is no doubt that the church has been growing - and is growing. No doubt because thirty years ago Iranian leaders, who are still serving, were able to count the number of Iranian Muslims who had become Christian. There were probably less than five hundred.
Now most of these leaders have responsibility for networks, and they raise their hands and just say, 'many'. This is not hype. They are in touch with them. They deal with their problems.
They say 'many'...but how many? Some say 20,000; others 100,000; others even say 1,000,000. The truth is nobody knows. What we do know is that house churches are growing fast, and their networks are spreading. What is the evidence? Reports from reliable ministers, the clamor for more teaching books, the demand for training; the response to satellite TV and the internet; the country's insatiable appetite for Scriptures.