There are many outreach events and initiatives happening during the Christmas period, with a vision of introducing more people to Emmanuel, our God who is with us. We would deeply value your prayers for the following:

"I have never seen love like this" said Iranian social media influencer Ahmad Moinshirazi recently in a reel shared with his 600,000+ followers.

Ahmad - a retired Iranian pro-kickboxer in exile - was talking about his experience of visiting an Iranian church in the region and seeing them pray passionately for the current unrest across Iran.

Through a recent advanced training course, 23 Persian-speaking worship leaders have developed new skills and gained a fresh passion for ministry.

The worship leaders - who had previously completed a foundational worship training program with Elam - enjoyed two weeks growing in core musical skills together. While the focus was practical, God's work went deeper into many hearts. “God really surprised us,” shares one of the mentors and teachers, Roozbeh. “There were many healings, dreams and visions. Shy students became confident. Wounded hearts were mended.”

Elnaz swung fiercely at Leila, hitting her hard across the face.

Their co-workers stared in astonishment. They had seen Elnaz and Leila argue previously, but it had never before escalated to violence. Leila was quivering in shock, shielding her rapidly-bruising cheek and damaged ear.

In June 2022, new believer Amir received his first Bible. From Iran, he left us this voice message:
“Thank you! Thank you to everyone who has got me this Bible!”
Amid his joy, Amir understood that God had used many faithful people in the process of getting the Bible into his hands.

In Iran, Bibles in Persian are not freely available because the government knows that when Persian-speaking, Muslim-background people read it, many meet Jesus.

Nasrin lives in Iran where, despite the risks, she faithfully practices her Christian beliefs.

A few years ago, Nasrin spent nearly 3 weeks in solitary confinement in Iran, facing regular interrogations about her ministry and faith in Jesus.

Afshin and Saloumeh lived in a broken marriage but were determined to stay together for the sake of their son. Then, one day, someone gave Afshin a Persian New Testament.

Golnar is from a very small, remote village in Iran. She and her husband were among twelve couples who recently took part in the launch of a new marriage course specially designed for the Iranian church. At the end of the course, Golnar shared, "When I was young, each winter we would help my dad fix the mud walls of our house. We'd fill in the cracks to keep out the cold. Now my husband and I know that...

Samira's past couple years of house church ministry have been challenging, but after attending Elam's leaders' conference recently, she felt her passion for ministry renewed. When she arrived back home in Iran, her Muslim father, who is in his 80's, looked at her inquisitively. When she asked him what he was thinking, he said, "I am thinking about your God and the change I see in you."...

All over the Iran region, Christians are eagerly sharing the joy of Christmas with others through evangelism, Scripture distribution and outreach. In one city, Armita has been faithfully participating in street evangelism. Recently, she shared the reason for Christmas with a local Iranian businessman and he asked if she would come and share the Gospel with his 60 employees. In...

After receiving a Bible for the first time, Maryam left a message for the person discipling her: 'I am forever thankful! You’ve made my heart so joyful! Thank you for this valuable gift! My heart is so happy!' There was overwhelming joy in her tear-filled voice. Maryam is just one of the thousands of new believers who have been discipled this year by another Iranian believer. She was able to...

Nasrin was a devout Muslim woman, practicing Islam faithfully every day. However, she felt an emptiness that led her to pray, "I am trying to know you, but I'm not sure if you are real or not." She received no response.
Later, still distressed, she remembered hearing about the power of the God of the Bible so she decided to pray to Him, "Please tell me your name...

Anahita and her family were given a Bible last year by a relative visiting from out of town. He was a new believer and encouraged them to...

Vahid is one of hundreds of new believers who have recently been through our 2-week discipleship course, deepening his understanding of God's Word and being trained to share the Gospel and serve others. 
But, before Vahid had met Christ or been discipled, his journey had been difficult. For years, he longed to experience real freedom in his life. In his search, he had...

Nima is a six-year old boy inside Iran whose family came to Christ in 2020. Recently, he was thrilled to receive the gift of a...

Shahnaz had worked hard to forget the cruel names and hurtful words a close family member had persistently spoken to her years before. 
But, while attending our women's conference last month on the theme of identity, those devastating words and names unexpectedly resurfaced in...

When Behrooz, a young Muslim in Tehran, flagged down a passing car for a lift one morning, he couldn’t have imagined what was in store for him.
Hamid, a house-church Christian going through an Elam discipleship program, had been praying for an opportunity like this one to share his faith and he gladly offered Behrooz a ride.
As Hamid and Behrooz set off...

A brother in Iran recently sent a message for all our dear partners:
"Greetings to you brothers and sisters... Praise God for every one of you dear ones who serve us and build us up through the Word of God. The grace of God has enabled us to serve and share the good news of the Gospel with many others." 
Dariush,* the man who sent this message, is...

During January, more than 160 Christians who are serving on the ground in the Iran region enjoyed a week of virtual fellowship, worship and teaching to prepare and pray for 2021.
With teaching that drew on the themes of endurance, encouragement and unity in Romans 15:5-6, the group was deeply encouraged and many had powerful encounters with God. After a...

"We had a problem in our marriage for three years," recalls Mahnaz, whose husband recently attended an online men's conference with Elam.
"There was no affection there. I was desperate and praying to God. But since this conference, the way he communicates with me has been different. He has started being affectionate for the first time. I know it’s a new...